Rhode Island Wins $6.355 Million Federal Award to Protect Farmland, One of 42 Projects Nationwide
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management announced on Nov. 6 that the state has received $6.355 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service's Regional Conservation Partnership Program to protect farmland, one of 42 projects selected nationwide. The money will support the new Rhode Island Farm Legacy Partnership, which will use producer contracts and conservation easements to help farm owners keep working land in farmers' hands while also protecting adjacent woodland. The state Agricultural Land Preservation Commission holds a list of farms seeking protection but lacking funds and qualified entities; DEM will screen projects jointly with the commission, easements will be held by NRCS, and the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District and the Rhode Island Mediation Collaborative will provide support. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, and Governor Dan McKee all issued statements of support. DEM Director Terry Gray noted that Rhode Island has more than 1,000 farms and, per the latest USDA Census of Agriculture, the nation's highest share of beginning farmers, making farmland succession and protection especially important.
(Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management)
Source: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
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Photo: 图：罗得岛州议会大厦（普罗维登斯）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，授权见图页。 / Photo: Rhode Island State House in Providence. Source: Wikimedia Commons (license on file page).
