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Special Information for Farmers and Ranchers

Time's running out on productive land.
And on major tax savings for conserving it.

This has been a great year to set up a voluntary conservation agreement to keep your working farm or ranch in active production for your lifetime and future generations.  While the enhanced tax benefits are scheduled to expire at the end of December, efforts are now under way to make these changes a permanent part of the tax code. The House has passed a one-year extension of the new tax benefit, and the Senate has included a permanent extension of the benefits in its Farm Bill.  We are very hopeful that they will extend the new benefits – or make them permanent – soon. Donating a conservation easement is a serious decision, and one that takes time.  Time may have run out on getting an easement done this year, but we are working hard to see that you have the opportunity to do it in the future. If these expanded tax incentives are made permanent family farmers, ranchers, and other moderate-income landowners will be able to conserve the land they love while obtaining a significant tax benefit for making the charitable donation of a conservation easement. What can you do? Help save the future of your land, your community and America's food and natural resources. We encourage all landowners to call their representatives and express their support for legislation that will make the new tax benefit available to them in the future – HR 1576 and S. 496.  The Congressional switchboard’s phone number is (202) 224-3121, and they can connect you to any House or Senate office. Remember though, that while these incentives were enticing, land conservation can be done at any time through a variety of options. Contact a local land trust in your area to learn to how to get started!

Learn More About:

How to Get Started: Conserve Your Land Conservation Options for Landowners Find a Local Land Trust to Work With Frequently Asked Questions: Land Trusts Tax Incentives Private Land Conservation

Tax Benefits for Donating Conservation Easements Congressional Policy Information Conservation Tax Law Update Brochure (PDF, 722 KB) Tax Incentives in the News: Sens. Allard & Salazar Push Incentives for Land Conservation and Restoration Rep. Thompson and Rep. Camp Lead House Effort to Protect Conservation

• Farmers and Ranchers in the News:

  Read

• A Little More Conservation
  (Financial Times online, October 30, 2007, Lauren Foster, PDF 30KB)

• Bring In A Tax Deduction for Easements
  (Midwest EXTRA, October 2007, Paul Queck)


• Tax Deduction Expires this Year
  (American Agriculturalist, October 2007, Paul Queck and John Vogel)


• The Challenges of and Reasons for 'Saving the Ranch'
  (New West online, September 14, 2007, Jim Spehar)


• Conservation Easement Law Helps Protect Farmland
  (Southern Farmer, August 21, 2007)
  
  
• Farmers Benefit by Donating Land
  (Northwest Herald online, 2007, Grant Jaskulski)


• Virginia Farmer Donates 71-acre Easement for Museum
  (Winter 2007 Issue of Northern Neck Land Conservancy newsletter, www.nnconserve.org)


• Rancher Uses Easements in Land Fight
  (The Pueblo Chieftain, April 29, 2007, Chris Woodka)


• Cayucos Ranch Will Stay Rural
  (The Tribune - San Luis Obispo, www.sanluisobispo.com, May 24, 2007, Kathe Tanner)


• Two Farms Campaign Successfully Preserves 180 Acres
  (MidHudsonNews.com, March 18, 2007)


• Ag Trusts Help Save Ranchland, Heritage
  (Beef Producer, Farm Progress Publications, June 2007)


• Living on Easement Street
  (The Furrow, March 2007)


• Tax Break With a View
  (Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2007)


• Cattlemen Preserving Agricultural Heritage -
  Nearly 250,000 Acres Protected From Development
  
(The Colorado Springs Gazette, December 21, 2006, Bill McKeown)

• Easement Preserves ‘a Special Place’
  (The Aspen Times Weekly, January 8, 2007, Scott Condon)
  
  
• An Agricultural Conservation Easement – Is It The Right Choice For You?
  (www.cattlenetwork.com, August 3, 2007, Sara Streight)
  
  
• An Agricultural Law and Taxation Brief — Conservation Easements:
  Act Quickly to Take Advantage of 2006 Tax Law
  (Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
  August 9, 2007, Paul Queck and Gary J. Hoff)  For more information, visit: the farmdoc Project website.

 

Listen


• Hear Terry Jones talk about “connecting the dots” of conservation and why land needs to be protected with easements or else it’s pretty certain it will be built on and lost forever. (mp3, 3:59 minutes, 3.66MB, 3,841KB) Broadcast on The Farm Station – All Ag, All Day segment on KFLP Radio in Floydada, Texas, October 2007. Reported by Tony St. James.
• Hear from Darrell Wood about the value of the new tax incentive
  Mr. Wood is the owner of Darrell Wood Ranches – located in both Vina and Susanville, California. Mr. Wood is also Chairman of the Board of the California Rangeland Trust. (mp3, 1 minute, 850KB).
  
  
• Hear about how the 497-acre historic Gibson Ranch in Texas used a
  conservation easement to protect its waters, pastures and wildlife habitat forever.
  (mp3, 2:38 minutes, 1,546KB) Hill Country Conservancy website, 2007.
  
  
• Hear Lynne Sherrod, Rancher (and Land Trust Alliance Western Policy Manager), speak about conservation opportunities for Farmers and Ranchers through the use of new tax incentives. (mp3, 3:59 minutes, 1.83MB, 1,921KB)  Broadcast in the Agriculture Today segment on KFLP Radio in Floydada, Texas, June 2007. Reported by Tony St. James.
  
  
• Listen to stories featured this month on the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Radio Network:
  
  
  • John Peterson speaks about the threat knocking on his door as the agricultural area is under pressure for development, and how a conservation easement and the enhanced tax incentive have helped him “do his part” to ensure his farm will stay in production. (mp3, 3:37 minutes, 3MB)
  
  
  • Bill Darling talks about how the enhanced tax incentive helped him keep his farm in his family, and his son’s poultry operation going strong. (mp3, 3:33 minutes, 3MB)
  
  
  • Dennis Moroney discusses how the changing population in his area is changing the agricultural values.  He is worried about who will do the farming and ranching in the future.  Moroney placed a conservation easement on his ranch to keep the land into agricultural production, so the next generations can still afford to ranch.  (mp3, 4:24 minutes, 4MB)
  
  
  • Lynne Sherrod discusses the subject of donating conservation easements and the enhanced tax incentives. (mp3, 2:28 minutes, 2.25MB)
  
  
  • Richard Berg talks about why he chose to place a conservation easement on his ranch in Montana.
    (mp3, 3:24 minutes, 3.1MB)

 

Watch

• On August 25-27, the Land Trust Alliance's farmers and ranchers outreach campaign was featured on RFD-TV. Find out where it was broadcasting near you.
  
  
• Watch a brief clip for farmers and ranchers about the expanded tax incentive for conservation easements completed in 2007. (wmv, 30 seconds, 1.2MB)
  
  
• Watch a one-minute clip for farmers and ranchers about the expanded tax incentive for conservation easements completed in 2007. (wmv, 60 seconds, 2.5MB)
  

Resources

• Publications Catalog
  
  To search the catalog, follow the link, and under Browse by Topic,
  click on Landowner Resources.

  Sample items in the Catalog include:

Conservation Options for Private Landowners

Preserving Family Lands Volumes 1 - 3

Your Land is Your Legacy

• Conservation Tax Law Update Brochure (PDF, 722 KB)




• Farmer and Rancher Brochure on the Tax Incentives (PDF)


• Land Trust Alliance 2006- 2007 Highlights (PDF, 7, 294 KB)
  
  

 

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