In 1997, Ohio's Attorney General had concluded that state law does not authorize public entities, including the ODA, to acquire or accept agricultural conservation easements for the purpose of protecting farmland. The attorney general also argued that state law did not allow the ODA to administer a program to purchase development rights on farmland. Although this obstacle was ultimately cleared, important funding opportunities were missed in the interim. The legislature considered the two-year capital budget last year and could have appropriated funds, but the enabling legislation had not been adopted. This also eliminated Ohio's chance to apply for federal matching money through the Federal Farmland Protection Program.
Experts estimate that state funding for the new program is probably two years away.
In the meantime, the department will begin to work on a few agricultural easement donation projects. Since the release of the Ohio Farmland Preservation Task Force's final report in June 1997, the state has established the Office of Farmland Preservation and created the Family Farm Loan Program, a pilot program that provides state-guaranteed loans to farmers for land purchases and capital improvements. Counties participating in the program will be required to develop local farmland protection task forces to guide the planning process. Fifty-nine of the 81 counties that qualify for funding have applied. The seven-bill slate grew out of last session's unwieldy House Bill 645, which incorporated many of the Ohio Farmland Preservation Task Force's recommendations.