For the last four generations, Payton Edge's family has worked its 125-acre farm in Clermont.

Today, Edge raises cows for beef and grows grains on about 300 acres. Like many farmers, he leases additional surrounding lands to grow crops on.

Yet he said it's getting harder for farmers to find land. Much of the land that was once used for farming has been developed.

"The area changed so much from when I was younger. There weren't as many subdivisions and houses," Edge said.
Edge said he remembers when corn was grown on a 96-acre tract of land near his house.

"They developed it and turned a good crop ground into some type of development. Everybody knows how much land they need to make a living, there is just not really enough of it to go around," Edge said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has several programs available to encourage landowners to conserve and preserve their lands. Most of the programs often provide financial incentives, either in taxable deductions or in cash payments.

Determining which program is right for a particular piece of land and applying for the program can be difficult.

"There is just an array of conservation incentives and it seems that previously there has not been a program to aggregate all of those in one place so people can evaluate them in menu form," said Shannon Mayfield, director of The Georgia Conservancy's land conservation effort. "That's what we do. We put all opportunities in one place so people can evaluate them."

District Conservationist Buddy Belflower agrees that conservation can be a complex subject that covers several areas.

Most of the people Belflower works with are interested in improving the quality of their soil or water.
"First and foremost, we provide technical assistance ... Once we do that, depending on the nature of the issue there is sometimes cost share available," Belflower said.

Those who may qualify for the incentives do not necessarily receive funding. The process involves a degree of scientific testing and the lands are then ranked in order of priority.

Edge is one of the farmers who was able to receive some cost-share funding through the USDA to help pay for his soil and water conservation efforts.

"They help you in any way they pretty much can," he said. "There are some financial ways they help you. But they'll help you get started and then teach you better ways to do things."

Edge, who was recognized by Soil and Water Conservation as Farmer of the Year in 2011, does his best to care for the land by using natural fertilizers provided by his cows rather than a petroleum-based commercial fertilizer.

He also takes measures to protect the land from erosion.

Farmers like Edge who are interested in conserving their lands can benefit from a conservation program in which the government could pay for 50 percent of improvement costs.

But farmers aren't the only landowners who can benefit from these programs. Similar programs are available for the conservation of pastures and grasslands as well as land along streams, marshes or swamps.

Landowners also have the option of a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legal document designed to permanently protect their land from development. An easement can either be paid for by the government or the land can be donated for tax deductions.

The land will remain the property of the owner. Apart from the agreement not to develop the land, the owner can still use the land to hunt or fish. The owner can still sell the property at any time. The agreement passes on to the new owner.

Elachee Nature Science Center serves as a Land Trust and holds a conservation easement for 1,500 acres in the Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve. The center also holds an easement for 15 acres on the edge of the park, that land is owned by a private developer.

The developer can build a limited number of houses or structures on the property, but still retains ownership of that property.

The center is responsible for keeping the land in its easement in a healthy state.

Andrea Timpone, Elachee President and CEO, said the primary mission of Elachee is education and conservation.

"It's one of the most important things we can do to ensure clean air, clean water and healthy land in the future. It's a long-term vision," Timpone said.