Conserving Your Farmland Legacy Through Agricultural Conservation Easements

Whether you’ve just inherited the family farm – and don’t plan to farm it – or want to retire from farming, but don’t have an heir to pass along the legacy, there are options if you want your farm to stay a farm for the long-term. Agricultural conservation easements protect your land and can be easily integrated into the farm succession, transfer and estate planning process.

“A conservation easement is legally authorized in each state and is intended to be a permanent restriction on the land that’s held,” said Jerry Cosgrove, American Farmland Trust’s (AFT) Farm Legacy Director and Senior Advisor. “It’s enforced by either a nonprofit organization like AFT or a federal, state or local municipality.”

An agricultural easement is a deed restriction that landowners and farmers place on their property voluntarily to ensure that the land stays available for farming. This type of conservation easement not only protects the land from further development, but it can also protect other resources associated with the land, including ground and surface water, wildlife habitat, historic sites and, even, scenic views.

However, agricultural easements do allow for some flexibility by limiting certain types of commercial and residential development, but allowing for other types of development as long as it has an agricultural purpose, such as building another barn or additional housing for a farm family.

Why are agricultural easements essential to preserving American farmland?

Between 1982 and 2012, 24 million acres of farmland were lost across the U.S. And, during the last two decades, Midwest farmland was hit hard with Illinois loosing 89% of its farmland and Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin losing over 80% of their agricultural land to development, according to AgriNews. Further, 96% of farms are family-owned, and a buy-out can be potentially appealing, depending on the circumstances.

However, landowners can decide to sell an agricultural easement to a qualified conservation organization like AFT or other government body. This sale can help divide the value of the farm equally among heirs while also preventing non-agricultural development of the land. The value of the land with an agricultural easement is typically fair market value, but in some places where there’s more development pressure, it can result in higher easement values, according to AFT.

Agricultural easements can be applied to cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland and nonindustrial private forest land.

Best practices for setting up an agricultural easement

First, determine what the overall goal is and whether it goes beyond simply preserving the farmland for agricultural purposes or if there should be other aspects included, such as provisions for habitat conservation, soil health or water resource protection. Next, partner with a qualified land trust, conservation organization or government agency.

Work with an experienced attorney to draft an agriculture easement agreement as part of the farm’s successional planning. Make sure it includes language that incorporates current and future agricultural concerns.

“I learned early on that where a lot of easements that were thought to be purportedly agriculture oriented weren’t because they were too restrictive,” said Cosgrove. “They didn’t recognize the flexibility that an agricultural business will need in the future. You draft an agricultural easement differently. I ask the landowners to think about not just the present operation, but what the future might hold.”

Other factors to consider are defining who can farm the land, establishing infrastructure restrictions and deciding whether or not the easement allows for agritourism, farm stands or any other secondary income-generating activities.

There are also federal tax incentives for establishing an agricultural easement and some state incentives, as well, depending on where the farm is located.

How agricultural easements can help young farmers

“Land access is one of the biggest challenges for new farmers,” said Cosgrove. “We’re able to work with groups to crack open the access point for new and next generation farmers who might not be able to compete on the open market with an established farmer who’s going to be interested in buying up any possible piece of land.”

Because agricultural easements restrict non-farm development on the land, it can lower the cost for newer farmers and also provide some long-term security knowing that their investment in the land won’t end up with it being rezoned or repurposed. There are also grants that new farmers can apply for once they purchase agricultural easement land, which can help lower costs even more.

AFT’s Farm Link Finder is a newer program that helps match landowners who have available farmland with farmers looking for land to lease or buy.

“Our job is to help the landowner and their family accomplish their goals,” said Cosgrove. “These are once-in-a-lifetime decisions, and I urge farmers to find an advisor they can trust to help them work through the process, and be around for the long haul.”

Join American Farmland Trust for its Saving America’s Working Lands National Conference on April 23–25, 2025, in Dallas, Texas. This is a national conference focused on the threatened and irreplaceable land that America relies upon to grow food, fiber and fuel, provide critical environmental benefits, and sustain rural communities and agricultural economies. For more information, visit their website at: farmland.org/event/saving-americas-working-lands-national-conference