RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - With a deadline looming, nearly $2 million in state matching funds is available to Virginia localities for farmland preservation.
Oct. 30 is the deadline to apply to the Office of Farmland Preservation of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The matching dollars are earmarked for the purchase of development rights.
In exchange for the purchase of development rights, farm and forest lands are protected from development.
To qualify, localities must certify the amount of matching funds they have available for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements.
Forms are available at: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/preservation/tools.shtml#forms .
The matching funding from the state totals more than $1.9.
