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Kent County accepts farmland preservation funds from foundation Kent County accepts farmland preservation funds from foundation Originally appeared on "mlive.com" By Rick Wilson March 11, 2010 GRAND RAPIDS -- The Kent County Commission formally accepted a $300,000 grant Thursday from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation to help fund a farmland preservation program. The purchase of development rights program has been controversial since its creation in 2002 over whether county taxpayer money should be spent on it. The program pays farmers the difference between the agricultural and development value of their property in exchange for placing it in trust so it can't be developed. In December, the county allocated $275,000 for the program for the first time, qualifying it for the foundation's grant. The program's goal is to preserve 25,000 acres by 2013, but only 758 acres have been saved because no money has been available to match state, federal and private grants. Program representatives expect to hear by next month whether acreage on six more farms will be included since the foundation grant was first offered. The three-year grant specifies that $100,000 will be disbursed to the county this year and $100,000 in each of the next two years -- provided the county matches that with $350,000 in annual contributions during the same period. Commissioners who opposed public funding of the program expressed concerns that the grant obligates the county to future spending. "It doesn't tie our hands, but what happens is if there are no further funds from the county, the remaining $200,000 goes away," said County Administrator Daryl Delabbio.
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Buying and selling of agricultural land can be very complex. To help you tackle the issues surrounding agricultural land transactions, Farms.com Real Estate has compiled a list of experts in the areas of agricultural economics and land values.

University of Illinois

Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Extension Specialist, Farm Management
Gary Schnitkey
schnitke@uiuc.edu

Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Extension Specialist, Farm Management
Dale Lattz
d-lattz@uiuc.edu

Iowa State University

Michael Duffy
mduffy@iastate.edu
http://www.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/duffy/landnew.html

Kansas State University

Kevin Dhuyvetter
Professor and Extension Specialist, Farm Management
kcd@ksu.edu

Terry Kastens
Professor and Extension Specialist, Farm Management
tkastens@agecon.ksu.edu

Michigan State University

Stephen Harsh
Professor and Extension Specialist in Agricultural Economics
harsh@msu.edu

Eric Wittenberg
Outreach Specialist
wittenbe@msu.edu

University of Minnesota

Philip Raup
Professor Emeritus
praup@umn.edu

David Bau
Agricultural Business Management, Agricultural Business Management
bauxx003@umn.edu


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