Farm Bureau Thanks Governor and Legislators for Farmland Preservation Program Updates

Governor Tony Evers today signed Senate Bill 134 making much needed updates to the Farmland Preservation Program. Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation thanks Gov. Evers and bill authors Senator Pat Testin (R-Stevens Point) and Representative Loren Oldenburg (R-Viroqua) for their leadership in updating the requirements and incentives provided by the program.

“We greatly appreciate the continued efforts of the legislators involved in passage of the bill and the agricultural stakeholders who advocated to get it over the finish line,” said WFBF Executive Director of Governmental Relations Jason Mugnaini. “This has been an ongoing effort for the past six years and on behalf of our farmer members throughout the state, I would like to thank Governor Evers and everyone who helped get this done.”

Farmland Preservation is a voluntary program started in the 1970s to provide financial incentives for farmers to commit to keeping their land in production and abiding by best practices to preserve soil and water quality.

Among the updates to the program created under the bill are the following:

• Reducing the minimum number of years a farmer would have to commit to the program from 15 to 10 years to provide more flexibility and account for estate planning.
• Increase payments from $7.50 to $10 per acre for land located in a farmland preservation zoning district but not subject to a farmland preservation agreement.
• Increase payments from $5.00 to $10 per acre for land subject to a farmland preservation agreement but not located in a farmland preservation zoning district.
• Increase payments from $10 to $12.50 per acre for land located in a farmland preservation zoning district and are subject to a farmland preservation agreement.

“We’ve recently seen a falloff in interest in participating in the program as incentives hadn’t been updated since 2009 and compliance costs increased,” said Mugnaini. “The changes made today will assure the continued success of this longstanding program that helps farmers further their conservation efforts and keeps Wisconsin farmland in production.”