During the housing boom, it was hard to convince landowners to put their properties into the county's agricultural land preservation program.

But with development slowing down across the county, more property owners are considering the program, which pays up to $40,000 an acre in exchange for a permanent agricultural easement.

Since the county again began accepting applications for the program June 1, there have been three applications submitted and many more inquiries, said Joy Levy, administrator for the county program. She expects 15 or more by the time the application period closes July 31, she said.

"I really believe the economy has had a big impact," Levy said. "This may be an upside to the down economy. If we can get 1,000 acres under easement, that's pretty significant for Howard County."

In the past, developers were the preservation program's main competition, either buying up farmland to build on or buying up development rights from farmers to be applied to land elsewhere in the county, Levy said. With development slowing, the county program is looking more attractive to some, and could actually become competitive this year, she said.

"Preserving our farmland goes hand-in-hand with protecting the quality of life in Howard County," County Executive Kenneth Ulman said in a prior statement announcing the program's application period. "Local farms provide us with healthy, locally-grown food, scenic landscapes, jobs, recreational opportunities, and the list goes on."

The biggest applicant by far is Doughoregan Manor, the historic Ellicott City estate that is the only home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence to remain in family hands. The descendents of Charles Carroll of Carrollton have applied to put 500 acres of the 892 acre property into the program, which could end up being a large chunk of the preservation money the county pays out during the current cycle.

Although it's an unusual property, the Carroll family is being treated the same as any other owner, Levy said.

"They go through the same process as anybody else that applies," she said.

'Farmland Forever' growing appeal

The county approved $15 million for the program in 2002, out of which about $4 million is left. In addition, the county committed roughly $40 million in 2007 and 2008 to the program, Levy said.

The amount of money spent in this cycle will depend in part on the properties involved and how much the county believes should be offered to owners, she said. Because of the amount of interest, not all landowners will necessarily get offers, she said.

"There may be more applicants than there is money to go around," she said.

The county's general plan calls for preserving 30,000 in the rural west, out of which about 25,000 should be in agricultural preservation, according to Planning and Zoning Director Marsha McLaughlin.

The county has roughly 20,500 acres in agricultural preservation now. Levy said she hopes to see 800 to 1,100 acres put into the program during the current application cycle.

Each piece of property is scored using system that takes into account its size, soil capability and productivity and its proximity to other pieces of preserved land. Owners are not required to farm the land, but it must be capable of being farmed, Levy said.

During the last application period between September and November 2006, the county had three applicants and all three were accepted into the program, Levy said. The county offers land owners a sign that reads "Farmland Forever" to post on their preserved land.

While the county offers up to $40,000 an acre, most offers will be in the $22,000 to $27,000 range, Levy said. The money is paid out in installments.

The program is only open to farms that are 50 acres or larger, although smaller parcels that are at least 25 acres in size can be included if they are contiguous to other preserved land.

The development rights to parcels under 25 acres that do not qualify for the county preservation program can still be donated through the Howard County Conservancy, a non-profit land trust and environmental education organization. Although the conservancy does not pay the landowners for placing a protective easement on their land, owners are eligible for federal tax credits, which have recently been increased, said Meg Schumacher, the group's executive director.

With the growth that Howard County has seen in recent years, agricultural preservation is more important than ever, she said. She cited a renewed interest from the public in locally-grown produce, something that would not occur without efforts to preserve farmland.

"There's so much value in having open space and agricultural land in the county," she said. "We've seen the impact that even a small parcel can have on the environment in Howard County."

The conservancy has preserved about 1,200 acres, including roughly 76 acres in the last year, she said. Some enter the conservancy's program in order to preserve their land for future generations, while others see the environmental benefits of having open space, she said.

"People realize if they don't take the steps to preserve it, it may not stay that way in the future," Schumacher said.

According to the Howard County Farm Bureau, about 25 percent of the county is farmland. Agriculture is among the top five county industries, with 318 farms bringing in more than $200 million in sales a year.

In general, there are fewer large tracts of open land left in Howard County that are not already part of the agricultural program or sold off for development, Levy said. Whether there will be future application periods and their extent will depend in part on how the current process goes, she said.

"There aren't that many farms left that are over 100 acres," she said.

---

user comments (0)