Conservation Easements Offer Way to Keep Land for Farming

Landowners who want to ensure that their farmland will be farmed for generations to come can consider a conservation easement to limit its future development even if they later sell the land.

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a land trust, a private, nonprofit organization that works to conserve the land. In this type of agreement, the landowner "gifts" the conservation easement to the land trust. The landowner, in turn, benefits from federal income tax deductions.

"Granting a conservation easement means the development rights for the land have been transferred, by a deed, to an organization qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, such as a land trust," said Gerry Harrison, Purdue Extension agricultural economist. "The organization holding the easement has the responsibility to see that the land is not developed for other than the landowner's retained purposes, such as agricultural production or perhaps some limited structures such as a homestead." <Read More>