Farm Bill Programs:
Agricultural Lands Easement Program

Purpose of Program

• The Agricultural Lands Easement Program (ALE) is a voluntary program that helps farmers, ranchers and tribal members keep their land in agricultural production by providing matching money to qualifying entities, normally land trusts, which can then be used to buy conservation easements on eligible land.

Eligibility

• Eligible land must be part or all of a privately owned or tribal farm or ranch that contains prime, unique, or other productive soil, historical, or archeological resources; protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving the land including expiring CRP; or further a State or local policy consistent with the purposes of this program.
• Highly erodible land must be managed under a conservation plan.
• The eligible land must be part of a pending offer from a qualified entity such as a land trust.

Contracts and Cost-Share

• Contract Period - 5 years with option to renew for another 5 years.
• Program payment cap of $200,000 per person or legal entity for the period of 2014-2018.
• Payments cover planning, installation, improvement and maintenance of conservation activities, forgone income, and expected environmental benefits. Provides supplemental payments for adopting or improving beneficial resource conserving crop rotations for the life of the contract.

Application Process

• Applications can be filed year round at qualifying entities and land trusts.
• Texas Land Trust Council website:www.txaglandtrust.org
• Texas Ag Land Trust website: www.txaglandtrust.org