Farmland protection

Farmland protection refers to programs in the United States, operated mostly at state and local levels by government agencies or private entities such as land trusts, that are designed to limit conversion of agricultural land to other uses that otherwise might have been more financially attractive to the land owner. Every state provides tax relief through differential (preferential) assessment, and has right-to-farm laws. Less common approaches include establishing agricultural districts, using zoning to protect agricultural land, purchasing development rights, and transferring development rights.