Ranch protection deadline June 1

Applications for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program are being accepted until June 1 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Nevada.

The program provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranch land in agriculture.

To qualify, the farm or ranch land:

n Must be privately-owned,

n In Nevada, must contain at least 50 percent of prime farmland, or be lands of statewide importance and are irrigated

n Contain historical or archeological sites that are:

n Consensus determined by the State Historical Preservation Office or the Tribal Preservation Office, or

n Formally nominated to the National Register, and

n Be part of a pending offer from a state, tribal, or local government, or a non-governmental organization's agricultural land protection program,

·n Must have a conservation plan on acreage determined to be highly erodible, and

n Must contain sufficient acres to sustain agricultural production.

For application information, visit www.nv.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp or contact the Nevada NRCS State Office, (775) 857-8500, ext. 103.

Applications must be sent o the Nevada State Conservationist, Attn. Peggy Hughes, 1365 Corporate Blvd., Reno, NV 89502.

Applications will be ranked as they are received and will be accepted on a continuous basis.