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Tom Von Seggern has always delivered a firm "no" when approached about turning some of his farm ground into housing lots. Last month he put an exclamation point on that resolve when he, his wife, Laurie, and father, Lomer, created Ohio’s first Agricultural Security Area (ASA).

An ASA is an agreement between landowners, township trustees and county commissioners to protect farmland from encroachment by development. The agreement prohibits the extension of water and sewer lines, new roads, housing subdivisions and commercial or industrial facilities within the protected area. The landowner commits the land to only agricultural use. The agreement is for 10 years and must cover a minimum of 500 adjoining acres.

The Von Seggerns, who grow corn, soybeans and wheat, placed 554 acres, a little over 40 percent of their owned ground, into the ASA.

"There’s a place for (development), just not speckled all over," said Von Seggern, whose family has farmed their land in Fulton County since the 1920s and has witnessed development creeping toward them for 25 years.

Township trustees and county commissioners shared Von Seggern's views and were very cooperative in forming the ASA.

Fulton County Commissioner Paul Barnaby, who like Von Seggern is a Farm Bureau member, told Buckeye Farm News, "I’m getting a little age on me, and I’m worried about my grandkids and their grandkids, about them having food to eat if we keep losing farmland. I think anything that we can do to promote agriculture and protect farmers against losing the ability to farm, we’ve got to do it."

Von Seggern said setting up an ASA is "a simple process; it’s all in black and white on the application." Barnaby agreed, noting that when he first looked at the information about ASAs, "it wasn’t too scary."

ASAs are a good tool for protecting farmland, according to Keith Stimpert, vice president of government affairs for Ohio Farm Bureau. "They preserve land and are an affordable option given the need to manage government spending."

The legislation that enabled landowners and local governments to create ASAs was part of House Bill 414, which passed last May. OFBF was "heavily involved," Stimpert said, bringing attention to the issue among government leaders and helping members assess the benefits of such a program.

Stimpert also credited state Rep. Tony Core, R-Rushsylvania, for developing and then ushering passage of the enabling legislation.

ASA fact sheets, sample documents and additional resources can be obtained from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, whose role is to provide technical assistance, according to Michael Bailey, head of the agency's office of farmland preservation. "We'll do anything we can to help landowners and local officials," he said.

To visit the ODA Web site go to www.ofbf.org and click on featured links.