Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP)

The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) is a voluntary program that helps landowners keep their land in agriculture. The program provides matching funds to state, local, or tribal government entities and nongovernmental organizations with existing farm and ranch lands protection programs to purchase conservation easements. The goal of the program is to protect between 170,000 and 340,000 acres of farmland. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been designated as the lead agency in implementing this program.

How FRPP works

USDA partners with state, tribal, and local governments or nongovernmental organizations to acquire conservation easements from landowners. Participating landowners choose to keep their land in agriculture and agree not to convert the land for nonagricultural use. Landowners retain all rights to use the property for agriculture. All lands enrolled must have a conservation plan developed based on the standards in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide.

Applications for FRPP come from states, tribes, or local governments and nongovernmental organizations that have existing farm and ranch lands protection programs. Although a minimum of 30 years is required for conservation easements, priority is given to applications with perpetual easements.

Eligibility

To qualify for FRPP, the land offered must be

• Prime, unique, or other productive soil
• Included in a pending offer from a nongovernmental organization, state, tribe, or local farmland protection program
• Privately owned
• Covered by a conservation plan
• Large enough to sustain agricultural production
• Accessible to markets for what the land produces, and
• Surrounded by parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production

If the land cannot be converted to nonagricultural uses because of existing deed restrictions or other legal constraints, it is ineligible for FRPP.

FRPP Accomplishments - Oklahoma

The following document requires Adobe Acrobat.

FRPP 2006 Progress Report (PDF; 97.2 KB)

Additional progress reports for all Oklahoma programs for can be obtained at  http://www.ok.nrcs.usda.gov/news/OKPublications/index.html

Additional Information

NRCS National FRPP Website - Provides fact sheets and other basic program information.

Contacts

Lanny Miller
Assistant State Conservationist (Programs)
Phone: 405-742-1236
Email: Lanny Miller

Suzanne Collier
Resource Conservationist
Phone: 405-742-1234
Email: Suzanne Collier

Last Reviewed/Modified: 05/27/2008

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