Certified Local Sponsors complete and submit the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (LAEPP) landowner application on the landowner’s behalf.  A local sponsor can be a municipal corporation, county, township, soil and water conservation district or charitable organization that has been certified by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. 

A landowner cannot submit an application to sell an agricultural easement directly to ODA.  The Ohio legislature requires applications to be submitted by a Local Sponsor on behalf of the landowner in order for the nominated property to be considered for agricultural easement purchase.

Additionally, Local Sponsors and Monitoring Agents may utilize the upload feature in the Landowner Application portal to submit documents to the Farmland Preservation Office.  Use your existing LAEPP landowner application login to access this feature if you already have an account; if you would like to request an account, view How to Register for an Upload Account for the additional information.