Savko represents the Bureau of Land and Water Resources, Illinois Department of Agriculture in Springfield. She noted residential subdivisions, natural gas and oil pipelines, shopping malls, and intermodal facilities take over thousands of acres of cropland each year in Illinois.

Illinois, she said, has lost four million acres to development in rural areas the past 50 years. The loss is continuing at about nine acres an hour.

“The public doesn't see the need to preserve farmland,” said Savko. “There is a perceived abundance of farmland in Illinois. There are also people who don't know milk comes from cows.”

Ag areas are only used for agriculture production - to raise crops. Ag areas help minimize incompatible uses of land.

Creating ag areas is an attempt to save more productive farmland in the state, and concentrate housing developments within 1.5 miles of towns and cities instead of scattered throughout cropland.

“We don't realize how fast we're losing farmland,” said Salvo.

The AACPA was approved by the General Assembly in 1980 and revised a couple times since. The act protects cropland for 10 years, with another eight-year renewal as an option, depending on approval by the county board of the county in which the ag area is located.

Land in an ag area must be strictly agriculture in nature. Agriculturally-related businesses and industries such as grain elevators don't count.

Ag areas are the landowner's decision, and must be a minimum of 350 acres. The maximum size is unlimited, said Savko, noting the largest so far in Illinois is more than 10,000 acres.

Establishing an ag area begins with the landowner, or multiple landowners, who file their request with the county board.

A committee reviews the proposal - much the same as a municipal planning commission - and forwards its recommendation to the county board.

Notices are published, and a public hearing is conducted on reasons why the owner or multiple owners want to set up an ag area.

“Ag areas are effective. They have stopped such things as projects of the Illinois Department of Agriculture from going forward,” Savko said.

“They do work. They are also a safety valve for farmers trying to save their way of making a living.”

The county board has 45 days to act after receiving the recommendation. The board can adopt, modify, or reject the proposal. Mid-term changes, such as adding or withdrawing cropland and dissolving the ag area, can be done with county board permission.

The approved applications are filed with the county clerk and recorder of deeds in that county.

Ag areas follow the property. That is, ag areas are passed from father to son. They go with the property if the land is sold.

“Landowners who put their cropland in ag acres should take their commitment seriously,” said Savko. “Don't put it in an ag area if you're not going to leave it in.”

Prior agreements involving the land are exempt from ag area restrictions.

One of the first ag areas was northeast of Sheridan in La Salle County. A single person owned the land, and took it upon himself to petition the La Salle County Board to create the area, said Savko.

Townships also may establish ag areas, but Savko knows of only one attempt to do so in Illinois.

This was in Manlius Township north of Marseilles. However, the township never filed the request for approval with the La Salle County Board.

“To my knowledge, it doesn't exist today,” she said.