BALTIMORE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A western Michigan farmer has become the 50th landowner to donate to a state conservation easement program aimed at preserving farmland.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced George Cullers of Barry County’s Baltimore Township has donated 137 acres (54 hectares) to be used as permanent farmland.
Cullers says in a release he donated development rights in memory of his late wife, Donna, adding it “seemed right” to continue the nearly 160-year tradition of farming on the land.
The state says the 50 donated agricultural easements total 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares). Overall, the Development Rights Program holds 136 easements that preserve 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares).
Officials presented a resolution to Cullers and placed a 50th conservation easement sign on his lawn.
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