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Home>Rural Resources Tompkins County Farmland Protection through Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)Farmland makes up nearly a third of Tompkins County’s land area. Agriculture and agriculture-related enterprises represent a significant share of the rural economy. Approximately 230 full-time farms contribute $50 million annually to the local economy. Many more people are employed in farm products and supplies. The total value of farming in Tompkins County may exceed $100 million a year. Since 1982, Tompkins County has lost over 20% of its farmland to development and abandonment. How are farmlands protected in Tompkins County?A variety of tools are used to help support farming in Tompkins County including the use of agricultural districts, agricultural assessment, agricultural zoning, local planning efforts (including comprehensive planning and right to farm laws) and agricultural conservation easements or Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs. PDR programs pay property owners to protect their land from development. Landowners voluntarily sell agricultural conservation easements to a government agency or private conservation organization. The agency or organization usually pays them the difference between the value of the land for agriculture and the value of the land for its “highest and best use,” which is generally residential or commercial development. Easement value is most often determined by professional appraisals. PDR programs allow farmers to cash in a fair percentage of the equity in their land, thus creating a financially competitive alternative to selling land for non-agricultural uses. Permanent easements prevent development that would pave over the land and render it inaccessible for agriculture. Removing the development potential from farmland generally reduces its future market value. This may help facilitate farm transfer to the children of farmers and make the land more affordable to beginning farmers and others who want to buy it for agricultural purposes. These programs provide landowners with liquid capital that can enhance the economic viability of individual farming operations and help family’s hold onto the land from generation to generation. Finally, PDR programs give communities a way to plan for and share the costs of protecting agricultural land with the local farmers. New York State’s PDR program is called the Farmland Protection Implementation Grants (FPIG) Program. It isadministered through the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, in cooperation with Town and County government sponsors and willing farmers. It is a very competitive statewide program that typically has one award cycle per year. Tompkins County PDR Application ScheduleLate May - Pre-Applications Due. Resource LinksNew York State Farmland Protection Program Federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program Tompkins County PDR Info Sheet Contact InformationTompkins County Farmland Protection efforts are coordinated through Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County. For more information on these efforts contact Debbie Teeter at 272-2292 or dlt22@cornell.edu or Scott Doyle with the Tompkins County Planning Department at 274-5560 or sdoyle@tompkins-co.org.
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• | Tompkins County |
• | 121 E. Court Street |
• | Phone: (607) 274-5560 |
• | E-mail us |