REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Morrow County residents Robert and Marilyn Weiler preserved their 38-acre farm for agricultural use by donating an agricultural easement to the Ohio Department of Agriculture in June.
Farm background
The Harmony Township farm consists of cropland, nearly 76 percent of which is designated as prime soils by the United States Department of Agriculture.
The property is farmed in accordance with the best management practices, under a standard rotation of corn, wheat, and soybeans using no-till, conservation, and conventional tillage practices.
This farm is the eighth in Morrow County to be preserved through donation, seven of which were donated by the extended Weiler family. The department currently holds easements on more than 1,261.18 acres in the county, including pending offers.
The Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District will monitor the land annually to assure the easement is followed.
The program
Under the department’s Ohio Agricultural Easement Donation Program, landowners can donate a permanent agricultural easement on their farm to the state.
Agricultural easements are voluntary legal agreements restricting non-agricultural development on farmland, with the land itself remaining on the tax rolls and under private ownership and management.
Landowners may undertake any agricultural activity permitted under Ohio law, and they can sell their farm or pass it along as a gift to others.
However, the easement remains with the land, prohibiting any future non-farm development to ensure it remains in agricultural use.
To date, Ohio landowners have donated agricultural easements on 42 farms totaling more than 5,534 acres statewide.
Contact
For more information on the department’s Agricultural Easement Donation Program, call 614-728-6210 or visit www.agri.ohio.gov.
