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Pre-Applications Open for NYS Farmland Protection Program

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If you own farmland in Cayuga County, you can now apply for the New York State Farmland Protection Program.

Pre-applications are open for the program that allows farmland owners to receive payment from New York in exchange for protecting their land from future development through a permanent conservation easement.

Only farmland owners who have not applied since 2021 should apply this year. If you applied in 2021 or 2022, your information is on file with the county and there is no need to apply again. If there have been significant changes in operations or land ownership since applying though, you should update your profile.

Speaking with Finger Lakes News Radio, Cayuga County Associate Planner Kari Terwilliger explained how the process works in Cayuga County.

“The process in Cayuga County for farmland protection is that our county Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board accepts, reviews, scores, and ranks applications from our farmers using the state’s criteria in addition to criteria and priorities from our countywide ag and farmland protection plan.”

Terwilliger added that those applications are then sent to the Finger Lakes Land Trust and the New York Agricultural who act as applicants on behalf of the farmers they choose because New York requires applicants to hold the easements on behalf of the farmers.

Interested farmland owners can visit the county’s website or contact Terwilliger at 315-253-1485 or [email protected] for more information.

The deadline to apply is December 29.

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