| Glossary of Terms
 Agricultural Conservation Easement:
A conservation easement is a legal agreement a property owner makes to conserve his/her property, and restrict the amount and type of development that can take place on the property. The landowner still owns the property and is responsible for maintenance and management of the property as they deem necessary. The landowner continues to pay the property taxes.
NYALT’s agricultural conservation easements are drafted so that farming and forestry, as well as compatible uses, are permitted on a protected farm. NYALT’s conservation easements are perpetual—meaning they run with the land through time, as landowners sell or transfer their property.
Agricultural easements are flexible, and allow for a limited number of reserved house sites to be retained as part of the easement for future sale or farm parcels. In addition, NYALT’s easement allows for home-based businesses, agricultural businesses, the production of alternative energy (with some limitations on impervious surfaces), and gas and sub-surface mineral exploration (with performance standards to ensure that the conservation of the property and its soils are respected).
Donating all or part (as in the case of a Bargain Sale) of an easement may qualify you for federal and state income tax deductions.
Purchase of Development Rights:
Sometimes called the purchase of a conservation easement, the Purchase of Development Rights is the value for those landowner rights being restricted by the easement. For example, generally speaking, the more house sites a landowner reserves, the lower the purchase of development rights value. Valuation of the development rights is based on an appraisal undertaken by an appraiser who is trained in conservation easement valuation. It is different from local assessment or a farm appraisal.
 Bargain Sale:
A Bargain Sale is when a landowner is paid for the value of his land, or agricultural easement, at less than the appraised “fair market value”. The New York State Farmland Protection Program can pay up to 75% of the value of the development rights. The remaining 25% can be paid by another entity (such as a foundation, the Federal grant program, or a municipality). However, most projects involve a Bargain Sale, where the landowner donates 20-25% of the development rights value. The landowner often qualifies for Federal and State Income Tax Deductions, which can be useful to off-set capital gains when selling the development rights.
New York State Farmland Protection Program:
There are competitive farmland protection grants available from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. These grants provide for up to 75% of the value of the development rights (conservation easement). Each year, New York State’s Legislature allocates funds from the Environmental Protection Fund. Demand for this program is high – typically there are twice as many applicants as there is funding each year. If you are interested in this grant program, click here for more information.
To date, 51 counties have farmland protection plans inplace. Since the program’s inception in 1996, New York has awarded more than $151.4 million out of the Environmental Protection Fund for farmland protection projects, assisting local governments and their project partners in 26 countiesto help protect 63,800 acres on 276 farms. To date, nearly half of those project contracts have closed, protecting, in perpetuity, 28,138 acres of farmland. Click here for the EPF funding history from 1993-2007.
Environmental Protection Fund:
Created by the NYS Legislature in 1993, the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) provides a reliable and dedicated source of funding for a variety of key environmental programs in NYS, including farmland protection, Soil and Water Conservation Services, and other agricultural projects.
Primarily funded by a dedicated portion of the revenues from the NYS real estate transfer tax, the EPF was designed to ensure a reliable stream of revenue to implement critical environmental projects and programs. Each year, the NYS legislature must appropriate this revenue to the EPF. Your support for the Environmental Protection Fund directly helps ensure that funding will be available for New York’s Farmland Protection Program.
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