Farmland Preservation as a Growth Management Strategy: Lessons for State and Local Governments

Farmland preservation in the United States features the willing sale of development rights (also known as conservation easements) by a landowner to a government agency or private land trust (NGO) to restrict the use of land to farming and open space in return for a cash payment and/or tax benefits. The right to develop land is part of the bundle of rights that come with owning land in America, and can be separated from the rest of the bundle and sold or given away. In the process, the land remains private property, usually with no right of public access (see “A Note on Property Rights and Farmland Preservation” below).