In Oregon, applications are now being accepted for the federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP), which protects productive agricultural lands against being converted to other uses. The program is offered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. In Oregon, applications must be turned in no later than Feb. 1, 2010 to be considered for funding. Applications may be accepted from state governments, tribes, or other easement holders such as land trusts.

The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP) provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses. Working through existing easement holders, USDA partners with State, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations to acquire conservation easements or other interests in land from landowners. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value of the conservation easement. To qualify, farmland must: be part of a pending offer from a State, tribe, or local farmland protection program; be privately owned; have a conservation plan for highly erodible land; be large enough to sustain agricultural production; be accessible to markets for what the land produces; have adequate infrastructure and agricultural support services; and have surrounding parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production.

For application materials and more information, visit the Oregon NRCS Web site or contact Bari Williams, Oregon NRCS easement specialist, at 503-414-3226.