HAGERSTOWN, MD- Washington County wants to help farmers keep their land for farming. They have four programs with different options:
- Ag District: Sign a 10-year agreement to keep your land for farming and get tax breaks on your property taxes. You can renew this every 5 years, or stop whenever you want.
- MALPP: Sell your development rights to the county in exchange for a big one-time payment. Your land stays protected forever, but you can’t build houses or businesses on it anymore. You need to be in the Ag District program first.
- Rural Legacy: Similar to MALPP, but only for land near Antietam Battlefield. They give out competitive grants instead of a one-time payment, so you need to apply and maybe won’t get chosen.
- CREP: This is a federal program that pays you to restore wetlands and wildlife habitat on your land, no matter how much you have.
If you’re a farmer in Washington County and want to keep your land for farming, or maybe restore some natural areas, there are programs available to help you out financially. Contact Chris Boggs, Rural Preservation Administrator for the Washington County Department of Planning and Zoning at 240-313-2447 or [email protected] for more information.
