Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses.
What are Agricultural Land Easements?
NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing Agricultural Land Easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. The program also protects grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving grassland including rangeland, pastureland, and shrubland. Eligible partners include Indian tribes, state and local governments, and non-governmental organizations that have farmland or grassland protection programs.
Under the Agricultural Land component, NRCS may contribute up to 50 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement. Where NRCS determines that grasslands of special environmental significance will be protected, NRCS may contribute up to 75 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.
Eligibility
Land eligible for agricultural easements includes cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland, and nonindustrial private forest land. NRCS will prioritize applications that protect agricultural uses and related conservation values of the land and those that maximize the protection of contiguous acres devoted to agricultural use.
To enroll land through agricultural land easements, NRCS enters into cooperative agreements with eligible partners.
Ranking criteria
Applications received by NRCS are prioritized based on specific ranking criteria.
Program Agreements
Program Agreements are a new type of agreement that can be used for the ACEP-ALE program. The primary purpose of ALE Program Agreement is to identify all potential parties to potential easement transactions (eligible entities, co- holders, third-party right holders) and to establish roles and responsibilities of each party. Separate Program Agreements are developed for the individual funded parcels.
Forms and Documents
Program Agreement Application Forms
Landowner Forms
Other Documents
Related Content
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program - Rhode Island
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect, restore, and enhance wetlands or protect working farms and ranches through conservation easements.
