FARMLAND PRESERVATION

Agricultural Easement Purchase Program Applicant Handbook Agricultural Easement Purchase Program Applicant Handbook (174 KB)

Clean Ohio AEPP Advisory Board Scoring Guide Clean Ohio AEPP Advisory Board Scoring Guide (36 KB)

Clean Ohio AEPP Brochure Clean Ohio AEPP Brochure (137 KB)

Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program Sample Easement Deed Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program Sample Easement Deed (72 KB)

Prospective Farmland Preservation Applicant,

The Elizabeth Township Trustees have been very proactive in preserving the high quality of life in the township by providing a program of preserving agricultural farmland for agricultural use for the future generations that will inhabit the township. The Trustees have in the past set aside up to $1,000,000.00 each year for the sole purpose of preserving farmland within the Township.

Depending on the amount of funding available, there have been three different programs that could be used to purchase agricultural easements on township farms.  There is a local Elizabeth Township Program, the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Protection Program (AEPP), and the USDA-NRCS Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP).  In all of these programs, a portion of the easement value of the farm is purchased by one or more government entities and the balance of the easement value is donated, which currently can have some valuable tax benefits, to the entity by the land owner.

The Elizabeth Township Trustees have, by resolution, asked that each land owner who is interested in any of the easement purchase programs shall make application to the Ohio AEPP program through the Miami Soil and Water Conservation District, 1330 North County Road 25-A, Troy, OH 45373, 937-335-7645.  The Ohio program sign up dates are usually sometime in early spring, opening in February or March and closing sometime in May.  The Trustees use the scoring criteria derived from the Ohio AEPP application to rank the farms’ priority of future funding.  Application to the Ohio AEPP is a prerequisite no matter the program used for final funding.  Missing the AEPP application deadline will require the landowner to wait until the following year to apply.  Landowners can apply for the AEPP or FRPP programs for as many years as they wish, but once a decision is made to accept either the local, state, or federal program and an easement deed is signed, they cannot make future applications.

It would be encouraged that landowners who have a strong interest in selling the development rights to their farm contact their attorney and their accountant for current information regarding the donation of an agricultural easement after becoming familiar with the documents provided.

For more information, click on the links below:

These documents will provide you with much of the background information that will answer many of the questions that you may have regarding the Elizabeth Township Farmland Preservation Program.  More information can be found at http://www.agri.ohio.gov/farmland/Farmland.aspx.

The Trustees would like to thank you for your interest and wish to provide you with as much up to date information as possible to help you with your decision to participate in any of these programs.  Please call the Township office at 937-335-1920 or Randy Mott, Farmland Preservation Chairman, 937-545-8772 for more information regarding any of these programs.

Sincerely,

The Elizabeth Township Trustees