Kan receives Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program funds

Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has received $1.2 million for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) for Fiscal Year 2010.

"FRPP provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranch lands in agricultural uses," states Eric B. Banks, State Conservationist for NRCS.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides funds to state, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations (eligible entities) to acquire conservation easements from landowners. The USDA provides up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement. The eligible entities must provide at least half of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement.

Proposals can be submitted by the eligible entities to the Kansas NRCS State Office on a continuous basis throughout the year.

"All proposals submitted to the Kansas NRCS State Office prior to Feb. 15, 2010, will be reviewed for funding consideration," states Banks. "The individual farms and ranches are evaluated and ranked individually and funds are obligated to the eligible entities associated with the highest ranked farms and ranches in a cooperative agreement."

"To qualify, the land must have 50 percent prime, unique, or important farmland soils; have a historic or archeological resource; or have land that supports the policy of a state or local farm and ranch lands protection program," explains Banks.

The land must also: be part of a pending offer from a local, state, tribe, or non-government organization farmland protection program; be privately owned; have a conservation plan for highly erodible land; be large enough to sustain agricultural production; be accessible to markets for what the land produces; have adequate infrastructure and agricultural support services; and have surrounding parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production.

Landowners must meet eligibility requirements for adjusted gross income and compliance with the highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation provisions of the Farm Bill.

Landowners interested in protecting their land from development so it remains in agriculture production will need to work with an eligible entity to receive funding assistance through FRPP. Eligible entities in Kansas are non-government land trusts and non-government organizations that are qualified to acquire and manage conservation easements within the state.

For more information about NRCS programs or natural resources conservation, visit the Kansas NRCS Web site at www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Editor's Note: Doug Niemeir is the County Executive Director for the USDA/Farm Service Agency. He can be reached by emailing him at Douglas.Niemeir@ks.usda.gov