Round 19 Farmland Protection Implementation Grant Program Agricultural Conservation Easement Projects

This grant opportunity is currently available and shall remain open to receive applications until all funds allocated for awards arising from this RFA are exhausted.  Awards shall be made in the order that complete eligible applications are deemed acceptable for an award.

 Description:

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (the “Department”) invites proposals for financial assistance to implement certain farmland protection implementation activities described in or otherwise consistent with agricultural and farmland protection plans that have been adopted by counties or municipalities.

 The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide State financial assistance to enable local initiatives that are intended to maintain the economic viability of the State’s agricultural industry and its supporting land base and to protect the environmental and landscape preservation values associated with agriculture.

 This grant opportunity will enable the acquisition of perpetual agricultural conservation easements on viable agricultural land that are at risk of conversion to non-farm uses.

 Proceeds from the sale of an agricultural conservation easement (known as Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement, or PACE) on viable agricultural land will offer these landowners an opportunity to either reinvest those monies to enable greater diversification of the farm operation or the transfer of ownership to a new owner of the same or different type of farm operation.  Moreover, the viable agricultural land permanently protected as the result of each awarded Agricultural Conservation Easement Project will remain in continuing agricultural use.

 The Department has made available $47.25 million for awards (including up to $2.25 million for potential subsequent contingency awards as authorized (see “Contingency Awards” of Section VI of this RFA) under this RFA through an open application and awards process with $4.5 million available within each of ten (10) regions across the state.

 After March 31, 2024, the Commissioner may award available funds to eligible projects without regard to regional boundaries provided that all projects awarded thereafter are made in the order of the date on which the Department determined that each such project was eligible for an award.

 The following general limitations apply to all applications:

• No award shall exceed $2.0 million.
  • State contribution toward a Preemptive Purchase Right shall be no more than forty percent (40%) of the appraised value of development rights, or $250,000, whichever is less, except that this limitation is waived for any Food Security category project whose acreage is no more than five (5) acres above the minimum size of projects as noted in Appendix A-6 of the Request For Applications, provided the amount shall be subject to the maximum award amounts noted immediately above
  • State contribution toward easement stewardship shall not exceed $10,000 per easement unless this amount is based on annual costs as determined in a policy adopted by the applicant’s governing body, and, if so and if deemed reasonable by the Department, then this amount shall not exceed 50.0% of total transaction costs for each easement comprising the proposed project. The amount shall be subject to the maximum award amounts noted immediately above.

 The RFA, Grants Gateway Proposal Submission Instructions, and associated documents are available for printing from the Department’s website at www.agriculture.ny.gov under “Funding Opportunities.”