Howard County officials have doubled the amount they pay landowners to preserve farmland in the western part of the county to better compete with developers.
“We keep increasing the maximum offer amount,” said Joy Levy, administrator of the Agricultural Land Preservation Program, referring to the up to $40,000 an acre the county will pay.
The county “hasn?t been able to be competitive with what the land is worth for development or what developers are offering.”
In the last four years, attempts to purchase easements, which are agreements that restrict the use of land to agriculture, have been unsuccessful, Levy said.
Two years ago, the county raised the purchase maximum from $7,600 to $20,000, but no farmers took advantage of the deal.
The county currently has fewer than 20,000 acres under easement and aims for roughly 5,000 more, but Levy said she didn?t think the county would meet that goal since not much farmland remains.
To entice landowners, the county is offering new payment options, such as cash settlements and shorter-term agreements.
“I know people that have put their farms in the hands of developers, and they have been in limbo and haven?t received a cent,” said David Patrick, chairman of the county?s farmland preservation board.
“But here if they had gone in the [agriculture] program, in months you?d be receiving money.”
Ginger Myers, an agricultural economic development specialist for the county, said the increase will have an impact on farmers who depend on the land for their livelihood.
“If people can?t make a living off of it, it just won?t work, so having this increase is significant,” she said.
