BUREAU OF LAND USE 

 Thomas Storrow, Director 



The protection of agricultural land and the delivery of programs aimed at 

 enhancing urban agriculture were the main efforts of the Bureau of Land Use in 

 1983. Through several programs created to encourage the preservation and utili- 

 zation of farmland for agriculture, the Bureau strives to strengthen the local 

 farm industry and improve the climate for a viable agricultural community. 



Outlined below are presentations of the most important activities of the 

 Bureau of Land Use. 



AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION RESTRICTION PROGRAM 



The Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program was established by 

 the legislature in December, 1977 , to protect the Commonwealth's rapidly dimi- 

 nishing farmland resources through the purchase of Agricultural Preservation 

 Restrictions, commonly known as development rights. It is a voluntary program 

 whereby farmland owners apply to the Department of Food and Agriculture to sell 

 a restriction on all or a portion of their property. After field inspections, a 

 screening and selection process, appraisals, and approval by the Agricultural 

 Lands Preservation Committee, the Commonwealth acquires these restrictions, 

 which run in perpetuity, and prohibit all non-agricultural uses. Title to the 

 land still rests with the landowner who enjoys all the traditional rights of 

 property ownership, except the right to develop the land for non-agricultural 

 purposes. 



Since the program's inception, more than 8518 acres have been protected 

 statewide. There are also more than 8684 acres currently under appraisal. 

 During the past five years the legislature has appropriated five million dollars 

 each of the first four and twenty million dollars in 1982 for a total of $40 

 million to fund the program. The Massachusetts program is now the largest, most 

 active statewide purchase of development rights programs in the country and is 

 being used as a model by other states considering similar farmland protection 

 techniques. 



APR Program Objectives 



Together with the Farmland Assessment Act (Chapter 61A M.G.L.), the APR 

 Program is the cornerstone of the state's agriculture land protection policy. 

 The main objective of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction Program is to 

 limit the continued conversion of productive land through deed restriction and 

 revitalize the agricultural industry by making land more accessible to farmers 

 and their operations" more financially secure. The specific goals of the Program 

 include the following: 



To retain the best and most productive agricultural land remaining in the 

 Commonwealth; 



To provide an opportunity for farmers to purchase farmland at affordable 

 prices; 



To help farmland owners overcome estate planning problems; 



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