The Vermont Farmland Conservation Program is focused on retaining the state’s quality agricultural land base in strong farming regions of the state.
Agriculture plays a major role in shaping Vermont’s economy, landscape, and rural character. Because of the Board’s investment in conservation easements, matched by funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), some of Vermont’s most productive farmland will remain undeveloped and available for farming in the future.
Since 1987, nearly 176,000 acres of agricultural land on 822 farms have been conserved with VHCB funds matched with federal funds provided through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Proceeds from the sale of development rights has contributed to renewed vitality in agriculture, enabling young farmers to purchase farms at an affordable price and helping established farmers to reduce long-term debt, invest in infrastructure, make operations more profitable and efficient or to retire. At the same time that some larger dairy farms have consolidated, smaller farms are becoming stronger through diversification, by producing for specialty markets, and by minimizing costs of production. By focusing on conserving contiguous blocks of farmland in traditional farming communities, VHCB’s Farmland Conservation Program helps to ensure that farms are not isolated by residential development and communities can continue to support a healthy range of businesses that serve and rely on neighboring farms.
VHCB relies on partners such as the Vermont Land Trust and the Upper Valley Land Trust to work directly with farmers interested in conserving their land. VHCB’s Farm & Forest Viability Program provides business planning and technical assistance to farm and food, forestry and forest products businesses. The Vermont Land Trust’s Farmland Access Program connects farmers with affordable farmland, often matching younger farmers to conserved land to lower acquisition costs.
VHCB Farmland Conservation Program
VHCB funds the acquisition of development rights on farms as well as a portion of the associated project costs. Eligible applicants for this funding are nonprofit conservation organizations, municipalities, and qualified state agencies. Goals of the VHCB Farmland Conservation Program include perpetually protecting farmland, maintaining land in active agricultural use, and to assure that conserved farmland is accessible and affordable to future generations of farmers.
VHCB has a two-step process for considering funding requests for farmland conservation: 1) an initial pre-application to the Farm Pre-application Committee, and 2) a full application to the VHCB Board. (See below to learn more about this process.)
To learn more about the program, see the associated funding policy.
Farm Pre-application Committee
The Pre-application Committee consists of representatives from various organizations with expertise in agriculture, conservation, and water quality. Following review and approval of a project by the Pre-application Committee, applicants may proceed with ordering an appraisal. VHCB is able to cover up to half the cost of the appraisal.
After an appraisal is complete, applicants may submit a full application for funding consideration by the VHCB Board at one of their regularly scheduled meetings (usually held six times a year.)
The Pre-application Committee generally meets quarterly in-person with a virtual option.
Upcoming Pre-application Deadlines and Associated Meeting Dates:
Tuesday, August 10 (application due), Thursday, August 27 (meeting from 1:00 – 4:00 pm)
Information for Conservation Organizations
If you are a conservation organization that would like to submit a pre-application for the first time, please first get in touch with VHCB Agricultural Program Staff to discuss the project, whether or not it would be a good fit for our program, and review programmatic requirements. The pre-application consists of this form and a landowner statement of intent.
Nina Gage, n.gage [@] vhcb.org or (802) 828-5555
Holly McClintock, h.mcclintock [@] vhcb.org or (802) 828-0795
Information for Landowners
If you are a landowner seeking to conserve your land, please first connect with your local conservation organization. We would be happy to provide you with a list of resources and contact information, but Vermont Land Trust and Upper Valley Land Trust (if you are within their service area) are good starting points.
Farmland Conservation Full Application Information
Once your project has been approved as a pre-application and you have a completed appraisal, you may apply for VHCB farmland conservation funding (known as a full farm application.)
Applications are submitted for review at one of VHCB’s regular board meetings (generally 6 times a year).
Full Application Materials:
- Online Farmland Conservation Full Funding Application
- PDF version of Farmland Conservation Full Funding Application (not fillable; just a summary of the complete application form for review.)
- Budget
For questions, please contact Nina Gage at n.gage [@] vhcb.org or (802) 828-5555 or Holly McClintock at h.mcclintock [@] vhcb.org or (802) 828-0795.
