Agricultural Preservation Fund (Farmland PDR) Grants

The Agricultural Preservation Fund and associated Agricultural Preservation Fund Board provide grants to eligible local units of government to preserve farmland through local Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs. The program aims to safeguard high-quality agricultural lands from being converted to non-agricultural uses by funding the purchase of permanent conservation easements.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a local unit of government (county, city, township, or village with zoning authority) that has established a qualified PDR program approved by MDARD no later than September 30 prior to application. Under MCL 324.36203, qualification requires an adopted development rights ordinance featuring an application procedure, a parcel scoring system, and a pricing methodology (such as appraisals, bidding, or formula-based methods). Applicants must also have adopted a comprehensive land use plan (or be included in a regional plan) within the last 10 years that includes agricultural preservation, and maintain an adopted monitoring and enforcement plan for conservation easements.

Eligible projects consist of purchasing permanent agricultural conservation easements on farmland. The state and the local unit of government jointly hold the conservation easements, though the state may delegate enforcement authority to the local unit. Conservation easements must adhere to minimum easement terms adopted by the Agricultural Preservation Fund Board.

Grant applications are administered annually. A grant application notice and application form are distributed to qualified PDR programs when the cycle opens (typically announced between December and January). Completed applications are due to MDARD within 60 days following the announcement (usually early spring). An internal MDARD selection committee evaluates and scores applications based on quality agricultural parcel criteria and local program achievements before presenting recommendations to the Agricultural Preservation Fund Board for award approval.