Release Date: December 10, 2019
Contact:
Leeann Duwe, Public Information Officer, (608) 224-5130
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MADISON – Starting January 1, 2020, about 74,148 acres in Clark, Grant, and Sauk counties will be eligible to enter into farmland preservation agreements with the designation of three new agricultural enterprise areas (AEAs). This will bring Wisconsin’s farmland preservation totals to 40 AEAs in portions of 27 counties, 112 towns, and the Bad River Reservation.
The new AEAs are:
- South Fork, Clark County: Includes about 20,417 acres in the towns of Mead and Reseburg. This will be Clark County’s third AEA following the Heart of America’s Dairyland AEA and Friends in Agriculture AEA. Petitioner goals include preserving large contiguous blocks of agricultural lands, encouraging investment in the agricultural economy, and providing technical assistance to farmers to meet soil and water conservation standards.
- Castle Rock, Grant County: Includes about 23,040 acres in the town of Castle Rock. Petitioners want to promote upland best management practices, protect the Snow Bottom State Natural Area, and preserve the six Class I and Class II trout streams in the Blue River Watershed.
- Bear Creek, Sauk County: Includes about 30,691 acres in the town of Bear Creek. Petitioners aim to preserve existing agricultural and forestry land uses, encourage future land uses that will promote balance among property values, environmental protection and economic opportunity, and to grow a mindset of regenerative farming practices.
AEAs are a part of the Wisconsin Farmland Preservation Program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). DATCP has authority to designate up to two million acres for AEAs. This is the 10-year anniversary of AEA designations. For more information, visit https://farmlandpreservation.wi.gov.
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