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Two more local farms added to state’s farmland preservation program

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By Staff Reports 11:43 AM Friday, November 13, 2009

Two area farms have been accepted into the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s farmland preservation easement purchase program, the state announced Friday, Nov. 13.

The local farms added to the program are the Morgan Farm, 365 acres, in Champaign County, and the Trotter farm, 604 acres, in Clark County, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

The two were among 37 farms added to the program. The 37 include 6,279 acres and come from 19 Ohio counties.

The state purchases the easements using bond revenue from the Clean Ohio Fund, a fund approved by voters to preserve farmland and clean brownsites in cities for development.

“Ohioans have proven that preserving our state’s farmland and green space is important by their consistent support of the Clean Ohio Fund,” said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland in a statement Friday. “The Agricultural Easement Purchase Program helps sustain our important agricultural industry and ensure that Ohioans are able to enjoy and utilize our state’s valuable land for generations to come.”

The Ohio Farmland Preservation Advisory Board reviewed 205 applications from 40 counties competing for the money available through the Clean Ohio Fund.

An agricultural easement is a voluntary and legally-binding restriction placed on a farm. The easement limits the use of the land to predominantly agricultural activity. The land remains under private ownership and management and stays on the tax rolls under Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV). The farmland can be sold or passed along as a gift to others at any time, but the restriction prohibiting non-agricultural development stays with the land.

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