Family farm preservation meeting at ag museum
A free program on options to preserve the family farm will be held Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center, 877 W. Old Lincolnway, across from the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster.
A free program on options to preserve the family farm will be held Thursday, Nov. 2 at the Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center, 877 W. Old Lincolnway, across from the Wayne County Fairgrounds.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. with the first presentation beginning at 5:30 p.m. by Robert E. Moore from the Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program. Moore will discuss the proactive steps that can be implemented to help keep farmland in the family.
Following Moore, three members from the Ag Success Team will present how their organizations assist landowners with easements. Andy McDowell, Western Reserve Land Conservancy vice president of western field operations, will talk about how WRLC creates and expands parks and preserves throughout Northeast Ohio. They partner with public and private landowners to place permanent protections on their land, whether it’s a natural area, a working family farm or a site with historical significance. McDowell was instrumental in preserving Wayne County’s Kister Mill.
Next, Tate Emerson, executive director of Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, will talk about how KWLT partners with communities to preserve the rural and natural integrity of land throughout the Killbuck Watershed and neighboring areas. More than 50 farm owners in Wayne, Holmes, Coshocton, Tuscarawas, Richland and Ashland counties have entrusted KWLT to protect their land from development. Nearly 11,000 acres have been permanently preserved through the work of KWLT.
Then Jessica Eikleberry, Wayne County farmland preservation specialist, will explain the different preservation tools available from the Ohio Department of Farmland Preservation. The state offers Agricultural Security Areas, the Agricultural Easement Donation Program and the Clean Ohio Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program for farmers to preserve their land.
An agricultural easement in farmland preservation is a voluntary agreement between the landowners and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, where the landowner agrees to perpetually maintain the land predominately for agricultural use. In exchange the landowner is either compensated or may be entitled to a tax deduction.
“There are many organizations dedicated to keeping property as farmland or natural open spaces. It’s amazing what these nonprofits have accomplished in preserving so many acres that will never be developed,” said Barbara Lang, member of the event sponsor AST.
Attendees also can learn about applying for Historic Family Farm status if your farm has been continuously owned by your family for at least 100 years. This distinction will give you five additional points on your application if applying for a permanent easement through the Department of Farmland Preservation. Currently, there are nearly 2,000 farms enrolled in the program since its inception in 1993.
In addition, there will be information available about the American Farmland Trust, The Wilderness Center and The Nature Conservancy.
Attend one or all sessions and peruse the collections at the museum, which will be open until 9 p.m. Registration is not required. For more information call 330-464-0624.