KINGSTON -- The Ulster County Legislature will accept requests from March 1 to March 30, 2010 from landowners wanting to have their agricultural lands included within a NYS Certified Agricultural District.

Landowners seeking inclusion into a certified agricultural district must submit a completed Ag. District Inclusion Worksheet with tax map identification number(s), a copy of the relevant portion of the tax map, and a description of the land to Virginia Craft, Ulster County Planning Department, 244 Fair Street, P.O. Box 1800, Kingston, NY 12402-1800 within this 30 day period.

The Ag District Inclusion Worksheet and a brochure explaining agricultural districts are available through the Ulster County Planning Department’s website at: www.co.ulster.ny.us/planning/ then select Agriculture and click on Annual Agricultural District Inclusions. 

Agricultural District Law adopted by the New York State Legislature in 1971 provides for the creation of Agricultural Districts to protect and promote the availability of land for farming purposes.  Lands within districts are protected from unreasonable local regulation of farm practices, the acquisition by public entities through the use of eminent domain, and the advance of public funds to construct facilities that encourage non-farm development.

Land used in agricultural production within an agricultural district is not subject to special assessments, ad valorem levies, or other rates and fees for the financing of improvements such as water, sewer or non-farm drainage.

Ulster County has four certified agricultural districts containing over 67,000 acres of farmland.