To date, NRCS in Massachusetts has routinely recognized prime farmland, unique farmland, and farmland of statewide importance as eligible for agricultural easement programs, including those conducted in partnership with Massachusetts' APR program. If additional important soil types were recognized, more farms would be eligible for easement funding. In 2019, the first Massachusetts farmland of local importance (FLI) was recognized in Hatfield. Speaker Al Averill will share information on the potential to expand the designation of FLI throughout the Commonwealth, and discuss how land trusts could help identify tracts for such recognition.
