Ag easement funds available Week Of 9/27/2021

Counties, soil and water conservation districts, land trusts, cities and townships are invited to apply to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Office of Farmland Preservation for local sponsor certification through Oct. 22.
Local sponsors that complete the certification application and qualify will be allocated a portion of the $6.5 million in Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program 2022 funds. These funds are used to purchase agricultural easements on Ohio farms, preserving productive agricultural farmland in perpetuity.
Certified local sponsors will then accept local landowner applications and help secure easements through ODA’s Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program. Once the easement is secured, the local sponsor visits the farm once a year to complete a monitoring report to ensure the land is being used for agricultural purposes.
The application is available on ODA’s local sponsor page. Any organization interested in being a local sponsor for the 2022 landowner application year must apply during this time period. Local sponsors that applied in 2020 do not need to reapply.
Contact the Farmland Preservation Office at 614-728-6238 or farmlandpres@agri.ohio.gov.