The Natural Land Institute is working with landowners to preserve prime farmland in Boone County! Nestled between Rockford and McHenry County, Boone County farmland is fast becoming residential lots and commercial spaces. Producers now face challenges with neighbors who do not adapt to their equipment on the roads and farm dust, noises, and odors. Preserving our agricultural community now will maintain the local rural culture and ensure globally important farmland exists for future generations.
NLI assists producers with agricultural conservation easements, which are permanent legal agreements that landowners place on their properties, keeping the land in private crop fields, pastures, and forests while legally restricting the ability to develop the land for residential or commercial uses for current and future landowners. These easements allow landowners to protect their special places, reflecting each landowner’s individual needs and wishes.
A landowner may be eligible to receive partial payment for the agricultural conservation easement through the NRCS ACEP-ALE program (through a competitive selection process). Agricultural lands throughout Illinois are eligible for this program, which prioritizes protection in areas of high developmental pressure. A Boone County-specific funding source will pay for ancillary costs of recording the easement, such as appraisal, survey, legal, consulting, and closing fees. For the value not covered by a payment, a landowner may receive tax incentives for their donation (landowners should consult their own independent legal and tax advisors, which are not covered by county funds).
Boone County already houses Agricultural Preservation Areas according to the Illinois Agricultural Areas Conservation and Protection Act. The landowners have the power to make this shared vision a reality by voluntarily protecting their farms in perpetuity. This choice, rooted in conservation, is also a business decision. An easement may free up cash for expansion or debt relief and ease estate planning.
If interested in learning more, please contact Rebecca Olson (815-222-9279) for Boone County inquiries. Call the NLI office (815-964-6666) for other locations.
For information about NLI’s Working Lands Initiative visit here.