CATTARAUGUS COUNTY
Farmers to get tips on saving land
LITTLE VALLEY—Cattaraugus County farmers and rural landowners may be eligible for help in maintaining agricultural activities on their lands using a program that has caught on in nearby counties where farming and related businesses are seen as worthy of preservation.
An explanation of “Purchase of Development Rights” programs, which have helped conserve hundreds of acres of prime Western New York and Pennsylvania farmlands in recent years, will be provided from 7 to 9 p. m. March 27 in the Great Valley Municipal Building, 4808 Route 219.
Almost 500 Great Valley-area farmers and rural landowners, as well as political officeholders and town officials, have been invited by the Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board to hear representatives of the American Farmland Trust, the Western New York Land Conservancy, and the state Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The program can help farmers ensure their lands will remain in agricultural use after a sale, sometimes allowing a new farmer to purchase lands at a reduced cost. Purchase of development rights programs can restrict future development through the use of easements or deed restrictions, while protecting some or all of the property’s natural resources and important soils, and by keeping the property on the tax rolls and in private ownership.
In general, the seller receives money or other payment for the development rights. In past years, municipalities received state and federal grants to help purchase those rights, in cooperation with nonprofit farmland and open space protection groups.
“Most of the farmers that have ever been in farming would rather take less money for [the farm] and see it stays a farm,” said David Zilker, chairman of the Cattaraugus County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board during a meeting last week.
He said the program was explained to some of the members of the Cattaraugus County Town Supervisors Association early this month by Diane Held, American Farmland Trust field representative.
“There is not a lot of funds available and it takes two or three years. You need to go to more than one [Purchase of Development Rights] meeting,” he added.
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