The
state is providing $150,000 to help four municipalities (3 counties and 1 town)
develop local agricultural and farmland protection plans.
Planning
grants, an integral component of the state’s Farmland Protection
Program, are being provided to Jefferson, Steuben and Ontario Counties,
as well as the Town of Milton in Saratoga County.
Planning
grants provide local municipalities with an economic incentive to
develop local agricultural and farmland protection plans. These plans
help maintain the economic viability of the State’s agricultural
industry and its supporting land base and protect the environmental and
landscape preservation values associated with agriculture. Under this
program to date, New York has helped fund agricultural and farmland
protection plans in 77 towns and 13 counties.
Any
municipality, including cities, towns and villages, located in a county
that has an agricultural and farmland protection board is eligible for a
farmland protection planning grant. These funds can provide up to
$25,000, or 75 percent of the cost of developing a local protection
plan.
The
planning grant program is also open to counties that have an approved
agricultural and farmland protection plan that is ten years old or
older. Those counties may receive up to $50,000, or 50 percent of the
cost of updating the current plan or developing a new county plan.
For more information on funding, please visit: http//www.agriculture.ny.gov/
Agricultural
and farmland protection plans should identify the location of farmland
to be protected, the value of that land to the local economy, the value
of that land as open space and the consequences of possible conversion.
The plan should also describe the programs and strategies the local
government intends to use to promote and protect continued agricultural
use.
Jefferson County and Ontario County are receiving $37,500 each, Steuben County is receiving $50,000 and the town of Milton is receiving $25,000.
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