Committee advances bill to let Indiana landowners donate farmland conservation easements

House Bill 1234, which would establish a framework for willing farmland owners to donate or bequeath conservation easements, cleared a committee vote after supporters described the measure as a voluntary, nonappropriated tool to protect Hoosier farmland.

Supporters told the House Agriculture Committee the proposal would let landowners preserve farms for agricultural use without state purchase dollars. "This bill creates a framework for willing farmland owners to donate their conservation easements, if they choose to protect their farms for future generations to utilize to grow food," Representative Culp said in his introduction.

The bill would authorize the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to receive and hold agricultural conservation easements and would allow counties to establish local farmland‑protection programs. Committee witnesses said the measure does…