Farmers

Farmers who want to permanently protect their working farmland from development can place an easement on the land. Black Swamp Conservancy then monitors the easement to make sure the terms are fulfilled -- forever.

In the past five years, 24,000 acres of prime Ohio farmland have been protected under the state's Agricultural Easement Protection Program (AEPP), which pays farmers much of the difference between the agricultural value of their land and its fair market value. The program is competitive, and the conservancy assists local farmers with their applications.

"This is a big deal for us," said Rob Krain, the conservancy's stewardship manager. "We get 600 to 700 acres every year -- paid for, too."

Conservancy trustee Carin Starr assists Phyllis and
Owen Burks with their AEPP essay. The Burks' farm
is located in Seneca County.

Landowner Profile

Tom and Laurie von Seggern now have over two-thirds of the 1,400 acres they own in Fulton County protected from development. Tom was the first farmer in the state to apply to the Ohio Agricultural Security Area program. He was also the first farmer in Fulton County to donate easement rights.

"I guess it's always been on my mind," he said. "It was a no-brainer for me." Although there is a tax benefit, protecting the land from development is just something he believes in.

In recent years as the older generation of Fulton County farmers has died, Tom has watched the heirs sell off the property in lots. "And I didn't want that," he said. "My grandfather worked all his life, and my dad did, too. You don't want to see it torn apart just because it changed hands."

Last fall the von Seggerns hosted a "down on the farm" evening so that Black Swamp Conservancy supporters could see what their dollars were going to preserve. And Tom recently became a conservancy trustee.

"I think they take my opinions to heart," he said.


The von Seggerns sell all their grain -- corn,
soybeans and wheat -- to an elevator in Grelton.


Tom and Laurie von Seggern now have over two-thirds of
the 1,400 acres they own in Fulton County protected from
development.

In 2007, the von Seggerns put another 289 acres of their
Fulton County farm into an agricultural easement.

Black Swamp Conservancy
P.O. Box 332
Perrysburg, Ohio 43552
419.872.5263
www.blackswamp.org