Farmland Preservation

Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program

The Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program, or P.A. 116, is designed to protect farmland and open space through agreements that restrict development and provides tax incentives for program participation. By enrolling farmland in the program for a minimum of 10 years, the landowner may be entitled to certain income tax benefits, and the land will not be subject to special assessments for sanitary sewer, water, lights, or non-farm drain projects. The mission of the program is to preserve farmland and open space from being developed for non-agricultural uses. Sign up for the digital distribution list to stay informed on activities and information from the Farmland Open Space Preservation Program.

The Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program consists of the following methods for preserving farmland and open space:

Farmland Development Rights Agreements: A temporary restriction on the land between the State and a landowner, voluntarily entered into by a landowner, preserving their land for agriculture in exchange for certain tax benefits and exemptions for various special assessments.
Conservation Easement Donations: A permanent restriction on the land between the State and a landowner, voluntarily entered into by a landowner, preserving their land for either open space or agriculture.
Agricultural Preservation Fund: A fund established to assist local units of government in implementing a local purchase of development rights program.
Local Open Space Easement: A temporary restriction on the land between the local government and a landowner, voluntarily entered into by a landowner, preserving their land as open space in exchange for certain tax benefits and exemptions for various special assessments. Click here for the registration form.
Designated Open Space Easement: A temporary restriction on specially designated lands between the State and a landowner, voluntarily entered into by a landowner, preserving their land as open space in exchange for certain tax benefits and exemptions for various special assessments. If you are interested in requesting land be conserved, submit a Designated Open Space Easement Application.
Purchase of Development Rights: A permanent restriction on the land between the State and a landowner, voluntarily entered into by a landowner, preserving their land for agriculture in exchange for a cash payment for those rights. Funding is not currently available for this program. Contact your township or county to see if there is a local Permanent Development Rights Program established.

Consent Agreements

Background on the Issue
A routine review of credit eligibility by the Department of Treasury led to a pause on the issuance of tax credits to a few dozen landowners while the following situation was reviewed.

Landowners had entered into a permanent local easement where the State of Michigan was not a co-owner.

To support the protection of farmland through the local Purchase of Development Rights, the program utilized “consent agreements” which were filed with the registers of deeds and waived the State’s interests in the name of supporting permanent protection.

This allowed landowners to continue to be considered enrolled in the P.A. 116 program.

These consent agreements resulted in the State providing tax credits for a leased right that the state had no enforcement rights to.

In response to this situation, the Michigan Senate introduced a bill package.

Questions specific to the P.A. 116 program, please contact MDARD.

Questions specific to tax credits, please contact Treasury.
Background on the Bill Package
In October 2025, a bill package consisting of seven bills (SB685, SB686, SB687, SB688, SB689, SB690, SB699) was introduced in the Michigan Senate to clarify statutory language and remedy this legal concern.

The bill package would allow impacted landowners to claim the tax credits via a grandfather clause for past credits and through statutory changes moving forward.

The bill package makes other technical changes to the statute, including allowing landowners to remove up to one acre of land from an agreement to allow for parcel boundary changes, and allowing MDARD to relinquish P.A. 116 agreements where the specified parcel overlaps with permanent conservation easements.

On December 23, 2025, Governor Whitmer signed the package of bills into law with immediate effect.

Under the amended statute language, parcels that meet statutory requirements will be eligible for the tax credit moving forward, even if they are enrolled in a permanent local conservation easement.

MDARD will contact landowners directly that may need agreements split or when additional information is needed.

Treasury will be issuing tax credits for impacted parcels moving forward.

Guidance will be shared with landowners, as well as posted online, as it becomes available.

Questions specific to the P.A. 116 program, please contact MDARD.

Questions specific to tax credits, please contact Treasury.