The Michigan Farmland Preservation Program: An evaluation

Philip D. Gardner; Donald N. Frazier

ABSTRACT:

Michigan's Public Act 116 was the first program to use income tax credits in conjunction with restrictive agreements in an attempt to retain agricultural land and provide farmers with needed tax relief. Questions have been raised about whether the program, now in its fifth year (1979), has met the protection objective. A preliminary analysis of participants by township and county indicates that enrollment under P.A. 116 has occurred primarily in rural areas that are not affected much by demographic and urban factors. Income tax credits may be a useful way to keep agricultural land in production, but these credits must be complemented by other measures. The tax credit mechanism, by itself, appears to be unable to keep land in agriculture.

Footnotes

Philip D. Gardner is an assistant professor in the Department of Soils and Environmental Sciences and the Graduate School of Administration, University of California, Riverside 92521. Donald W. Frazier is a resource economist with the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, Allentown. The authors thank Ralph Barlowe, professor of resource development, Michigan State University, for his assistance in planning and reporting this research.
Copyright 1981 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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