Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF)

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), created by the General Assembly in 1977, was one of the first agricultural land preservation programs created in the United States and has become one of the nation's leaders in agricultural land preservation, preserving more agricultural land than any other state in the country. MALPF purchases agricultural preservation easements that forever restrict development on prime farmland and woodland; it has permanently preserved land in each of Maryland's 23 counties, representing a public investment of over $900 million. Since 1980, MALPF has purchased easements on over 2,500 properties, permanently preserving over 350,000 acres. Its mission is to preserve productive farmland and woodland for the continued production of food and fiber; curb the expansion of random urban development; help curb the spread of urban blight and deterioration; protect agricultural land and woodland as open space; protect wildlife habitat; and enhance the environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Owners of prime farmland and woodland in Maryland who wish to sell a perpetual agricultural preservation easement on their land. Easements are administered in partnership with certified local (county) agricultural land preservation programs. See the Foundation's fact sheets and the 'How Can the Foundation Help You?' page for detailed landowner eligibility and easement criteria.

MALPF buys a perpetual agricultural preservation easement, so there is no grant amount — the payment is a negotiated purchase price, quoted per acre.

How the price is set: "The amount that the Foundation will pay for your easement is your asking price, the difference between the appraised fair market value of the land and its agricultural value, whichever is less, or a maximum of 75% of the appraised fair market value of the land."

Range actually paid: "Depending on where you live in Maryland, the value of your property, and your asking price, the Foundation has in recent years paid from $600 to over $10,000 per acre for agricultural preservation easements."

Worked example from Fact Sheet 3: $4,000 per acre estimated fair market value minus $1,200 per acre estimated agricultural value equals a $2,800 per acre estimated easement value (which may be capped at 75% of fair market value); discounting that by 20% gives a $2,240 per acre asking price. Landowners commonly discount their asking price to rank better — and selling an easement for less than the full appraised value of the restrictions may qualify the seller for certain tax benefits (consult your tax advisor).

Conditions: minimum property size is 50 contiguous acres, though neighboring landowners may apply jointly to reach 50 acres, and property contiguous to already-preserved land may apply regardless of acreage (Fact Sheet 1). Counties may impose a maximum per-acre offer price as a condition of local approval. Purchases are competitive — MALPF and local governments rank properties and make offers based on available funding. The landowner keeps ownership and may sell or transfer the land, may retain limited development rights, and no public access is required, but the restriction runs in perpetuity.

Contact your local (county) program administrator or MALPF Foundation staff for easement applications and information; addresses and telephone numbers, fact sheets, annual reports, and applicable laws and regulations are available on the MALPF website. Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401, 410-841-5700.