Maryland Department Of Agriculture The Maryland Agricultural Land .

Program OverviewIntroductionProgram AdministrationThe Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) was created in1977 by the Maryland General Assembly andis an agency within the Maryland Departmentof Agriculture. The Foundation purchases agricultural land preservation easements thatforever restrict development on prime farmland and woodland. MALPF settled on its firsteasement in October 1980.The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation is governed by the Agriculture Article, §§2-501-2-515 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. A thirteen-memberBoard of Trustees and a staff of seven administer the Program. The Board includes theSecretaries of Agriculture and Planning andthe State's Treasurer and Comptroller, all ofwhom serve as ex-officio members. Theother nine members of the Board serve "atlarge" and come from various regions of theState and different kinds of agriculture.These nine members are appointed by theGovernor and serve a term of four years withone reappointment possible. At least five ofthe at-large members are farmer representatives.Individual members represent theMaryland Agricultural Commission, the Maryland State Grange, the Maryland Farm Bureau, the Young Farmers’ Advisory Board, andthe Maryland forestry industry. The Governorappoints the Chair of the Board of Trusteesfrom among the nine at-large members.Including FY 2008 funds, MALPF hasnow cumulatively purchased or has a pendingcontract to purchase permanent conservationeasements on over 2,000 farms coveringabout 275,000 acres. The Foundation haspreserved farmland in each of Maryland's 23counties. Today, the Foundation manages apublic investment of about 550 million dollars in permanently preserved land, valuedat about 1.8 billion at current acquisitioncosts.MALPF is one of the oldest and mostsuccessful programs of its kind in the nation.Through MALPF, the State's Rural Legacy andGreenPrint Programs, and the county agricultural land preservation programs, Marylandhas preserved more productive agriculturalland in perpetuity than any other state in thecountry (over 530,000 acres and more than8.5% of the State's land base).Responsibilities of the Foundation'sBoard of Trustees include providing information to landowners and other Maryland citizens; offering assistance to the twenty-threeAgricultural Land Preservation AdvisoryBoards; developing, applying, and evaluatingProgram rules, regulations and procedures;and acquiring, by purchase or donation, agricultural land preservation easements on productive agricultural land.The mission of the Foundation is topreserve productive farmland and woodlandfor the continued production of food and fiber for all present and future citizens of theState. The preservation of agricultural landhelps to curb the expansion of random urbandevelopment, protects wildlife habitat, andenhances the environmental quality of theChesapeake Bay and Coastal Bays and theirmany tributaries.The Program is based on a partnership with local governments. Each local government appoints a five-member (in Worcester County, a seven-member) agriculturalland preservation advisory board to assist theFoundation by providing information aboutthe Program; assisting with the creation ofProgram rules, regulations and procedures;creating agricultural land preservation districts, and setting priorities in the purchaseof perpetual easements. No easement purchase is approved by MALPF that has not already been reviewed and approved by thecounty in which the property is located.–1–

Each county also has a county employee designated to be the program administrator to act as the primary contact with andliaison between the agricultural communityand the Foundation. County program administrators also have day-to-day responsibilityfor monitoring MALPF properties, helpinglandowners prepare applications and subsequent requests, and advising landowners onMALPF and other programs available to helplandowners seeking to preserve their properties.ten-year water and sewer serviceplan, unless it is documented to haveextraordinary productive capabilityand is of significant size.Until July 1, 2007, a landowner withan eligible parcel would petition the countyto create an agricultural preservation district. A district is land on which the owneris willing to commit to agricultural use for aminimum of five years by recording a DistrictAgreement with the Foundation recordedamong the county land records restricting thesubdivision and development of the land andpreventing commercial, industrial, or residential use during the term of the Agreement.Under the Agreement, farm andforestry production is encouraged and protected.Eligibility RequirementsThe central long-term objective ofthe Program is to preserve enough prime agricultural land in perpetuity to guarantee thecontinuing vitality of Maryland's agriculturalindustry. Landowners voluntarily offer restrictive easements to be purchased by theFoundation on their properties.The district commitment establishedthe property's eligibility and was a precondition for the owner to sell a permanent agricultural conservation easement to the Foundation until July 1, 2007. With House Bill1331 (2007 Legislative Session), counties nowhave the option to require a two- to ten-yearcounty District Agreement as a preconditionfor approval of an application to the Foundation or require no district commitment at all.To qualify for participation in theprogram, a property must meet minimumsize, soil productivity, and location criteria. The property must be at least fiftycontiguous acres in size. A propertysmaller than fifty acres may qualifyto participate if it meets certain requirements or is adjacent to land already enrolled in the Foundation'sProgram or a program with similarrestrictions, and together they compose a contiguous block of protectedland of fifty acres or more.The property must contain at leastfifty percent of its soils classified asUSDA soil capability Class I, II, or IIIand/or Woodland Group 1 or 2. Soilswith these classifications are considered prime and are capable of producing agricultural commodities withreasonable yields and returns to ensure continuing profitability.Because of changes to the soil surveyconducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, MALPF willsoon be updating its regulations onthe woodland soil groups to reflectchanges in the classification of productive woodlands.The property must be outside anyState agricultural districts are beingphased out and are no longer a requirementfor participation in the MALPF Program unlessrequired by the county in which the farmingproperty is located. Starting July 1, 2008,MALPF will no longer accept district petitionsto establish State agricultural districts. AllState District Agreements will be terminatedon June 30, 2012.Some county partners also offer property tax credits for landowners who recordDistrict Agreements on their land. Recognizing agriculture as the preferred use of theproperty by the county in a document recorded among the county land records maybolster any case a landowner undertakingnormal agricultural activities can makeagainst nuisance suits. Some counties havechosen to continue or adopt a county districtprogram as part of the county’s land preservation efforts.–2–

without having established an agriculturalland preservation district, unless required bythe county where the land is located. Easement purchases are made through a competitive application process. Local governmentsrank properties relative to other county properties applying to the Program. MALPFmakes offers to purchase easements based onthese rankings and available funding.Landowners in the ProgramOwners of eligible farmland and/orwoodland can sell an agricultural land preservation easement on their properties to ensurethat the properties remain in agriculture forever.An agricultural land preservationeasement is a legal contract between a landowner and MALPF that provides for the perpetual preservation of the landowner's property by restricting the property to agricultural use, requiring good stewardship of theland, and allowing the retention of limitedand explicitly defined development rights.After signing, the deed of easement is recorded among the county land records so allfuture owners of the property will be awareof the easement and will be bound by itsterms and provisions.When applying to sell an easementto the Foundation, landowners must includetheir asking price. The maximum amountthat MALPF can pay for an easement is thelandowner's asking price, the easement value, or a price cap determined by the county,whichever is the lowest. A property's easement value is determined by subtracting itsagricultural value from the appraised fairmarket value. (See the Easement Value Formula text box below.)Depending on the location of the property, the Foundation has in recent yearspaid from 800 to more than 10,000 peracre for agricultural preservation easements.Those who sell an easement for less than thefull easement value may qualify under IRSguidelines for certain tax benefits.Selling an easement primarily extinguishes the right to develop the property forresidential, non-agricultural commercial, andindustrial use, with limited exceptions. Theproperty continues to be owned privately.It may be bought, sold, leased or inheritedwithout interference, as with all other land,but always subject to the recorded restrictions. MALPF, in purchasing the easement,agrees to monitor the property forever to ensure compliance with the terms of the easement. No public access is required by suchan easement.County ranking systems follow Stateguidelines emphasizing the quality of the property, the importance that property mayhave for the county's strategic land-use objectives, contiguity to other preserved properties, and the willingness of the landownerto discount the asking price from the easement value. Each county ranking systemweights the relative importance assigned toeach of these elements of ranking, but cannot use only one of these elements to rankits properties. Each county's ranking systemis reviewed and approved by the county'sgoverning authority and the MALPF Board ofTrustees.Landowners have sold their easements for many purposes, including: To finance the purchase of the landor additional agricultural land;To fund retirement;To plan or settle an estate;To finance the improvement of anexisting agricultural operation;To invest in the production and marketing of new agricultural products;To finance the restoration of an historic home; and/orTo pay down existing debt.The Foundation continues to use thediscount ratio for any offers made during thesecond statewide round, when the county allocation of funds has been exhausted. Properties are ranked by a ratio determined bydividing the landowner's asking price by theappraised easement value. A ratio of lessthan 1.0 indicates that the landowner is willing to sell an easement for less than the ap-Selling an EasementStarting July 1, 2007, a landownermay apply to sell an easement to MALPF–3–

if an easement is purchased on the property.The implementation responsibility is includedin the recorded Deed of Easement as a special condition. As a result, the amount ofland protected from erosion is increased, potential yield is protected, and the flow ofsediment into neighboring streams, rivers,and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay is reduced or eliminated.praised easement value, letting MALPF purchase the easement at a discount. The landowner who offers the best discount to theState is ranked first. Discounting maximizesthe number of easement acres the State canacquire during the second round.The Foundation's offer to purchase anagricultural land preservation easement onany property depends on county approval andprioritization of the applications to sell aneasement, available funds, and approval fromthe Maryland Board of Public Works.A Forest Stewardship Plan is requiredprior to settlement of the easement on properties having 25 or more contiguous acres inwoodland. Though properties are not currently required to be in compliance with theNutrient Management Program before an agricultural preservation easement is settled,such a requirement is under discussion forpossible adoption in the near future.Offers are generally made to landowners starting March or April to the endof the fiscal year, following the applicationdeadline of the first day of that fiscal year,July 1. Settlement generally takes place twoto eight months after the landowner acceptsthe offer by signing an option contract. Settlement may take longer if survey work isneeded, acreage must be verified, additionalowner signatures are needed, financial institutions or third party interests are discovered, or unforeseen title problems are identified. The Foundation continually evaluatesways to shorten the time to go to settlement.Once preserved by MALPF, the rightsthe original seller of the easement retainstypically include the right to construct ahouse for his or her personal use and/or theuse of a child, subject to certain restrictions(such as location review, density requirements, and county approval). Easements soldby non-family

Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Annual Report 2008 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Room 104, Annapolis, Maryland 21401 . We are pleased to present the Annual Report of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation for Fiscal Year 2008. Maryland is a national pioneer and leader in land preservation, and . Charitable Donations .