More than 22,000 acres in the Town of Lessor are now part of a newly designated agricultural enterprise area set up by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as of Jan. 1.
Ten landowners, along with local government and other partners, petitioned for the AEA designation to preserve agricultural lands in an environmentally friendly way. According to DATCP, this will be done by providing farmer-led education, enrolling in farmland preservation agreements and adopting nutrition management plans.
AEAs in Monroe and Sheboygan counties were created at the same time as the Town of Lessor. That brings the total to 54, protecting more than 1.7 million acres covering portions of 33 counties, 147 towns and the Bad River Reservation.
“AEA designations are important to Wisconsin’s agricultural future and support local farmland protection goals, the agricultural economy, environmental efforts and rural prosperity,” said Dan Richter, DATCP public information officer. “Landowners within designated AEAs are eligible to enter into voluntary farmland preservation agreements, committing all or a portion of their farm to agricultural use and maintaining state soil and water conservation standards. In return, they may be eligible to claim the annual farmland preservation tax credit.”
The Lessor AEA is the second one for Shawano County. Land in the Town of Maple Grove was designated for agricultural enterprise in 2011, according to Blake Schuebel, land conservation technician with the Shawano County Land Conservation Department.
AEAs serve to preserve land deemed important to Wisconsin’s agricultural future. Being designated as an AEA, according to the DATCP, allows land owners to sign farmland preservation agreements, which are voluntary and in effect for 10 years. These agreements allow land owners to claim a tax credit of $10 per acre, or $12.50 if the land is also located in a certified farmland preservation zoning district.
Schuebel noted that a lot of work is required for farmers to get the tax credit, and steps have to be taken to protect the land.
“You have to have a nutrient management plan,” Schuebel said. “Obviously, if you have a manure pit, it can’t be running over. There’s just all the performance standards.”
The work to preserve farmland has already been done by the farmers, according to Schuebel. The AEA designation solidifies the land as being strictly for crops and animals.
“It heightens the awareness of the program in the fact that a lot of farmers are doing these things,” Schuebel said. “So, they’re being rewarded for what they’ve already done. The majority of the farms in the Town of Lessor already have nutrient management plans.”
He added that farmers in the AEA, to qualify for tax credits, must also set up a 5-foot buffer to any navigable body of water.
“Is this going to change anything regarding farming in the Town of Lessor? Probably not,” Schuebel said.
For information about establishing an AEA, contact the county land conservation department at 715-526-4820. DATCP is accepting petitions for new AEAs through July 21.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
