Rhode Island Farmland Preservation Program Wins $6.355 Million Federal Grant to Permanently Protect Two Farms
RHODE ISLAND — Rhode Island's farmland preservation program has received a $6.355 million federal grant to permanently protect two farms in the state. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service said on November 7 that through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, the federal government will work with the Rhode Island Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission to acquire the agricultural development rights on two farms, ensuring the land stays in farm production rather than development. Rhode Island is the smallest state in the nation, making its farmland especially scarce. The easement program, a longstanding Farm Bill initiative, helps state and local governments, tribes and nonprofits protect cropland and grassland by purchasing easements. The locations and acreage of the two farms were not disclosed in the announcement; the state commission will handle the acquisitions and stewardship that follow. State agriculture officials say permanently protecting farmland matters for local food supply and farm communities. Farmland in Rhode Island has steadily been lost to housing and commercial development in recent years, and preservation is seen as key to keeping agriculture rooted in the state.
Source: USDA
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：罗得岛州凯西农场（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 3.0。 / Photo: Casey Farm, Rhode Island (file photo). Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
