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Page 4 farmland preservation report Grassroots efforts, UFP tours, to help spur counties to go after Michigan grants continued from page 3 preservation programs, which he is conducting this month for the fifth time since 198 with Scott Everett of the American Farmland Trust. After this "Ultimate Farmland Preservation (UFP) Tour," about 600 Michigan farmers and public officials will be alumni of the tours. With that many people getting the scoop on how farmland preservation can be done, something is bound to take hold, at least at the local level, Skjaerlund said. Localities need to "develop a vision and form leadership. The state fund will be the carrot. For the first time, we've got something that communi- ties can do." Contact: Keith Schneider, 616 882 -4723; Dave Skjaerlund, 517 373 -4550; Rich Harlow, 517 373- 3328. INSTALLMENT PURCHASE AGREEMENTS Pennsylvania counties to boost preserved acres by 400 percent using IPAs WEST CHESTER PA — Pennsylvania counties could soon boost the number of farmland acres they preserve each year by 400 percent by plug- ging in to a finance arrangement offered by the state Bureau of Farmland Protection. Under the program, Pennsylvania counties can begin paying farmers for development rights in installments, with farmers receiving tax -free interest payments over 20 or 30 years and defer- ring capital gains tax until a balloon payment of the principal in the last year. Counties will sub- stantially decrease up -front costs of easements, thereby keeping more money for additional l September 2000 easement purchases. The method is financed by investments in U.S. Treasury obligations. Farmland protection chief Ray Pickering said the program put together by Evergreen Capital Advisors Inc. of Princeton, N.J., has gotten favor- able reviews from county commissioners. "Overall, it's been quite well received by county officials," Pickering said. Pickering and finance consultant Daniel P. O'Connell, have been taking the finance plan on the road, visiting county officials to show how the method works. Chester County Commissioners had plenty of questions for O'Connell at one such session Sept. 7. The commissioners had some concern about the cost of using installment purchase agreements (IPAs) — up to $20,000 per easement, but were far more pleased with how the arrangement will allow them to keep substantially larger sums available for additional easements. "It makes a lot of sense for this county at this point in time — the time is exactly right," said County Commissioner Colin Hanna who said the county program needed a boost to compete with persistent development pressure. Commissioner Andy Dinniman agreed, and added that he envisioned IPA's giving the county the ability to target specific communities for increased easement activity. "We know there will be intense pressure on the Route 100 corridor," he said of a highway that connects West Chester with a divided - highway interchange. O'Connell said that counties using state grant funds to purchase U.S. Treasury obligations will quadruple their immediate spending power, for example, $10 million invested will provide $50 million in IPAs, an increase of 400 percent. A number of counties in Maryland and New Jersey are using IPAs, as well as the City of Vir- ginia Beach. O'Connell first devised the program for Howard County, Md., in 1989. The innovation allowed Howard County, a fast - growing suburb of both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, to attract more easement sellers, and quickly received continue to page 5