Montgomery County, PA

1. December 31 is the application deadline for eligibility for the following year's funding.  All applicant farms must be in an agricultural security area (ASA). Any interested farmer not already in an ASA should apply to the township to be added to the ASA.  The farm should also have an up-to-date soil Resources Management System (RMS) conservation plan. For information on developing or updating a conservation plan, contact the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at 610.372.4655.
   
   
2. Once the year's applications are received, they are evaluated on criteria considered important for farmland preservation. The four main evaluation criteria are soil quality, the farming operation, clustering potential (proximity to other farms), and development pressure.  Farms receive a score from 1-100 based on these factors.
   
   
3. The farms are ranked from highest to lowest.  The farm board then decides which farms to have appraised. The selected farms are appraised for their development value.  Development value equals the market value of a property (usually as if sold to a developer) minus the farm value of the property (what another farmer would pay for the land).
   
   
4. The farm board may negotiate a price with the landowner, based on the appraised value of the agricultural easements. The owner may accept the offer, reject it, or pay for a second appraisal.  When the second appraisal is done, the farm board may make a higher offer to the farmer, using a combination of figures from both appraisals.
   
   
5. If the landowner accepts the offer, he or she signs an agreement of sale with the county farm board.
   
   
6. The farmland preservation staff then prepares a summary report on the farm for submittal to the state farm board. The report includes a soils map, a tax map, a topographic map, locations of nearby preserved farms, a list of soil types on the property, a soils report, a narrative describing the farming practices, a list of adjoining neighbors, mortgage subordination agreements, if applicable, and more.
   
   
7. Based on this summary report, and a presentation by the county administrator, the state farm board approves or rejects the farm for agricultural easement funding.
   
   
8. Upon approval, the farmer receives payment for sale of an agricultural easement and simultaneously signs a deed of agricultural easement, which will remain with the land in perpetuity.
   
   
9. Yearly inspections are conducted to ensure the farm is not developed into nonagricultural use and that the soil conservation plan is being followed.

For more information or to request an application and literature, please contact Elizabeth Emlen at 610.278.3754.