Gallatin Valley Land Trust, the NRCS ALE Program, Gallatin County Open Land Program and the Flikkema family have partnered to conserve prime farmland in the Amsterdam-Churchill area within Gallatin County.

     It’s another example of the productive partnerships that bring impressive agricultural conservation to the Gallatin Valley that maintains local food production and helps preserve farm and ranch legacies.

     The project is funded by the NRCS ALE Program and the county open land program, and the Flikkemas are making a sizable contribution to the project as well.

     “They’re only getting compensated for about half of what they’re willing to give up on behalf of the community, and I think that is probably the most obvious sign of their interest of doing this on behalf of the community and their family,” said Gallatin Valley Land Trust Executive Director Chet Work in a Bozeman Daily Chronicle article.

     From the article: This easement would conserve the family’s land for agricultural purposes and prevent industrial or commercial activity on the property. A key component of obtaining funding from the NRCS was that the federal department designated 73% of the soil on the land as agriculturally significant, Work said.