2008 Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) is a voluntary conservation program that helps farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. This program provides funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farmland in agricultural uses. Working through existing programs, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) joins state, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations to acquire conservation easements. The NRCS can provide up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value.

Note: The following is for information only. There will be no further activity in 2008.

NOTE: The 2002 Farm Bill expired at the end of fiscal year 2007. As such, a new farm bill may be implemented in 2008 which could change the specific program information within these webpages. Therefore, all information is based on past policies (2007 and before) and is subject to change at anytime after October 1, 2007.

Eligibility

To qualify, the farm or ranchland must:

• Contain at least 50 percent of prime, unique, statewide or locally important soils OR
• Contain historical or archaeological sites that are:
• Consensus determined by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or the Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) or
• Formally nominated to the national register AND
• Be a part of a pending offer from a state, tribal, or local government or a non-governmental organization agricultural land protection program.
• Be privately owned.
• Have a current conservation plan on highly erodible land.
• Contain sufficient acreage to sustain agriculture production.
• Include eligible lands such as cropland, rangeland, grassland, pasture land, and forest land that are part of an agricultural operation.
• Involve landowners who do not exceed the Adjusted Gross Income (see more information on the Farm Service Agency Montana Producer Handbook Fact Sheets webpage) provision of the 2002 Farm Bill.

Application Process

Under FRPP, NRCS solicits proposals from federally recognized Indian tribes, states, units of local government, and non-governmental organizations to cooperate in the acquisition of conservation easements on farms and ranches.

1. A landowner contacts an eligible non-governmental organization or a unit of state, tribal, or local government and submits an application to that entity's existing farm or ranch land protection program.
2. When funds are available, NRCS issues an Announcement of Program Funding (APF) at the national Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program webpage and on the Grants.gov website to solicit funding proposals from eligible entities with existing farm or ranch land protection programs.
3. Eligible entities submit funding proposals to work with NRCS to acquire conservation easements on productive farm and ranch lands.
4. Proposals submitted to the NRCS state office must include a complete Montana FRPP LESA Worksheet and Montana FRPP Ranking Worksheet. The proposal must also include all items listed in the Montana Application Checklist. Instructions for the checklist are contained in the Montana Application Guidelines and should be consulted prior to filling out the checklist. The 2007 FRPP application documents are listed below.
5. The NRCS State Conservationist receives proposals by the date specified in the request.
6. The NRCS determines entity and land eligibility.
7. The NRCS State Conservationist makes awards to eligible entities. NRCS enters into cooperative agreements with the selected entities.
8. Funds are obligated to the project when the cooperative agreement is signed by NRCS and the selected entities.

Announcement of Program Funding

The FRPP is accepting proposals now with all proposals due by close of business April 27, 2007. Additional information about the program can be obtained at the national Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program webpage.

Montana uses a Statewide Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) System in combination with the criteria listed in the Montana FRPP Ranking Worksheet to rank and prioritize proposals for FRPP. For an overview of LESA and step-by-step instructions for using Montana's LESA system see the Montana Statewide Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) System.

The following documents require Microsoft Excel or Adobe Acrobat. FOR INFORMATION ONLY.

FRPP Fiscal Year 2007 Announcement of Program Funding (138 KB)
2007 Montana Application Guidelines (83 KB)
2007 Montana Application Checklist (194 KB)
Montana Statewide LESA Worksheet (343 KB)
Montana Statewide LESA Worksheet (31 KB)
2007 Montana FRPP Ranking Worksheet (128 KB)
2007 Montana FRPP Ranking Worksheet (19 KB)
2007 Combined FRPP Worksheets (146 KB)
2007 Combined FRPP Worksheets (29 KB)

2008 FRPP Projects in Montana

While FRPP authorization lapsed on September 30, 2007, Congress and the President agreed to extend the program, through the Farm Bill extension, until March 15, 2008. Montana received funds in late January. Entities were contacted and based on NRCS national criteria, two projects were selected. These two projects, containing approximately 1,586 acres, will use $930,000. Due to a second extension of the Farm Bill, Montana was able to secure another $352,000 and with these funds will help to acquire an estimated 1,600 acres of farm and ranch lands.

For More Information

• Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) Factsheet
• Enhancing LESA - Ideas for Improving the Use and Capabilities of the Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System, a report from the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) available on the SWCS website.
• Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program National NRCS Website
• National Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System Website

Contacts

Dennis Dellwo, Program Specialist
Phone: 406-587-6748
Email: Dennis.Dellwo

Carrie Mosley, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs
Phone: 406-587-6967
Email: Carrie.Mosley

Last Modified: 03/26/2008