Purchase of Development Rights, also known as PDR or purchasing a conservation easement, pays a landowner to keep their land open for agricultural use and protect it from development.

The value of an easement is determined through an appraisal process, called the “before and after” process, which is different than a farm appraisal. This appraisal determines what the full market value is for the land before it is conserved and then determines a second value for the land after the it would be conserved with the conservation easement. The difference between the two values is the value of the development rights (or the value of the conservation easement). Please refer to our Fact Sheet on Agricultural Conservation Easements and Appraisals for more information.

We currently partner with local municipalities and landowners who apply for farmland protection grant funding for the New York State Department of Agriculture. This is program is called the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR). If a farm is selected for protection with the NYS farmland protection program it will pay for up to 87.5% of the non-agricultural development rights value. The municipality may contribute funding towards the transaction costs. Other counties provide in-kind services, such as computerized mapping.

NYALT works with the sponsoring municipality and landowners and who have been selected for a NYS farmland protection grant (PDR) to help them with the conservation land planning, related documents, and materials necessary to meet state and federal guidelines for farmland conservation projects. As part of this process, NYALT agrees to uphold the conservation agreement (called a conservation easement) into the future.

While funding can come from a combination of State and Federal grants or Private donations, typically NYALT works with the NYS Farmland Protection Implementation Grant program funds. These are competitive farmland protection grants available from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. These grants provide for up to 87.5% of the value of the development rights and associated transaction costs. Each year, New York State’s legislature allocates funds for this grant program from the Environmental Protection Fund, but demand from the farm community is high – typically there are twice as many applicants as there is funding allocated each year.

Complete our landowner information sheet and return it to our address. Upon receipt staff will schedule a follow up with you or feel free to call or e-mail NYALT at any time with questions.

The Baseline consists of maps and other information related to your project. It provides a review of the past and current uses of the property, soil and topographical maps, aerial photographs, and a description of monitoring locations and corresponding photos. The Baseline will be the basis for future monitoring of the property and any necessary action in the future to assure that the conservation values are maintained.

Once you have agreed to the Conservation Easement and related Baseline Documentation, NYALT will schedule a project closing. The easement and supporting documents will be signed and notarized by you and NYALT. NYALT will then file the conservation easement with your County Clerk’s office. A copy of the recorded Conservation Easement must also be provided to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

It will be your responsibility to complete the necessary paperwork to apply for possible state and federal income tax benefits. If you wish to apply for a federal tax deduction and the value of your donation is over $5000, you will need to obtain an appraisal that meets the Internal Revenue Code’s Standards.

A donated conservation easement project generally takes eight months to a year to complete.

When you begin the project, NYALT will work with you to estimate what the costs are likely to be incurred to complete the project. Among these costs are: title continuations, survey expenses, baseline report preparation, recording fees and a stewardship contribution. The stewardship contribution is needed to pay for future monitoring and enforcement expenses and for insuring that NYALT continues to have the capacity to assist you and future owners and to uphold its long-­‐term responsibility as the holder of the easement.