Committee approves voluntary farmland preservation rules, sets 130-point threshold and Sept. 1 application window

Assistant Commissioner Logan Hess and Commissioner Andy Holt presented a rule package creating a voluntary farmland preservation program using permanent conservation easements, consolidating dairy rules and cleaning up administrative rules. The package describes eligible expenses (appraisals, surveys, title work, management plans) and a joint application process between landowners and qualified easement holders.

Logan Hess told members the program will use a 200-point scoring scale and that applicants must reach at least 130 points to be considered; factors that will be considered include development pressure, population growth, parcel size, soil quality, proximity to protected land and production suitability. The department expects to open the first application period on Sept. 1 if the rules pass and said specific scorecards will be published at least 30 days before the application window.

Committee members raised concerns that larger tracts might be advantaged by scoring and asked how small producers will be treated. Commissioner Holt said there is no minimum or maximum acreage requirement in the rules but that a greenbelt enrollment requirement effectively means parcels smaller than roughly 15 acres may face competitiveness challenges; the department said smaller parcels can compensate through other criteria on the scorecard.

Holt also described the program as a supplement to existing preservation tools and noted the legislature provided $25,000,000 to fund the program; he said that sum will preserve only a portion of threatened farmland but that the program aims to maximize acres preserved with limited funding. After discussion, the committee voted a positive recommendation to advance the rules.