Planning for the Future of Your Family’s Land Seminar

May 11, 2010

The Conservation Trust for Florida, Inc (CTF), the University of Florida IFAS Extension offer a series of interactive seminars for landowners to learn practical steps for passing their land from one generation to the next.  The first of these seminars will be held on Tuesday May 11, 2010 from 9:00 AM until 2:30 PM at the Trinkle Center, Plant City, Florida. 

Many landowners are faced with the challenge of finding ways to provide for their retirement and for their heirs, while insuring that their land is kept in the family for future generations.  Farmers, foresters and ranchers tend to have a lot of value sitting in real estate with limited revenue to support all of one’s family members. Furthermore, there is often pressure to sell off land to development.  Often family members are not certain if or how they may participate in the future management of their land.  The Planning for the Future of Your Family’s Land Seminars are designed to help landowners begin discussions with their family regarding long term hopes and goals for their property and to understand options for keeping land in agriculture and forest production. 

Seminar attendees will review the options to protect their family land.  After attending the seminar, landowners will be better able to initiate the planning process for how their land may be passed on to the next generation.  They will also be able to define conservation easements and how these easements are appraised as well as understand financial and tax impacts of a donated or purchased conservation easement.  Purchasing programs that are available for conservation easements and understanding the steps and costs to create a conservation easement will also be presented at the seminar.

Farmers, foresters, ranchers, landowners and their families as well as accountants, appraisers, lawyers, students, and others interested in the protection of the special places in our state are encouraged to attend the seminar.  Please register for the seminar at http://pfyfl.eventbrite.com/. A $15 contribution for lunch and materials is requested in advance.  Credit Card payments may be made through the eventbrite webpage registration. 

The Conservation Trust for Florida (CTF) is a private not for profit organization that works with landowners on a voluntary basis to help them meet their long term land management and conservation goals.  CTF hosts the seminars with its partners including the UF-IFAS Extension Offices and is supported with funding from a USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Grant, the Quail Roost Foundation, Progress Energy, Sally Venerable, and the Educational Foundation of America.   The 2010 seminar series follows a two year introductory series of seminars entitled “Tax Benefits and Conservation Opportunities for Agricultural Lands.” More than 300 landowners, professionals, and stakeholders from 28 Florida counties have attended the first seminars. A second date and venue for the Planning for Your Family’s Land Seminar will be held on Thursday June 10, 2010 from 9:00AM until 2:30PM in Columbia County, Florida.  For more information go to: www.conserveflorida.org .

CTF thanks the Hillsborough County Extension Office, Tampa Bay Forest Working Group and Tampa Bay Conservancy for their support of the May seminar.