Working Lands Preservation: Tools and Incentives

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Working Lands Preservation Tools and Incentives

• Gerry Cohn
• Southeast Regional Office
• Graham, NC

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American Farmland Trust

• National non-profit organization, founded in
  1980. 50,000 members nationwide
• Protecting working lands, planning for
  agriculture, and keeping the land healthy
• Education, policy advocacy, and land projects
• Farm Bill

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Principles for improving working land conservation

• Increased coordination and simplification of
  local, state, and national working lands
  conservation programs will make them more
  customer friendly and effective

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Principles for improving working land conservation

• Elected officials and government agencies must do
  a better job of building public support for
  working lands conservation if the programs are to
  be improved and expanded

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Principles for improving working lands
conservation

• Government supported working lands conservation
  programs should demonstrate they produce valuable
  and measurable environmental goods or
  conservation commodities.

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Principles for improving working lands
conservation

• Producing more benefits from working lands
  conservation will require significantly greater
  funding.

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LOCALMaking the Case for Agriculture

• Economic
• Natural resource protection
• Wildlife habitat
• Rural heritage
• Fiscal

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LOCALPlanning for Agriculture

• Land use policies
• Economic development programs
• FARMING IS A BUSINESS!!

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Land Use Policy Comprehensive Plans

• Agricultures role in the county
• Existing and planned water and sewer
• Locating public facilities schools, industrial
  parks
• Setbacks and regulations for farm-based
  businesses
• Outreach to the farming community

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Agricultural Economic Development

• Planning for ag viability
• Individual business and estate plans
• Creating alternative products and markets
• Agri-tourism/local promotion
• PACE programs

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Carroll County

• Broad based partnership
• Active participation in Comp Plan Update
• Cotton Mill Farmers Market
• Farmers Fresh Food Network
• SPLOST referendum (3M for farmland)
• Georgia Agricultural Land Trust

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New York Watershed Agricultural Program

• Developed as an alternative to a costly
  EPA-mandated filtration system
• Administered by the non-profit Watershed
  Agricultural Council
• Includes both financial incentives to implement
  best management practices as well as the purchase
  of agricultural conservation easements

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REGIONAL

• Whats Happening
• Around the Southeast

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Kentucky

• Statewide PACE 15M
• Fayette County PDR 15M
• Agricultural Development Fund
• Soil Erosion and Water Quality Cost-Share

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Virginia

• State Office of Farmland Preservation
• Model PDR program guidelines
• Ag Enterprise Districts cost-share
• Local Ag Economic Development Coordinators

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North Carolina

• Voluntary Agricultural Districts
• NC Farm Transition Network
• Working Lands and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund

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NATIONAL

• Farmland Protection
• Farm Bill

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NATIONAL

• Farmland Protection
• Local PACE 55 programs, 763M, 2200 farms
• State PACE 27 programs, 2B, 8750 farms
• Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP)
• Conservation Easement Tax Law Landowner
  deduction increase from 30 to 50 of income (100
  for farmers) can be spread over 16 years

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Sample State PACE Program Activity (2006)
State Acres Easements Spent (M)
Pennsylvania 318,350 2,783
513.5 Colorado 244,584 160
88.3 Vermont 113,000 389
45.0 California 32,727 100
44.2 Delaware 79,955 442 88.7
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NATIONALFarm Bill Reform Unmet Needs of
Agriculture

• New market development
• Energy
• Research, pest management, etc.
• Rural development
• Stewardship

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A New Framework forU.S. Farm Policy
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AFTs Agenda 2007

• Four Major Policy Proposals
• Green Payments
• Revenue Protection Program
• Cooperative Conservation Program
• Farm and Ranch Profitability Grants

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• Gerry Cohn 336-221-0707
• gcohn_at_farmland.org
• Technical info 800-370-4879
• http//www.farmland.org