Committee adopts farmland‑preservation map matching county Ag Enterprise Area

The Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Committee voted unanimously to adopt a farmland preservation area map that mirrors the county’s existing Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA), the committee decided at a meeting focused on reconciling outdated future‑land‑use data with state program eligibility rules.

Committee member Charlie Ortman moved to align the farmland preservation map with the AEA, and Pat seconded; the motion carried unanimously after a brief discussion. Jason Lohman, planner with the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, said the decision will allow him to create the statutorily required, town‑scale maps for submission to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) before the county’s grant deadline.

Why it matters: Under state criteria, farmland preservation areas must be consistent with planned future land use and other statutory factors — including prime soils and an expectation that land will not be converted to non‑agricultural uses within 15 years — when DATCP reviews plans. Committee members showed a widely scattered orange overlay from a previous plan that contained many parcels labeled in the old future‑land‑use layer as residential, hamlet or transportation, creating a legal inconsistency if submitted unchanged.

How the committee decided: Lohman presented the prior farmland preservation overlay and explained that the county’s future‑land‑use layer is out of date and inconsistent in places with the preservation map. Members weighed three practical options — restrict the map to the small existing AEA, redraw the map around parcels with prime agricultural soils, or keep the broader map and rely on later amendments — and expressed shared concern about preserving the county’s ability to develop land in places where growth is likely.

Jason Lohman said the simpler path to meet the DATCP timetable is to limit the mapped farmland preservation area to parcels already inside the AEA and to include nearby areas where appropriate; he added that the plan can be amended in the future after the county’s comprehensive planning committee completes the updated future‑land‑use layer. "This will become the new farmland preservation area framework going forward," Lohman said after the vote.

What changes and limits mean for farmers: Committee members and staff agreed that farmers outside the AEA currently have limited ability to enter the state farmland‑preservation tax‑credit program unless the county adopts exclusive agricultural zoning — an outcome the committee said it did not expect to pursue. The committee instructed staff to prepare the scaled maps for each town for the draft plan and to forward the package to DATCP for review within the agency’s required window.

Next steps: Lohman said he will prepare the town‑scale maps and compile the full draft plan for committee review; staff will poll members to schedule a full draft meeting in early December so the county can forward materials to DATCP before its January review deadline.