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%6�4j N RCS <br />Natural Resources Conservation Service <br />United States Department of Agriculture <br />Questions and Answers <br />May 2002 <br />r �t <br />Q. What is the Farmland Protection <br />Program (FPP)? <br />Farm Bill 2002 <br />Farmland Protection <br />Program <br />A. FPP is a voluntary Federal program that <br />helps farmers and ranchers keep their land <br />in agriculture. The program provides <br />matching funds to State, Tribal, and local <br />governments and non - governmental <br />organizations with existing farmland <br />protection programs to purchase <br />conservation easements. The Natural <br />Resources Conservation Service (MRCS) is <br />designated as the lead agency in <br />implementing this program. <br />Q. What are the major changes to FPP in <br />the 2002 Farm Bill? <br />A. The Farm Security and Rural Investment <br />Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) expands the <br />program beyond state and local <br />governments to include non - governmental <br />organizations as eligible entities. It also <br />makes farm and ranch land containing <br />historical and archaeological sites eligible. <br />The 2002 Farm Bill also allows a State, <br />Tribal, or local government or non- <br />governmental organization to supplement <br />its share of the easement cost through a <br />landowner's donation, not to exceed 25 <br />percent of the appraised fair market value <br />of the conservation easement. <br />Q. What is a conservation easement? <br />A. A conservation easement is an interest in <br />land, as defined and delineated in a deed, <br />whereby the landowner conveys specific <br />rights, title, and interests in a property to a <br />State, Tribal, or local government or non- <br />governmental organization. The landowner <br />retains those rights, title, and interests in <br />the property which are specifically <br />reserved to the landowner in the easement <br />deed, such as the right to farm. <br />Q. What is a purchase of agricultural <br />conservation easement (PACE) <br />program? <br />A. A PACE program, sometimes referred to <br />as a purchase of development rights <br />program, is a voluntary farmland <br />protection program that compensates <br />landowners for voluntarily limiting future <br />development of their land for non- <br />agricultural uses. PACE programs, which <br />are generally operated by. Federal, State, <br />and local governments or non - <br />governmental organizations, enable <br />landowners to sell development rights on <br />their land to a government agency or non- <br />governmental organization, such as a land <br />trust, while retaining full ownership. <br />Q. How does a landowner participate in <br />FPP? <br />A. A landowner submits an application to an <br />entity —a State, Tribal, or local <br />government or a non - governmental <br />organization —that has an existing <br />farmland protection program. In exchange <br />for payment, participating landowners <br />agree not to convert their land to non- <br />agricultural uses and to develop and <br />implement a conservation plan for any <br />highly erodible land. The NRCS State <br />conservationist, with advice from the State <br />Technical Committee, awards funds to <br />The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people <br />conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. <br />An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer <br />