January 20, 2010

Feb. 9 program focuses on farmland protection

Conservation experts, including Western Reserve Land Conservancy staff members, will be available to talk to farmers and others interested in preserving their property at a free program on Feb. 9 at Hiram College.

“Protect Your Farmland” will be presented at 6 p.m. at the college’s second-floor Kennedy Center Ballroom, 11730 Garfield Road, Hiram. You can learn if you are eligible for one of the programs available to preserve, protect and enhance your farmland. Topics to be discussed include Agricultural Security Areas, the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, donating easements and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Refreshments will be served starting at 5:30 p.m.

The program is sponsored by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, The Countryside Conservancy, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Western Reserve Resource Conservation and Development, Portage County Regional Planning Commission and Hiram College.

The Land Conservancy has preserved more than 330 properties and more than 21,400 acres in northern Ohio, much of it through conservation easements. In addition, the Land Conservancy has also co-held easements with the agriculture department under its Agricultural Easement Purchase Program.

For more information on the Feb. 9 program or on ways to preserve your land, call Scott Hill at (440) 773-5582.