The land being preserved is part of a productive, privately-owned tax paying business enterprise. The purpose of purchasing the development rights is to preserve productive agricultural land for future use. The farmer can sell the land for agricultural purposes. Development rights are purchased to allow the farmer to recoup the difference between the value of the land for development purposes and the value as farmland. The Farm as a Business Living next to a farm is not the same as living next to a state forest, state gamelands, or a state or local park.
Farms have characteristics common to many industrial enterprises.
This may seem like a statement of the obvious. However, there have been numerous occasions where people, enticed to build a home in an agricultural area by the area's scenic beauty, have ended up complaining about routine farming practices carried out by the owner of the adjoining farmland. Farmland is private property, not public space available for four-wheeling, snowmobiling or other recreational activities, unless the landowner has specifically granted permission to use the land. Raw materials are shipped in, processed, and shipped out as value-added products. The business is established to generate a profit.