Livingston County farmers will soon be able to apply for the next round of farmland protection funding, with a required workshop set for March 26 in Geneseo.
The Livingston County Agricultural & Farmland Protection Board is opening a new round of applications under the county’s Farmland Protection Program and is inviting landowners to learn about the process at a spring workshop.
The workshop will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 26 at the Livingston County Government Center, Rooms 205/208, 6 Court St., Geneseo . All landowners involved in a farm operation, including lessors of farmland, must attend the workshop before submitting a pre-application to be eligible for state funding.
The Farmland Protection Program, also known as the Purchase of Development Rights program, is primarily funded through the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Farmland Protection Implementation Grants . The program pays eligible farmland owners for up to 87.5% of the value of their non-agricultural development rights .
Interested landowners must submit a pre-application to the Genesee Valley Conservancy. The conservancy, along with the county Planning Department, Soil and Water Conservation District and the Agricultural & Farmland Protection Board, will evaluate applications based on development pressure, soil quality and overall farm viability . The highest-scoring projects will move on to full applications for state consideration.
The pre-application deadline is July 17 . State officials have not yet announced the next grant round, and funding is not guaranteed this budget year.
Pre-applications will be available at the workshop and later posted on the county and conservancy websites.
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