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 not request a state appropriation; rather, supporters expect landowners or local land trusts to donate easements and said the state program would make owners eligible to apply for federal matching funds.

"By adopting this legislation, Indiana would join 29 other existing states that have recognized the importance of stabilizing their agricultural land base," Chris Reynolds, Midwest regional director for American Farmland Trust, told the committee. Reynolds cited a July 2023 ISDA inventory showing that Indiana lost roughly 345,000 acres of farmland between 2010 and 2022 and warned of further losses without action.

Witnesses described how easements are valued: appraisers estimate the property's value in agricultural use and in potential commercial/development use; the difference is the conservation‑easement value. "Appraisers will value the property as farmland, and they will also put a value on it for commercial development. And that difference in value is the value of the conservation easement," Representative Culp said.

Quentin Hayes, legislative director for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, told the committee ISDA would implement the program in coordination with a newly created protection board if the bill becomes law. He said the department could carry out the program "if we were provided some additional staffing and resources," and clarified that the bill as drafted does not require the legislature to appropriate funds.

Other supporters included the Indiana Farm Bureau and the Hoosier Environmental Council, which said easements can help with succession planning and make some land more affordable for beginning farmers by removing development value from the price. Farmer David Harden said an easement would help family estate planning and could keep at least one child or a future farmer on a farm that otherwise might be sold.

The committee voted to move the bill forward. The motion to "pass as amended" passed on a recorded voice roll with nine yes votes and two no votes. (Recorded yes votes included Chairman Knoesworth, Representative Green, Representative Barrett, Representative Smith, Representative Baird, Representative Criswell and additional committee members; two members explained they were voting no at this time.)

If enacted, proponents said, the measure would make easement holders—whether ISDA, a county program, or an existing land trust—eligible to apply for federal USDA or IRAsupported matching funds to purchase or supplement conservation easements.

The bill will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process for further consideration and any technical amendments.