To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to ensure equal treatment of buy-protect-sell transactions and certain other transactions under the agricultural conservation easement program, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · July 26, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
The Farmland Access Act amends federal conservation law to make it easier for nonprofits and land trusts to help farmers and ranchers gain access to land through "buy-protect-sell" transactions. Under this model, an organization purchases farmland, secures a conservation easement to protect it from development, and then sells it to a farmer or rancher at an affordable price. The bill requires the Department of Agriculture to treat these transactions equally with traditional easement programs, giving organizations at least three years to complete the land transfer and allowing multiple organizations to work together on projects. The legislation also extends these same protections to similar arrangements where land is transferred to farmers before or at the same time an easement is acquired. By removing regulatory barriers and streamlining the process, the bill aims to increase farmland availability for new and beginning farmers while ensuring land remains protected for agricultural use.
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