Applications Being Accepted For Frederick County’s Installment Purchase Program

It helps protect farmland from development.Farmland  (Photo from Frederick County Office of Agriculture)Frederick, Md (KM) Frederick County farmers interested in taking part in the Installment Purchase Program can begin applying now. The IPP is a farmland preservation program which purchases easements—or development rights– on properties to keep them in agricultural use.The County’s Office of Agriculture says farmers who participate in IPP will receive tax free interest for their properties over a ten to 20 year period, with a lump sum principle payment at the end of the term.For the first time since 2015,  the per-acre easement value for the IPP has increased.The Installment Purchase Program was established in 2002 by the County Commissioners, and has protected 22,881 acres of agricultural land from development. . This combined with other agricultural preservation programs has managed to keep 77,419 in in agriculture over the years, including 73,514 acres in permanent preservation, the County’s Office of Agriculture says.The deadline to apply for this program is September 3rd, 2024.”Agricultural land preservation programs provide many opportunities to protect our farmlands and natural resources,” says Katie Stevens, Director of the Frederick County Office of Agriculture, in a statement.. “We appreciate County Executive Jessica Fitzwater’s commitment to preserving our farmlands by signing off on an increase in the easement value for this important program.”(For more information go to https://frederickcountymd.gov/8570/Installment-Purchase-Program-IPP). They can also call Shannon O’Neil, the Land Preservation Administrator, at 301-600-1411 by no later than September 3rd, 2024.)By Kevin McManus