Louisa Ag and Forestry Committee urges county to fund staff, easements and tax incentives to protect farms and forests

Jim Riddell, chairman of the Louisa Agriculture and Rural Preservation Committee, urged the Board of Supervisors on Monday to adopt a suite of programs intended to keep farms and forests in production and reduce future county service costs.

The committee recommended hiring a county staff member to lead agricultural and forestry economic development; creating voluntary conservation-easement, transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) and purchase-of-development-rights (PDR) programs; offering additional tax rebates for land in land‑use taxation and ag/forest districts; and setting up modest cost‑share grants to help families complete easements and transition plans.

Riddell told supervisors the proposals were developed with sixth- and seventh‑generation farmers and landowners and that preserving a “critical mass” of farmland and forestland is…