Committee hears bill to let landowners donate agricultural conservation easements

At a House Agriculture Committee hearing, lawmakers heard testimony on House Bill 1234, which would create a voluntary state framework allowing farmland owners to donate or bequeath agricultural conservation easements and permit the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) or local land trusts to hold those easements.

Supporters told the committee the proposal would give landowners another tool to preserve farmland threatened by development. "House Bill 1234 lays the vital groundwork to give farmers and landowners the option to protect their land for future generations," said Chris Reynolds, Midwest regional director for American Farmland Trust. He and other witnesses cited the state's recently released Inventory of Lost Farmland showing 345,000 acres lost between 2010 and 2022.

The bill would establish an agricultural conservation easement program and an Ag…