Once the market value and agricultural value and reports are completed, they 

 are reviewed by another Independent professional appraiser to uncover any poten- 

 tial errors or oversights. The review appraiser visits the farm and Inspects 

 the comparable sales. When the review appraiser's summary report Is completed. 

 It Is forwarded to the property owner with a cover letter explaining the 

 results. The landowner then critiques the report and raises any questions about 

 the appraisal. If questions arise that the program administrator cannot answer, 

 the review appraiser Is asked to meet with the property owner and staff to 

 discuss the appraisal. 



If the landowner Is still In disagreement as to the value, they may engage 

 their own appraiser. If their position cannot be supported by market Infor- 

 mation, the Department of Food and Agriculture's review appraiser has the final 

 say. The program Is always receptive to landowner's remarks about the appraisal 

 of their farmland. If agreement cannot be reached at one point In time, the 

 project will be reconsidered when the land market reflects a positive change for 

 the landowner. The Program staff tries to be successful with every project 

 nominated for appraisal. 



Status of APR Program 



In May 1980, the Commonwealth's first agricultural preservation restriction 

 was recorded. The recording of the first restriction meant that the total 

 selection and acquisition process worked and that all state agencies and proce- 

 dures necessary to complete such acquisitions had been Identified and met. The 

 so-called selection/acquisition pipeline had been defined and was fully opera- 

 tional (Table 1). The average time period for completing an acquisition Is 12 

 months. 



A summary of agricultural restriction acquisitions by fiscal year Is In 

 Table 3. Over the four year period, a total of 77 properties with 6,753 acres 

 have been restricted. In addition, 16 properties totalling 1755 acres are 

 under purchase agreement. The total acquisition cost was $12,137,700. or $1863. per 

 acre. Municipalities and private groups contributed 5 percent of the acquisi- 

 tion monies. The statute enables municipalities to be co-holders of the deed 

 restriction with the Department of Food and Agriculture 1f they provide 

 assistance that Is acceptable to the Agricultural Lands Preservation Committee. 

 Contributions are particularly encouraged in cities and towns where land values 

 are high and where farmland possesses only local importance. 



Applications for the program have been received by the Department since 

 January, 1979. Since that time 362 applications have been received. They are 

 located in 12 counties and 146 municipalities. A total of 35,810 acres of land 

 are under application and the owners' asking prices exceed $63 million (Table 

 1). New applications are continually being received. 



The general status of all applications received as of June 30, 1983 is 

 categorized in Table 1. One of six status categories is available. Status A 

 are those applications that have received payment and the property has been 

 restricted. Payment is pending for Status B applications until a title search 

 has been completed and cooperating state agencies provide their approval. 

 Applications in categories C and D are under appraisal. If agreement as to 

 value is obtained, then they will proceed to Status B if the Agricultural Lands 

 Preservation Committee approves. As soon as additional funding is received by 

 the program, applications in group E will be nominated for appraisal. Status F 

 applications have been rejected for not meeting minimum program criteria and 



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