“Agriculture is an integral and viable part of the County's economy, landscape, natural resources, and sense of community.” Jefferson County Commission, 2000
Agriculture has been the foundation of Jefferson County’s social and economic fabric for more than 300 years. Our productive farms support a diversified economy, buy goods and services from local businesses, and employ local labor. Our sce
nic working lands, rural character and natural resources are important assets that makes the county a desirable place to live, work, and visit. In the late 1990s, a dedicated group of Jefferson County residents — farmers, townspeople, professionals and community leaders — established the Jefferson County Farmland Protection Board as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with a vision: to preserve the county’s vanishing rural working lands for future generations. Since that time, the Board has fielded applications for over 6,000 acres of land and helped landowners protect more than 4,000 acres on 40 Jefferson County farms, using local dollars from the real estate transfer tax, matched with federal grants and donations. Yet at the same time, we have witnessed the permanent loss of more than 5,000 acres of good, productive farmland to buildings and pavement. We’ve been so successful in saving our important farmland that we are setting ambitious goals for what’s possible for farmland protection 15 years from now. Agriculture has been the foundation of Jefferson County’s social and economic fabric for more than 300 years — we intend to support that tradition by reaching for a goal of 20,000 acres protected by 2030. Protecting farmland keeps it available and affordable for future generations of farmers. It takes thousands of years to create good cropland. Once it is converted to buildings and pavement, it cannot be restored. A Deed of Conservation Easement is a flexible legal method that landowners can use to retire development rights permanently on all or part of their land to protect its natural, agricultural, scenic and historic values. Property owners retain full use and ownership of their land. Because an easement is perpetual, it conveys with the property when it is inherited or sold, thereby protecting it forever. The Farmland Protection Program offers valuable incentives for landowners. The program can help them meet their financial goals, provide capital to expand their operations, eliminate or reduce debt or further their estate or retirement planning. Revenue for the Farmland Protection Program is generated through the local real estate transfer tax. The Board receives matching funds from private donors, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA/NRCS) and the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (NPS/ABPP). To date, the Board has invested $14.5 million to protect land with a development value of $24.25 million. Each local dollar has been matched with $.95 of federal money and $1.27 of donated value from landowners.
