HAMLIN - Lincoln County Commissioners recently voted to adopt the Lincoln County Farmland Protection Program. Meeting in regular session on Thursday, May 1, representatives from the Lincoln County Farmland Protection Board presented the documentation to the commission for approval. The material had been on public review for a period previously.
In 2000, the state's legislature unanimously passed the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act. Through the act, the legislature declared that agriculture is a unique "life support" industry and that a need exists to assist those agricultural areas of the state which are experiencing the irreversible loss of agricultural land. The act also authorized the creation of county boards and programs.
In 2002, the legislature modified the act to allow each county with such a program to provide funding for the program through a real estate transfer tax. Each county with a program is allowed to enact an additional tax on the privilege of transferring real estate. The maximum allowable rate is $1.10 per $500 of the real estate transfer value, to a maximum transfer value of $1 million. The funds raised are used exclusively for funding farmland preservation according to the documents presented at the meeting on May 1.
As reported in The Lincoln Journal last year, the Lincoln County Commission authorized the creation of the Lincoln County Farmland Protection Board. The board is composed of seven members, all of whom must be county residents. Members are appointed by the commission. The board includes a county commissioner or designee, the executive direction of the Lincoln Economic Development Authority, a farmer who is a member of the Lincoln County Farm Bureau, a farmer who is a member of the Guyan Soil Conserva-tion District, a farmer who need not be a member of any organization and two other county residents.
Over 20 states have enacted similar programs nationwide.