New law supports farmland preservation program

More money is useful, but stay on matching funds at county level would help, too.
New law supports farmland preservation program
Ottawa County is averaging about one parcel per year in its farmland preservation program. <strong> Courtesy Rich Lakeberg </strong>

More West Michigan farmland owners may be able to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act that was signed into law by President Joseph Biden in August.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will dedicate $19.5 billion to a series of conservation programs, including the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which will receive $1.4 billion. ACEP is beneficial in preserving farmland by helping to purchase the development rights from owners for agricultural use only.

Matthew Channing, agricultural preservation specialist for Kent County, said the IRA funding will be added to the new funding that is expected from the 2023 Farm Bill.

“I was recently able to attend a meeting with the Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan Senator (Debbie) Stabenow (chair of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee),” he said. “I asked the question, ‘Is this money from the Inflation Reduction Act going to replace the money in the next farm bill that would go to the same program?’ And she said, ‘No, they are going to be added together.’ So, it really just grows the pot for this program, which means, I don’t know what Michigan’s share is going to be, but it potentially means we could fund more applications so that is going to be great for everyone in Michigan and around the country, really.”

Currently, Kent County submits one application per year on behalf of a farmland owner in hopes of receiving funding from ACEP to purchase the development rights of a specific property.

Channing said it is a challenge to preserve farmland because the county receives multiple applications from farmland owners and also the competitive nature of the ACEP due to the volume of applications from around the country.

Channing said they have to choose the application that meets all the requirements of ACEP and is most likely to qualify for funding.

Even if an applicant qualifies to receive ACEP funding, the county has to ensure they have 50% of the purchase price for the farmland because ACEP does not give the full amount of the purchase price. The program only provides half the funds that are needed to purchase the developmental rights of farmland, requiring the county to find the matching funds needed.

Channing said the remaining 50% is raised through landowner donations, the township in which the land is located and an endowment from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.

Becky Huttenga, agriculture and economic resources coordinator for Ottawa County, said Ottawa also finds it difficult to preserve more than one farmland per year because of the need to raise the matching funds.

“We ask the landowner, first of all, to contribute, which means he or she agrees to take a reduced price for their development rights and our program,” she said. “We go out and solicit private donations from businesses and individuals.”

Huttenga said temporarily eliminating the requirement to match ACEP funding would allow for more farmland to be preserved.

“We are excited that we are going to get an additional $1.4 billion for ACEP but, honestly, it probably still will not be enough to cover all the projects out there,” she said. “We still have to find that additional match funding. What would really accelerate preserving farmland, which is what we need to do from a climate standpoint, is to drop that match percentage and maybe let it sunset after a number of years. It will let us get a whole lot of farmland preserved because that does two things: It helps with climate resiliency and also keeps us fed. We are losing farmland at an alarming rate. It would be nice if they can drop the matching funds just for a short period of time so that we can put a big dent in putting an easement on the ground.”

Since 2015, when Ottawa County first began participating in ACEP, Huttenga said they have received funding from ACEP for every year except one and the range in funding has been between $57,000 and $238,000.

Huttenga said they do have a few outstanding projects that the county needs to close out on but when that is completed, the county will preserve a total of about 730 acres of farmland, which is in addition to 650 acres that are currently preserved through the state from landowners donating their development rights.

Channing said Kent County has 3,406 acres of preserved farmland and a few more ACEP applications that he is hoping to get funding for.

“Hopefully with the Inflation Reduction Act, coupled with the next Farm Bill, we will be able to do a lot more,” he said.