MDARD, Michigan Agricultural Preservation Fund Board Award $2 Million of Grant Funding to Local Farmland Preservation Programs

LANSING, Mich.- The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the MichiganAgricultural Preservation Fund Board (MAPFB) announced today that they have awarded more than $2 million of Agricultural Preservation Fund grants to permanently protect farmland in seven counties and townships.

"The Agricultural Preservation Fund enables MDARD to help local governments conserve farmland that might otherwise be developed," said MDARD Director Tim Boring. "We're working with our local partners to sustain the resource base that puts food on our plates and that powers Michigan's second-largest economic sector."

Following a competitive review process, MDARD and the MAPFB selected the following local counties and townships to receive grants that will help preserve 744.38 acres of farmland:

• Berrien County - $250,000
• Dexter Township - $258,200
• Kent County - $157,250
• Macomb County - $423,200
• Ottawa County - $375,750
• Van Buren County - $312,600
• Washtenaw County - $372,000

"Kent County's agricultural roots run deep, and this grant allows us to continue protecting that legacy," said Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Ben Greene. "This funding will help preserve the Kruithoff family farm, ensuring these 109 acres in Tyrone Township remain in agricultural use. The Kruithoff family represents the very best of our farming community a multigenerational commitment to the land and to feeding our region."

Since 2019, MDARD has issued more than $10 million of Agricultural Development grants to qualifying farmland preservation programs throughout Michigan. The grants are part of more than $250 million MDARD delivered over the past seven years to help strengthen Michigan's food and agriculture industry, protect the environment, promote rural prosperity and create jobs.

According to statute, purchasing agricultural conservation easements permanently preserves agricultural use and prevents the development of non-permitted uses of the land for current and future owners. Local farmland preservation programs are eligible to submit applications for the Agricultural Preservation Fund grant to support that mission.

To qualify for grants from the Agricultural Preservation Fund, a county or township must have zoning authority and an approved master plan that includes a comprehensive land use plan for agricultural preservation. Prospective grant applicants are also required to have adopted a Purchase of Development Rights Ordinance and created a plan for monitoring conservation easements.

MDARD distributes grants from the Agricultural Preservation Fund that cover up to 75 percent of the costs for purchasing the development rights on agricultural land. Landowners can donate a portion of the development rights value towards the required 25 percent local match of the conservation easement purchase price. Grants awarded by the MAPFB also reimburse some closing costs associated with the purchase of agricultural conservation easements.

To learn more about agricultural preservation in Michigan, visit theFarmland and Open Space Preservation Program webpage.

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