Most people consider a call from the federal government to be trouble.

What could they want? Is it a congressman, wanting my vote? The IRS wanting more money? Homeland Security wanting ... me?

When the federal government recently called Janice Hill at Kane County's Development Department, it was good news -- real good news. An official from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was informing Hill that the feds had money left over from the 2007 farm and ranch lands allocation in the federal Farm Bill. If Kane County officials wanted it to buy development rights on another farm, they could have it.

Hill was able to say yes almost immediately, because the county's Farmland Preservation Program has become so popular and well-known among the county's farmers that there is a waiting list of farms to get into it.

The county buys development rights from the farmers for their land, which the farmers then guarantee will remain forever in agricultural use. The guarantee is backed with an easement held by Kane County.

At first, Hill said the additional money was enough to fund one new farm this year. Then, the feds called again.

"They said, 'Would you like some more?'" Hill told members of the Regional Planning Commission recently. Knowing this meant the county could do yet another farm, she said yes.

"Right answer," one Planning Commission member deadpanned.

It was particularly the right answer because Kane officials thought they would get no federal money this year.

In past years, the county has had dibs on basically all the federal money available for farmland preservation in Illinois because Kane has the only program in the state. But for 2008, everyone assumed there would be no federal money because Congress has yet to reauthorize the Farm Bill.

The additional fed money added almost 300 more acres to the total of 4,555 acres now preserved in Kane County.

It brought the total amount of federal money put toward farmland easements in the county to $8.8 million. And that is on top of the $18.5 million the county itself has spent from riverboat gambling money.

"That's quite an investment," Hill said.