Rule-Making Notices (Hearing Notices)

rulemaking_notices Wisconsin Administrative Register No. 655, 7/31/2010

Rule-Making Notices

Notice of Hearing

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announces that it will hold public hearings on a rule designating 12 agricultural enterprise areas (AEAs) encompassing a total of just under 200,000 acres pursuant to s. 91.84, Stats. An AEA is a contiguous land area, devoted primarily to agricultural use, which is locally targeted for agricultural preservation and agricultural development.

Hearing Information

DATCP will hold two public hearings at the times and locations shown below.

Date:   August 12, 2010

Time:   2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Location:   Town of Washington Town Hall
  5750 Old Town Hall Road
  Eau Claire, WI 54701

Date:   August 16, 2010

Time:   2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Location:   Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer
  Protection
  2811 Agriculture Drive
  Board Room, 1st Floor
  Madison, WI 53704

Hearing impaired persons may request an interpreter for these hearings. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by August 5, 2010 by contacting Coreen Fallat, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Agricultural Resource Management, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911, [e-mail], telephone [phone]. Alternatively, you may contact the DATCP TDD at [phone]. Handicap access is available at the hearings.

Submittal of Written Comments

DATCP invites the public to attend the hearings and comment on the rule. Following the hearing, the hearing record will remain open until Tuesday, August 31 for additional written comments. Comments may be sent to the Division of Agricultural Resource Management, Attention Coreen Fallat, at 2811 Agriculture Drive, Madison, WI 53708, by email to [e-mail] or online at http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov.

To provide comments or concerns relating to small business, you may also contact DATCP's small business regulatory coordinator Keeley Moll at the address above, or by emailing to [e-mail] or by telephone at [phone].

Copies of Proposed Rule

You may obtain free copies of the proposed rule by contacting the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Agricultural Resource Management, 2811 Agriculture Drive, Attention Coreen Fallat, Madison, WI 53708. You may also obtain copies by calling [phone] or emailing DATCPWorkingLands@ wisconsin.gov. Copies will also be available at the hearing. To view the proposed rule online, go to: http://adminrules.wisconsin.govKeeley.Moll@ datcp.state.wi.us.

Analysis Prepared by Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

This rule designates 12 agricultural enterprise areas (AEAs) pursuant to s. 91.84, Stats. An AEA is a contiguous land area, devoted primarily to agricultural use, which is locally targeted for agricultural preservation and agricultural development. The 12 AEAs designated by this rule encompass just under 200,000 acres. The AEAs include land in 11 counties and 27 towns (some of the AEAs cross town or county lines).

The designation of an AEA does not control or restrict land use. However, the owners of farms located within an AEA may enter into voluntary 15-year farmland preservation agreements with DATCP. That enables them to claim farmland preservation tax credits under s. 91.613, Stats.

Statutes interpreted

Section 91.84 and 91.86, Stats.

Statutory authority

Section 91.84 (1) and (2), Stats.

Explanation of Statutory Authority

Under s. 91.84 (1), Stats., DATCP may designate up to 15 AEAs, encompassing a total of not more than 200,000 acres, before January 1, 2012. DATCP may designate additional AEAs after January 1, 2012. DATCP may designate AEAs by a special abbreviated rulemaking process described in s. 91.84 (2), Stats.

DATCP may designate AEAs in response to local petitions under s. 91.86, Stats. Each petition must be signed by at least 5 farmers within the AEA, and by the affected county and local governments. Other persons may sign in support of a petition.

Related rules or statutes

Owners of farms located within an AEA may enter into voluntary 15-year farmland preservation agreements with DATCP, pursuant to s. 91.60, Stats. Those farmers may claim farmland preservation tax credits under s. 91.613, Stats. Tax credits are higher for farms that are also covered by a certified farmland preservation zoning ordinance under subch. III of ch. 91, Stats. An owner of a farm located within an AEA may enter into a farmland preservation agreement, regardless of whether the farm owner signed the petition requesting designation of the AEA.

Plain language analysis

This rule designates the following 12 AEAs, totaling just under 200,000 acres, in the following locations (the AEA's are specifically described by the maps shown in Appendix A to this rule):

AEA name	AEA Location (County and Town)
Antigo Flats AEA	Langlade County; Towns of Ackley, Antigo, Neva, Peck, Polar, Price and Rolling
Ashippun/Oconomowoc AEA	Dodge and Waukesha Counties; Towns of Ashippun and Oconomowoc
Bayfield AEA	Bayfield County; Town of Bayfield
Bloomer Area AEA	Chippewa County; Town of Bloomer
Cadott Area AEA	Chippewa County; Towns of Goetz and Delmar
La Prairie AEA	Rock County; Towns of La Prairie and Turtle
Maple Grove AEA	Shawano County; Town of Maple Grove
Rush River Legacy AEA	St. Croix County; Town of Rush River
Scuppernong AEA	Jefferson County; Towns of Cold Spring, Hebron, Palmyra and Sullivan
Squaw Lake AEA	Polk and St. Croix Counties; Towns of Alden, Farmington, Somerset and Star Prairie
Town of Dunn AEA	Dane County; Town of Dunn
Windsor AEA	Dane County; Town of Windsor

Comparison with federal regulations

There are no federal programs comparable to the AEA program implemented by this rule. Over 15 states have “agricultural district" programs that bear some resemblance to the AEA program implemented by this rule, including the neighboring states of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. However, each of those state programs has its own unique features.

None of the programs in other states is exactly comparable to the AEA program implemented by this rule, and some are more comparable to Wisconsin's farmland preservation zoning program. Some include limits on non-farm development, local planning requirements, right-to-farm protection, rewards for conservation practices, per acre property tax credits, and eligibility for participation in a conservation easement program.

Summary of data and analytical methodologies

DATCP evaluated AEA petitions in consultation with a panel that included independent reviewers. DATCP and the reviewers considered factors identified in ss. 91.84 and 91.86, Stats., as well as a variety of other factors identified in the petition forms. Petitioners were invited to submit, and did submit, extensive data and information to support their petitions.

Environmental Impact

This rule, by itself, does not have a direct impact on the environment. This rule enables eligible farmers to enter into voluntary farmland preservation agreements with the state. Those agreements will have a positive effect on the environment by preserving agricultural land and promoting compliance with state soil and water standards.

This rule is not a “major action significantly affecting the quality of the environment," for purposes of s. 1.11, Stats. No environmental impact statement is required under s. 1.11, Stats. or ch. ATCP 3, Wis. Adm. Code.

Small Business Impact

This rule, by itself, does not have any direct impact on farmers or other business owners. The designation of an AEA does not control or restrict land use. However, farm owners in an AEA are eligible to enter into voluntary 15-year farmland preservation agreements with DATCP. That enables them to claim farmland preservation tax credits under s. 71.613, Stats.

Participating farmers may claim a significant tax credit benefit for the 15-year term of their agreement ($5 per acre per year, or $10 per acre per year if the land is also covered by a certified farmland preservation zoning ordinance). The AEA designation may also help reassure farmers and investors that the affected area will remain in agricultural use. The AEA designation may encourage, and help focus, agricultural investment and development.

Farmers who choose to enter into farmland preservation agreements (in order to qualify for tax credits) may incur some costs to keep their land in agricultural use for 15 years, and to comply with state soil and water conservation requirements. Some of these farmers may already be complying with conservation standards. In any case, the decision to enter into a farmland preservation agreement is voluntary. The cost of compliance for participating (if any) may be outweighed by the tax credit benefit.

Many of the farmers who will benefit from this rule are “small businesses." This rule will have a positive effect on those small businesses. This rule will impose no new mandates on small business (farmland preservation agreements are entirely voluntary). This rule is not subject to the small business delayed effective date under s. 227.22 (2) (e), Stats.

Fiscal Estimate

As a result of this rule, farmers in the designated AEAs will be able to enter into voluntary farmland preservation agreements with DATCP. That will enable them to claim farmland preservation tax credits under s. 71.613, Stats. For farms covered by agreements, farm owners may claim an income tax credit of $5.00 per acre. If the land is also covered by a certified farmland preservation zoning ordinance, the farm owner may claim a tax credit of $10.00 per acre. The tax credits, paid by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, will be an annual cost to the State of Wisconsin. It is not possible to know exactly how many of the acres designated as an AEA will be entered into a farmland preservation agreement. An estimate of the cost of tax credits to the state assuming 40% of the acres are covered by an agreement can be found in the fiscal estimate.

The Department of Revenue will incur some added costs for personnel, supplies and services to process tax credit claim forms and pay the tax credits. However, those costs can likely be absorbed within DOR's current operating budget.

DATCP will incur some added costs to publish in the state newspaper and for personnel, supplies and services to enter into farmland preservation agreements with farmers in the designated AEAs. However, those costs will be relatively small and can be absorbed within DATCP's current operating budget.

Farmers claiming tax credits in the designated AEAs must comply with state soil and water conservation requirements. Counties monitor compliance, and may suspend a farmer's tax credit eligibility if the farmer fails to comply. Counties in which the AEAs are located may incur some additional costs for personnel, supplies and services to monitor conservation compliance by farmers claiming tax credits pursuant to farmland preservation agreements in the designated AEAs. In many instances, that cost can be absorbed within the counties' current operating budgets.

Agency Contact Person

Questions and comments related to this rule may be directed to:

Coreen Fallat

Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

P.O. Box 8911

Madison, WI 53708-8911

Phone: [phone]