Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA)

Pursuant to the Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) of 1981 [Sections 1539-1549 P.L. 97-98, Dec 22, 1981], the Secretary of Agriculture is directed to establish and carry out a program to "minimize the extent to which Federal programs contribute to the unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses, and to the extent practicable, will be compatible with state, unit of local government, and private programs and policies to protect farmland." [7 USC 4201-4209 & 7 USC 658].

This web site provides USDA NRCS employees and others with support for evaluation of farmland sites proposed for conversion to nonagricultural uses.

• NRCS National Farmland Protection Policy Act

The following documents require Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word.

How to complete Form AD-1006 (PDF; 116 KB)
FPPA Form AD-1006, Part II, County Data Table (PDF; 126 KB)
Evaluating Implementation of the Farmland Protection Act (FPPA) Annual Report (CPA-2) - Instructions (PDF; 37 KB)
FPPA Manual Reference Guide (PDF; 601 KB)

Download Form AD-1006 (DOC; 75 KB)
Download Form AD-106 (Corridor Type Projects) (DOC; 78 KB)
Download Form CPA-2 (DOC; 32 KB)
 

Supporting Program Links

• State of California Farmland and Open Space Program
• State of California Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program
• State of California Land Conservation Act (Williamson Act)

Information about Land Evaluation & Site Assessment (LESA) Systems

In 1981, the NRCS, known at the time as the Soil Conservation Service, released a new system that was designed to provide objective ratings of the agricultural suitability of land compared to demands created by nonagricultural uses of land. The rating system became known as Land Evaluation and Site Assessment, or LESA. Soon after it was designed, LESA was adopted as a procedural tool at the federal level for identifying and addressing the potential adverse effects of federal programs (e.g., funding of highway construction) on farmland protection. The Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-98) spells out requirements to ensure that federal programs, to the extent practical, are compatible with state, local and private programs and policies to protect farmland, and calls for the use of LESA to aid in this analysis.

• NRCS National FPPA - LESA

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.

California NRCS List of Approved LESA Systems (PDF; 59 KB)
Example of an approved LESA System developed for Yolo County, California (PDF; 1.36 MB)

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