Agricultural & Conservation Easements

Partner with SRT to protect your farmland…forever.

SRT’s mission is to help farmers and ranchers protect some of the world’s most productive farmland.  Whether you are a San Joaquin Valley farmer or southern Sierra Nevada foothills rancher interested in protecting your property, read on to learn how we can help.

The legal agreement SRT uses to protect farms is called a conservation easement. Placing an easement on your property is an effective way to ensure the integrity of your farm for generations to come. The terms of an easement effectively extinguish the right to develop land beyond its highest and best use for agricultural productivity by selling or donating further development rights to SRT. The result is a property that must predominantly and perpetually be used for agricultural purposes. Conservation easements are entirely voluntary, and once one is in place it is permanent.

Every conservation easement is custom and therefore unlike any other. Each is tailored to landowner’s desires and vision, the interests of the land trust, and the unique characteristics of the land. The landowner retains ownership and use of the property, and Sequoia Riverlands Trust is not involved in daily operations of your farm.

Numerous benefit result from placing a conservation easement on your farmland.  An easement can provide:

• The peace of mind that comes with knowing your family property will forever remain intact.

• A cash infusion for farming operations, debt reduction, or other uses.

• A potential reduction in property and estate taxes.