Sun staff
A coalition of the Cardinal Land Conservancy, local Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will host a series of information sessions for farmers who are interested in keeping their lands in sustainable production for future generations.
“Our farms provide us with the basics of what we need,” said John McManus, District Administrator for the Clermont Soil & Water Conservation District. “We will always need farmers and farmland.”
He added, “Our quality of life would drop dramatically without our farmers.”
Farmland owners will learn how to apply for funds from the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program during these upcoming information sessions.
Farmland owners in Clermont County are invited to attend an information session on Jan. 14 at 1:30 p.m. in the Agricultural Service Center at the Clermont County Fairgrounds, located at 1000 Locust St. in Owensville.
“There are farmers who are very interested in protecting their land and preserving it as farmland for years to come,” McManus said.“This program, offered through the state, gives them a tool to do so, and we want to help bring the program to farmers.”
Meetings will feature short presentations by Cardinal Land Conservancy experts, as well as staff from Soil & Water Conservation offices and the NRCS, according to a press release.
Meeting attendees will have an opportunity to discuss the program with presenters, who will provide information and direction to landowners.
The next application round for the easement purchase program is tentatively scheduled to open on Jan. 15.
Agricultural easements allow landowners to maintain ownership and production of their farmland while protecting it from certain development and activities, such as subdivisions and clearcutting.
McManus also said that the state actually purchases easements for cash consideration.
“For landowners personally, placing an easement can be an important way to keep the land intact,” said Laura Curliss, vice president of Cardinal Land Conservancy. “It’s a way for them to benefit from develop rights without having to divide up the farm.”
The land itself remains on the tax rolls and under private ownership and management.
“Typically, the farmland owner puts the funds back into the farming operations, their estate or succession for the farm,” Curliss said.
Under these voluntary legal agreements, landowners may undertake any agricultural activity permitted under Ohio law.
Landowners can sell their farm or pass it along as a gift to others, as the easement remains with the deed to the land, prohibiting any future non-agricultural development, ensuring the land remains used for agricultural purposes only.
“For the state of Ohio, prime soils are a valuable natural resource, just as much as water, oil and gas,” Curliss said. “Ohio is the breadbasket of the nation, and these programs are set up to preserve the soil.”
Through easement purchase programs, state and federal governments have made it a priority to preserve the rural culture of agricultural communities, according to Curliss.
“Most of all, for people who love the land, it has to be in their heart to preserve it,” she said. “And these programs are set up to help farmland owners preserve these important tracts of land.”
For more information about the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, visit Cardinal Land Conservancy’s website at www.cardinallandconservancy.org, or contact the state program at www.agri.ohio.gov/farmland. Interested parties may also contact Curliss at 513- 600-7171.