The Agricultural Act of 2014: conservation easement programs, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)
Date
2014-02
Authors
Villar, Daniel, author
Seidl, Andrew F., author
Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, publisher
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Abstract
The ACEP is a new program for 2014 that serves as a consolidation of the all previous major easement programs. Despite the amount of change the new Farm Bill brings to conservation easement programs, there should be minimal disturbance to participants of GRP, WRP and FPP. All land and funding previously allocated to the now retired programs is automatically transferred to the ACEP and all easements from the previous programs will be maintained. Despite this, total funding for ACEP is less than the sum of its predecessors (USDA ERS 2014; USDA OBPA 2014). The main purpose of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program is to provide easements for the long-term restoration and protection of environmentally sensitive lands from being developed or converted to non-agricultural uses (USDA ERS 2014). The program focuses on conserving agricultural land as well as wetlands and their related benefits. These two functions are evaluated separately, maintaining some of the distinction implied by having separate programs (USDA OBPA 2014).
Description
June 2014.
Rights Access
Subject
farm viability program
wetlands reserve program (WRP)
farmland protection program (FPP)
2014 Farm Bill
grasslands reserve program (GRP)