Rhode Island has won $6.355 million in federal money to pay for conservation easements, voluntary legal agreements that limit how land can be developed, on farms and adjacent forest. The Department of Environmental Management announced the award on Nov. 6 and says the aim is to keep working land in the hands of working farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service made the award through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Rhode Island's project was one of 42 selected nationwide.

What it does for farmers

The money funds the RI Farmland Legacy Partnership, which DEM describes as a new, farmer-focused effort to give financial assistance to farmland owners. The release says the easements focus on farmland succession, a term it does not define; generally it means the passing of a farm to its next operator. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will hold them, with support from DEM, the Northern RI Conservation District and the RI Center for Mediation and Collaboration.

The release also describes a gap. The state's Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, a quasi-governmental agency that works with DEM, keeps a list of farms whose owners want to protect their land from development but often have no path to do so, because eligible entities lack the funding and capacity to conserve it. DEM and the commission will help identify suitable projects.

DEM Director Terry Gray said protecting working farms makes them more resistant to development. He cited more than 1,000 farms in the state and the nation's highest percentage of beginning farmers, according to the USDA's latest Census of Agriculture.

What the release leaves out

Sen. Jack Reed said in the release that Rhode Island farmers can apply for the funding. The release does not give an application opening date, a deadline, a per-farm amount or the number of farms the grant is expected to cover. Without those figures, the release does not show whether $6.355 million reaches many farms or a few.

Gov. Dan McKee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo were also quoted in the release welcoming the award.