July 17, 2003 - With his urban-encroached Macomb County family farm serving as a real-life backdrop, dairy and crop producer Mark Falker is among the many faces and voices featured in a new informational/educational video designed to make sometimes complex farmland preservation programs and strategies easier to understand for Michigan farmland owners and land use leaders.

The 30-minute video, titled "Agricultural Land Preservation Tools in Michigan," is the work of the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance (MFCA), an affiliate of Michigan Farm Bureau dedicated exclusively to farmland preservation, and 13 county Farm Bureaus. (A complete list of sponsors is listed below.) It is being distributed at no cost to county Farm Bureaus, local Farm Bureau Land Use Committees, Michigan State University Extension offices, municipalities and other interested land use stakeholders across Michigan.

"While the idea for the video originated in Macomb County, the concept quickly gained support from others who saw potential benefits for their communities," said Jim Fuerstenau, executive director of the MFCA, which coordinated the video's development.

The video is part of a larger tool kit project to provide local land use leaders with the educational tools and information necessary to conduct and support local farmland preservation initiatives. "This video is an important tool in the tool kit, and we're very appreciative of the Macomb County Farm Bureau for initiating this and Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB), MDA and more than a dozen county Farm Bureaus for recognizing the value and supporting the project," said Fuerstenau.

"This video pulls together many of Michigan's options for farmland preservation. It is a great vehicle for introducing farmland preservation techniques to community officials and landowners," said Rich Harlow, Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program Manager for MDA's Environmental Stewardship Division.

Produced by the MFB Video Services Department, the video is available in DVD, CD Rom and VHS formats. It features 16 individuals involved in farmland preservation and includes a collection of striking farmland scenes from around the state to educate and inform viewers on the farmland preservation strategies and programs currently available in Michigan.

Project sponsors credit the video's effectiveness to its "easy-to-follow format" and its use of "simple language" in explaining sometimes complex topics.

Video topics include: the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program (better known as P.A. 116), Michigan's Purchase of Development Rights program, the Michigan Agricultural Preservation Fund, local Purchase of Development Rights programs, local planning and zoning, and farmland development rights donations to land conservancies.

Each segment features an explanation of the strategy, real-life examples and testimonies from landowners and program professionals, and an explanation of how estate tax planning and tax minimization/deferment strategies can be used with each particular land use tool.

The complete list of project sponsors is as follows:

• Michigan Department of Agriculture
• Michigan Farmland and Community Alliance
• Allegan County Farm Bureau
• Gratiot County Farm Bureau
• Ingham County Farm Bureau
• Iron Range Farm Bureau (Iron, Dickinson, and Western Marquette counties)
• Isabella County Farm Bureau
• Macomb County Farm Bureau
• Midland County Farm Bureau
• Monroe County Farm Bureau
• Muskegon County Farm Bureau
• Oakland County Farm Bureau
• Ottawa County Farm Bureau
• Washtenaw County Farm Bureau
• Wexford County Farm Bureau

Additional videos are available for $5 each. To request a copy or for additional information, call Fuerstenau at the MFCA office, 800/292-2680 ext. 6550 ,or e-mail info@mfcaonline.com.