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More about the Campaign

The Campaign for Wisconsin's Farm and Forest Lands is a project of American Farmland Trust and its partners in Wisconsin to protect our state's critical agricultural and forest resources and minimize land use conflicts. It supports the recommendations of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's (DATCP) Working Lands Initiative and other efforts to protect our land and water resources and the benefits they provide.

The Campaign seeks to build support for protecting Wisconsin's farm and forest lands and the multiple economic, environmental and social values they provide. It supports development of policies and programs that achieve these goals. These policies and programs include Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE, also known as purchase of development rights) programs and Agricultural Enterprise Areas. Updates to existing farmland protection provisions of state law will also help to improve the set of tools available to landowners and communities seeking to protect farmland from development.

The Campaign recognizes that communities need to grow in order to accommodate the needs for residential and commercial development, but it advocates for policies that promote growth while protecting working farm and forest lands. Agricultural and forestry are Wisconsin's two largest industrial sectors, generating $51 billion and $18 billion, respectively, in annual economic activity by providing food, fiber, renewable energy and other goods and services. These lands also provide an array of ecological services, including flood control, clean air and water, wildlife habitat and open space.

Working with other supporting organizations, the Campaign seeks to raise awareness of and support for legislative activity to protect Wisconsin's working lands. Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements and Agricultural Enterprise Areas are two key components of the Working Lands Initiative supported by the Campaign.

PACE programs compensate landowners for voluntarily restricting the future use of their land. Landowners sell agricultural conservation easements to a government agency or another organization, such as a land trust. The landowner retains other property rights, including the right to use land and lease, sell and bequeath it. The goal of PACE programs is to protect productive working lands from conversion to other uses. The Campaign for Wisconsin's Farm and Forest Lands advocates for creation of a state PACE program to complement local programs that identify critical farm and forest lands for protect. PACE programs in Wisconsin will be locally-driven and state-supported.

An Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA) is a land area that is locally targeted for agricultural preservation and development. Farmers in the designated area could enter into voluntary farmland preservation agreements with DATCP and receive tax credits. Tax credits would be higher if local farmland preservation zoning is in place. An AEA may be part of a broader local strategy to promote agriculture and related enterprises. The strategy may include other local initiatives, such as zoning, PACE, land purchases, land donations, development grants, cooperative agreements, regulatory flexibility, financial incentives and related strategies.

Contact Vicki Elkin at 608-334-1473 or vicki [at] gatheringwaters.org with any questions about the Campaign.

Photo credit: USDA

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