Looking to own farm or ranch land?

Sonoma County Ag + Open Space’s Buy-Protect-Sell program is exploring a new way to help farmers and ranchers seeking their own small to midsize agricultural property. We will aim to make land more affordable by buying a farm or ranch property, protecting it with a conservation easement, and then selling the conserved land to a qualified farmer or rancher. We are aiming to buy, protect, and sell one property by the end of 2025.

For those interested in participating in this program, the first step is applying to join our pool of potential buyers. To learn more and apply:

  • Step 3: Once Ag + Open Space has developed a pool of potential buyers AND has identified a property, we will invite each potential buyer to submit a proposal. Those interested will submit proposals that will be reviewed by a buyer assessment panel. Additional details about the process can be found in the program overview.

We will be holding an informational webinar for interested applicants in early December – check back soon for more details!

Protecting the land

Applicants are encouraged to review the conservation easement draft below, along with the definitions of agricultural conservation covenants and affordability covenants. These protections will be included with any land sold through this program, and more information about them can be found in the Program Overview linked above. 

Conservation easement >>
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and Ag + Open Space that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its agricultural, scenic, natural, and open space conservation values. 

Agricultural conservation covenant
An agricultural conservation covenant requires that the property remain in continued agricultural use. A sample of this document is coming soon.

Affordability covenant
An affordability covenant aims to enhance equitable access to land by restricting the maximum increase in the price of the property for subsequent sales. A sample of this document is coming soon.

Questions? Please email BPS@sonoma-county.org