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Covering the policies, practices and initiatives that save farmland
<br />report Since 19910 — Deborah Bowers, Editor
<br />Six counties change rankings in survey
<br />A New Jersey county and a California county
<br />overtook a Maryland county, and a Pennsylvania
<br />county overtook both a Maryland and a California
<br />county in an annual survey of county- operated
<br />farmland programs conducted this month by Farm-
<br />land Preservation Report. The shuffle in rankings
<br />was the most active since the survey began in 1995.
<br />The annual survey by FPR, in the past con-
<br />ducted in July, is now conducted in September.
<br />Publisher Deborah Bowers told county administra-
<br />tors of the schedule change in June, and notified
<br />participants that beginning in 2005 only acres that
<br />had reached settlement or closing would be ac-
<br />cepted. Prior to this year, acres were accepted as
<br />long as settlements had been scheduled.
<br />Also new this year, FPR conducted a survey of
<br />localities that have high numbers of farmland acres
<br />preserved, but without locally administered pro-
<br />grams comparable to those in the "Top 12" survey.
<br />In that separate survey table, appearing on page 7,
<br />Fauquier County, Va., tops the list with 55,252
<br />acres, nearly all preserved through donation to the
<br />Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
<br />Berks County, Pa. made the most notable
<br />change in the Top 12 ranking, leaping from 7th to
<br />4th place over last year's listing, pushing Carroll
<br />County, Md. into 5th place. Berks, however, had
<br />overtaken 6th -place Baltimore shortly after last
<br />year's survey. Baltimore, however, held on to 6th
<br />place this year due to Sonoma County's drop from
<br />5th to 7th, not measuring up to Baltimore's steady
<br />gains. The Sonoma County Agricultural and Open
<br />Space District, in fact, had no agricultural lands to
<br />add to its tally since FPR's last survey in July 2004.
<br />Marin County, Ca. moved from 9th to 8th
<br />place, and Burlington County, NJ moved from 10th
<br />to 9th place, both overtaking Harford County, Md.,
<br />which was knocked out of 8th place, down to 10th
<br />in the ranking.
<br />Top 12 county programs table, page 3
<br />Together, counties added 3 0,23 1 acres over last
<br />year's total preserved acres. Reported local funding
<br />dropped from $98 million to $69 million, but this is
<br />due to multi -year funding commitments reported for
<br />some counties last year rather than current -year
<br />funding. Sums shown in this year's table are for the
<br />current year.
<br />Harford County, Md., with a popular installment
<br />purchase program, is beginning to stall in its
<br />progress, nonetheless, due to low per -acre offers,
<br />according to administrator Bill Amoss. Offering no
<br />more than $5000 per acre is not bringing farmers to
<br />the table, and although the state farmland program is
<br />offering up to double that amount to Harford farm-
<br />ers, there are few takers, due to the benefits the
<br />more than 40 applicants see with the installment
<br />payout option - the promise of capital gains tax
<br />deferral and tax -free interest payments compete
<br />Continued on page 2
<br />VOLUME 15, NUMBER 10 SEPT. 2005
<br />Top 12 local programs table - p. 3
<br />Other top counties table - p. 7
<br />Florida use value taxation under fire - p. 4
<br />CT towns to fund farm preservation- p. 4
<br />Jobs digest /Conferences - p. 8
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