Preserving the family farm: Free seminar for farmland owners

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — The Land Conservancy of McHenry County will host a seminar to explain how an agricultural conservation easement is the only way to ensure that your farm will never be developed.

The seminar will be held from 10 a.m. to noon May 1 at McHenry County Farm Bureau, 1102 McConnell Road, Woodstock, with lunch to follow.

Hear from landowners who have gone through the farm preservation process and learn about the financial and legal aspects of an agricultural easement.

The seminar and lunch are free, but register by calling The Land Conservancy at 815-337-9502, ext. 110, or register online at ConserveMC.org.

Panelists at the seminar include:

• David Wolf, attorney, The Law Office of David J. Wolf, Woodstock.

• Frank Harrison, appraiser, Harrison & Associates, Woodstock.

• Karen Strano, who preserved her family farm in Woodstock.

• Ginger Gauger, who preserved her family farm in Richmond.

• Farm program staff, The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

This seminar is for people who own farmland and are thinking about its future and what they can do to keep it in agriculture, whether it stays in the family or not.

An agricultural easement is a voluntary legal agreement that preserves the land for agricultural use in perpetuity.

The Land Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the natural and agricultural landscapes of McHenry County.