A conservation easement may be granted to a governmental entity, charitable organization, educational institution, corporation, trust, or other legal entity. Agricultural conservation easements are typically co-held when a grant program funds the purchase of development rights.
Local farmland preservation programs are authorized through the Zoning Enabling Act. To date, there are 24 local programs and of that, 11 are actively purchasing development rights on Michigan farmland. The state no longer directly purchases agricultural conservation easements but instead provides grants to local farmland preservation programs, allocating approximately $2 million annually.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MDARD) Farmland Preservation Program, commonly referred to as PA 116, preserves farmland and offers tax relief to farmers who voluntarily enter temporary farmland preservation agreements, which range from 10-90 years. Basically, participating landowners do not have to pay more than 3.5% of their gross annual income on property taxes.
Consent agreements were originally used by MDARD for 1) easements co-held by USDA-NRCS and 2) other agricultural conservation easements that were not co-held by MDARD. This allowed the landowner to continue to claim credits where the landowner was in a PA 116 agreement at the time the agricultural conservation easement was recorded. The justification was that both programs held the same intent and purpose of preserving agricultural lands and therefore not penalizing the landowner by permanently preserving their property, however, recent changes within MDARD are putting this partnership at risk.
Questions to consider
- Should landowners be allowed to enroll in a local farmland preservation program and the PA 116 program at the same time?
- How can we encourage other communities to create a permanent conservation easement program?
Policy references
MFB Policy #75 Farmland Protection
Additional resources
Share Story
Article Tags
