BRODHEAD — Farmland owners in Decatur Township of Green County are invited to attend an informational meeting on a proposed Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA). The meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at the Decatur Town Hall (1408 14th Street, Brodhead). 

The purpose of the meeting is to inform farmland owners of what an AEA is, the benefits of designation as one, what protections they do or don’t provide, and voluntary programs that become available after designation. Attendees will have the chance to see and discuss where the boundary should be, what to name the area and be able to sign a petition for support of the Ag Enterprise Area.  

Green County recently updated its Farmland Preservation Plan so that areas of the county could petition the state for an AEA designated status. DATCP (Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection) accepts petitions from around the state from January through July. The petition application is lengthy and requires landowners and businesses within and nearby that rely on farms to support the AEA petition. By supporting the petition, farmers are not required to participate any further. But once a petition has been approved, farmland owners in the designated AEA may enter into a farmland preservation agreement that could reward them with $10 an acre tax credit.

The Town of Decatur passed a resolution in favor of supporting the establishment of an Agricultural Enterprise Area in June. It recognizes that agriculture is an important component of the Town’s economy, landscape and rural character. The informational meeting on Sept. 3 is the next step to protecting agricultural land and enhancing the local agricultural economy in Decatur Township.