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The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has announced a newly improved online application process for farmers interested in putting land into the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase program. Newly available applications for the 2005 funding round should be submitted electronically through the program’s Web site at www.ohioagriculture.gov/aepp no later than March 14 at 5 p.m.

Now in its fourth year, the program supports the permanent preservation of Ohio’s most valuable farmland and is part of Gov. Bob Taft’s Clean Ohio initiative to protect rural greenfields and reclaim brownfields. A total of $25 million from the $400 million Clean Ohio Fund is dedicated to preserving farmland by purchasing agricultural easements on farms. An agricultural easement is an agreement between the landowner, the state and the local community to keep a piece of property in agricultural production in perpetuity. To date, $12.5 million in Clean Ohio Funds have been used to purchase agricultural easements on 37 farms, with options to purchase easements on 13 additional farms, totaling 10,007 acres in 19 counties.

"The demonstrated success of the Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program since 2002 has shown that we have the best tool available to help protect the state’s farmland," said Fred Dailey, ODA director. "Now, with the improved efficiency of the online application submission process, we will continue to make our best tool even better."

Landowners interested in preserving their farmland should contact a local sponsor of their choice (i.e., board of county commissioners, board of township trustees, municipal officials or a land trust) which must submit an application to the Ohio Department of Agriculture on the landowner’s behalf. All interested parties should visit the program’s Web site at www.ohioagriculture.gov/aepp, for the application, instructions and other important information.

The agricultural easement program is a " win– win," according to Larry Gearhardt, OFBF’s director of local affairs. "The program helps keep land in farming and maintains the aesthetics of our rural areas. Obviously this program is pretty attractive to farmers because the demand always exceeds the supply," he said. Last year 271 applications were submitted with 13 being accepted according to Mike Bailey, assistant manager of ODA’s Office of Farmland Preservation.

ODA is holding a training session geared toward local sponsors who might submit applications. The session will be Feb. 18, 10 a.m. to noon, at ODA’s Bromfield Administration Building in Reynoldsburg. For more information about the session or the easement program, contact the state’s Office of Farmland Preservation at 614-728-4828.