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Land trust warns stricter state PDR rules are forcing some farmland applicants to withdraw
Summary
Chris Krahling of the Ag Stewardship Association told the county committee that increased state scrutiny of Farmland Protection (PDR) grant applications — including requests for deeds and exclusions of non‑agricultural woods — has led some landowners to withdraw applications; the association applied for a staff position to expand conservation work in northern Washington County.
Chris Krahling, Conservation Programs Manager at the Ag Stewardship Association, told the Agriculture, Planning, Tourism & Community Development Committee on June 23 that the organization submitted seven Farmland Protection (PDR) grant applications in the latest state round — four of them in Washington County — and is still awaiting award decisions.
Krahling said the state agency Ag and Markets has returned every application with “significant changes in site planning and excluding areas,” and is now requesting documentation the association had not previously been asked to provide, including copies of purchase contracts and deeds of family‑member parcels. “It has really gotten to the point where it is detrimental to conserving farmland and more of the focus is non‑farm neighbors,” Krahling said, describing a new emphasis on protecting adjacent non‑farming landowners from potential future complaints.
Those new requirements, he said, have prompted a few landowners to withdraw applications and have left others weighing whether to continue. Krahling said the association is applying for Ag and Markets grant funding to hire a staff person focused on farmland protection to expand work in the county’s northern towns.
The committee did not vote on any action related to the PDR grants at the meeting; Krahling’s presentation was informational. The association will continue to work through the state’s comments and the county will await the Ag and Markets awards.
