Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP)

Conversion of farm and ranch land to non-agricultural uses has accelerated over the past decade.  Michigan currently ranks 9th in the nation for amount of farmland converted.  The Farm & Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) provides federal funding to states, local units of government, non-governmental organizations and federally recognized Indian Tribes to share in the cost of purchasing conservation easements.  The purpose of the FRPP program is to protect the agricultural use and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting non-agricultural uses. Land eligible for FRPP funding must be privately owned land on a farm or ranch that contains one of the following:

• Prime, unique or statewide important soil

• Historical or archeological resources
• Land that furthers the policy of a state or local farmland protection program