Farms for the Future: Massachusetts - American Farmland Trust

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Farms for the Future1%25%11%Source: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 2008Market and Product DevelopmentSeveral state initiatives are helping to encouragenew market and product development and torevitalize the Commonwealth’s food system.These initiatives include:Department of Agricultural Resources:FY07 Funding Sources63%Operating $20,001,365Capital $7,864,778Trust $350,127Federal $3,528,835·Anew state “agricultural preference law”requires state institutions to give preferenceto Massachusetts-grown farm products andauthorizes local school districts to do likewise,helping to build new market outlets forlocal farms.· A “virtual” Agricultural Innovation Center(AIC) provides grants to trade associations andnonprofit organizations for several purposes,including expanding export opportunities forstate food and farm products, direct-toconsumersales, and developing and promotingnew uses of farm products andby-products. The AIC has granted morethan $3.4 million since fiscal year 2007.· A new energy ombudsman position in theMassachusetts Department of AgriculturalResources (MDAR) is tasked with helpingto create new energy-related farm marketand product opportunities.· A landmark energy bill enacted in 2008allows farmers to sell excess electricitygenerated from solar and wind power intothe grid. The measure also mandates yearlyincreases in the Commonwealth’s renewableenergy portfolio, which will spurinvestments in technologies that make useof wood, new agricultural products, andcrop waste and by-products.· A newly authorized “linked” loanprogram will offer farmers four-year,low-interest loans of up to $500,000 fora variety of marketing, production, infrastructureor environmental needs.These initiatives are an important complementto three capital investment programswithin the MDAR—the AgriculturalPreservation Restriction (APR) program,the Farm Viability Enhancement Program(FVEP) and the Agricultural EnvironmentalEnhancement Program (AEEP). Thesethree bond-funded programs, which accounted for31 percent of the MDAR budget in fiscal year2007, represent the department’s core investmentsin farmland conservation. Funding for these programsis typically authorized in a multi-yearEnvironmental Bond bill. In 2008, the state legislatureenacted a new Environmental Bond thatincreased the bond authorization for each of thesethree programs over the next five years. The newbond authorization levels, discussed in greaterdetails in the chapters that follow, include:· $67.75 million for the APR program, up from$45.5 million in the 2002 Environmental Bond;· $30 million for the FVEP and other farm viabilityinitiatives, up from $15 million; and· $3 million for the AEEP up from $2 million.Department of Agricultural Resources:FY07 SpendingAgriculturalInnovationCenter10%AEEP 1%Farm Viability4%Earmarks andDairy Relief11%APR26%Staff9%Farmers'Markets andFoodAssistance34%Other5%Source: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 20086American Farmland Trust
CHAPTER THREEAgriculture Preservation Restriction ProgramThe Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program, authorized under Massachusetts General LawsChapter 20 Sections 23-26 and administered by the MDAR, is the Commonwealth’s primary farmlandprotection program. The APR program is voluntary, with a rolling application process. A landownerinterested in protecting his or her farmland submits a program application, which is scored on the basisof a number of parcel and community criteria; the land is appraised; and the application is then eitherapproved or disapproved. If approved, the Commonwealth pays the landowner up to the differencebetween the “fair market value” and the “agricultural value” of the farmland in exchange for a permanentdeed restriction that precludes any use of the land that would have a negative impact on itsagricultural viability.Since its first purchase in 1980, the APR program has permanently protected 61,855 acres of the state’smost productive farmland at a cost to the Commonwealth of $172.5 million. 23Number of farmland parcelsprotected through the APR programthrough fiscal year 2007Number of parcelsby town01–56–1516–52Source: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 2007Program SpendingAs the chart on page 10 indicates, APR programspending has stayed relatively constant over thepast 10 years, with a few notable exceptions.These include a $2.4 million jump in state spendingon the program in fiscal year 2008, the firstyear of capital spending decisions by the Patrickadministration. The fiscal year 2008 funding wasaugmented by an additional $2.6 million from thefederal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program(FRPP), for a total investment in the program of$12.6 million. Since the program’s inception,annual spending has averaged $6.9 million forland acquisition and associated costs. 24The Environmental Bond bill enacted in thesummer of 2008 provides a significant increase inbond authority for the program over the next fiveyears. Compared to the $48 million authorizedthrough the 2002 bond bill and a 2007 “patch”bond, the 2008 Environmental Bond provides$67.75 million for the program—an annualaverage of $13.55 million.Program DemandDemand for the APR program has consistentlyoutpaced available funding. Thanks to the fiscalyear 2008 increase in program spending, the program“queue” is smaller than it has been in yearsand program applications are on the rise. As ofOctober 2008, the program had 14 approved or“final voted” projects representing 913 acres;these projects had a total estimated restrictionvalue of $8.1 million. An additional 58 projectsrepresent 4,934 acres that have been nominatedfor appraisals. 25American Farmland Trust7
Page 1 and 2: Farms for the FutureMassachusetts
Page 3: CHAPTER ONECommonwealth Farms: Many
Page 6 and 7: CHAPTER TWOFarming in the Commonwea
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Page 14 and 15: CHAPTER FOURFarm Viability and Cons
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Page 18 and 19: CHAPTER FIVERecommendationsAgricult
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Page 22 and 23: Farms for the FutureEndnotesChapter

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