Farmland Retirement Program
Farmland Retirement Program supports Vermont farmland retirement projects by funding land or conservation easement purchases where continued farming harms water quality, helping protect surface waters.
Funder: Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
Due Dates: See VHCB’s board calendar for application deadlines
Funding Amounts: Typically $500,000–$700,000 available annually; up to $20,000 in associated costs per project
Summary: Supports the purchase of Vermont farmland or conservation easements to retire land whose continued farming harms water quality.
Key Information: Projects must remove all or part of the land from agricultural production.
Description
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) runs the Farmland Retirement Program with funding from the State’s Clean Water Fund. It supports buyouts where farming has a direct negative effect on water quality and remedying the problem while keeping the land in production is physically or financially infeasible. VHCB can support purchase of the property or a conservation easement to retire an entire farm or part of its agricultural land.
Projects generally include a restoration component, though program funds cannot pay for restoration itself. The program’s primary goal is to maximize water-quality benefits and protect surface waters. Past projects have paired retirement with floodplain forest and wetland restoration.
