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Wisconsin Ag News Headlines |
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Petition Period Opens for 2017 Ag Enterprise Areas
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 02/24/2017
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture is accepting petitions for Agricultural Enterprise Areas to be designated in 2017. Agricultural enterprise areas, or AEAs, are blocks of land that are primarily in agricultural use for farming and for businesses that serve the
farming sector. They are created when at least five landowners and their local governments petition for an AEA designation and the department approves the petition.
AEA designation does not limit land use within the area or protect it from development. It does allow farmers within the AEA to receive tax credits of $5-$10 per acre if they enter into farmland preservation agreements with the department. The designation can
also be used with local planning and zoning, conservation easements, agriculture economic development incentives, and other tools to support farming and the local farm economy.
"AEAs can provide farmers and agribusinesses with certainty that they will have an agriculture infrastructure available to support their operations in the future," said John Petty, administrator of DATCP's agricultural resource management division. "AEAs are a
tool to help preserve and build rural communities. They allow for a broad range of actions that local governments can take to maintain a farming base for their economies."
Petty encouraged petitioners to involve their communities in the petition process to be sure they have support.
Petition materials are available online at https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/AgriculturalEnterpriseAreas.aspx. Completed petitions are due to DATCP on June 10, 2017. Applications must be completed jointly by local landowners and local
government officials. Prospective petitioners should notify the department of their intent to apply, so they can receive announcements of workshops or webinars to help them prepare their petitions.
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