Land
Farmland & working lands
Farming is the foundation of the southern Illinois economy. Working lands in our area provide crops and food, fuel, and fiber to the local communities and people throughout the globe. Working lands also define the rural character of much of our region and provide a green oasis when located within communities. Beyond food, well-managed farmland offers wildlife habitat, builds healthy soils, sequesters carbon, and provides scenic open space.
Southern Illinois contains millions of acres of prime farmland – some of the most highly productive soils in the world. We work to protect these critical soils from development while helping farmers preserve their farming legacy, connect new farmers to the land, and bolster farmland’s economic viability.
Delbert Wittenauer conserved his historic farm in Monroe County, Illinois, with a conservation easement through HeartLands Conservancy.
Conserving Your Farm
For generations, farms across southern Illinois have fed our communities, supported local economies, and shaped the landscape we call home. Yet every year, thousands of acres of farmland are lost to development—land that, once gone, is gone forever.
At HeartLands Conservancy, we help farm families protect their land and their legacy through Agricultural Conservation Easements. These voluntary agreements permanently protect farmland from development, ensuring that it remains available for agriculture—whether row crops, pasture, or specialty farming—for generations to come.
An Agricultural Easement is also a flexible tool: you continue to own your land, farm it, lease it, and pass it down or sell it when the time comes. But it guarantees that the land’s future will always include farming.
By conserving your land, you help safeguard the rural character of our region, ensure local food production, protect soil and water resources, and honor the hard work of those who farm before and after you.
We’ve already helped protect over 3,000 acres of working farms in southern Illinois—and we’re here to help you explore whether this is right for your land and your family.
Please contact Anna Mcatee, Conservation Manager of HeartLands Conservancy at (618) 566-4451 extension 23 or email her at an*********@*******************cy.org
She’s happy to talk with you in person, through email, or chat on the phone about your thoughts and questions.
Learn more about the tax benefits of donated conservation easements »
Frequently asked questions about donating a conservation easement »
Leaving Your Farm’s Future in Good Hands
Some farm families and landowners choose to protect their farm by donating it to HeartLands Conservancy. When we accept a farm, we honor that gift by ensuring the land continues to be farmed and cared for, preserving its agricultural and natural values for future generations.
Depending on the circumstances, we may continue to own the land and work with farmers who will steward it using practices that protect healthy soils, clean water, and wildlife habitat. In other cases, we may place a permanent conservation easement on the farm and sell it to a farmer committed to caring for the land, ensuring it remains available for farming, forever. When we sell conserved land, all proceeds go directly to support additional conservation work in the region.
In both scenarios, your legacy continues: the land remains in agricultural production, protected from haphazard development, and managed in ways that support healthy communities and healthy soils.
Whenever possible, we encourage farming practices that build soil health and keep our working landscapes resilient for generations to come.
If you’re thinking about the future of your farm, we’re here to help you explore ways to ensure your land remains farmland—and remains cared for—long into the future.
Please contact Mary Vandevord, President & CEO, of HeartLands Conservancy at (618) 566-4451 extension 20 or email her at ma************@*******************cy.org.
She’s happy to talk with you in person, through email, or chat on the phone about your thoughts and questions.
Learn more about the tax benefits of donating land »
Frequently asked questions about donating land »
