This article on the Mother Earth News website discusses creating a conservation easement agreement with a land trust in order to save your farmland from development. Although it seems like a good idea if your main objective is to make sure your farmland remains the way it is, I can think of a few burdens that this type of arrangement could bring. It obviously restricts use to farm use only, but it also may restrict your farm use. You could be prevented from changing the landscape to accommodate new farming methods. Your heirs could be prevented from building new homes on the property, which could be a problem if multiple heirs want to use and live on the property.
It seems worth looking into if you own a large acreage and you want to preserve it. Consult a land use attorney as well as your estate planning attorney to ensure that the provisions of the agreement give you maximum protection.
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