OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (ODA)
Office of Farmland Preservation
Opening February 10,
Deadline: March 11, at 5:00 p.m.

• Complete Application - Please note that any application will be deemed as incomplete and ineligible for funding if all required information and attachments are not submitted with the application by the above mentioned deadline.

• Farm - Each applicant farm must be a minimum of 40 acres. All contiguous parcels owned by the same legal entity must be submitted as one farm. No contiguous parcels can be withheld from the application.

• Eligibility and Scoring Criteria - An application property’s enrollment in all eligibility criteria (e.g., “Agricultural District” §929 of Ohio Revised Code, “Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV)” § 5713.30 of Ohio Revised Code) must be in place by the May 11, application deadline. Furthermore, an application property’s enrollment or designation in all scoring criteria (e.g., “Agricultural Security Area (ASA)” §931 of Ohio Revised Code, ODA Century Farm, Historical Designation) also must be in place by the May 11, application deadline.

• Farmstead Policy - ODA’s AEPP farmstead policy will permit one singlefamily residence per farm, to serve the needs of the protected farm, if no housing currently exists on the farm at the time of application. If housing exists on the property at the time of application, then no additional residences may be built. Any future or existing house on the preserved farm may not be subdivided from the farm.

• Large Farm Exception Policy - A large farm exception, if approved by the Director, allows the farmland owner to make a one-time split of the property. The exception can be based on either the farm value or the farm size (descriptions below). Because the Director of ODA, at his discretion, shall determine whether to grant this exception, a letter formally requesting the exception must be written to the Director of ODA and the Executive Director of Farmland Preservation. The letter should indicate which exception is requested, include aerial or topo maps distinguishing the property, and associated parcel numbers. The Director's approval must be obtained prior to the submission of the application and a copy of such approval shall be submitted with the other required attachments.

  • Large Farm Size Exception: Farms composed of no less than 400 acres may request the one-time option to split the farm into two parcels of approximately equal size. The landowner can then submit half or both halves of the farm.

  • Large Farm Value Exception: If the applicant farm's points-based appraisal is more than $1 million, the landowner may request to sell to ODA an agricultural easement on a portion of the farm.

• Title and Appraisal Costs - ODA will initiate a title examination and purchase title insurance. If ODA deems necessary, it will have the land appraised. The costs incurred by ODA for these services will be reimbursed to the department by deducting these costs from the agricultural easement purchase payment.

• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and ODA Cooperation - In order to receive matching funds from the Farmland Protection Program, ODA reserves the right to gain additional information about the farm in a timely manner from the landowner and to seek the approval of NRCS on all Deeds of Agricultural Easement under the 2009 AEPP.

• Regional Balance - Regional Balance, as defined in § 901-2-01 of the Ohio Administrative Code, will again be considered in the evaluation of AEPP applications.

• Funding Caps - The maximum dollar amount per acre is set at $2,000 and the total dollar amount per farm is set at $500,000. There is also a $500,000 limit per county within this round of funding. No individual will be awarded more than one funded property in this eighth round of funding. The Director also reserves the right to adopt additional guidelines according to OAC 901-2-05 (E).