§ 322. Definitions. When used in this article:

1. "Agricultural and farmland protection" means the preservation,
conservation, management or improvement of lands which are part of
viable farming operations, for the purpose of encouraging such lands to
remain in agricultural production. Such preservation efforts include the
use of farmland protection conservation easements and purchase of
development rights.

2. "Plan" means the county and municipal agricultural and farmland
protection plan as provided for in this article.

3. "Program" means the state agricultural and farmland protection
program created pursuant to the provisions of this article.

4. "Not-for-profit conservation organization" means an organization as
defined in subdivision two of section 49-0303 of the environmental
conservation law.

5. "Soil and water conservation district" means an entity as defined
in subdivision one of section three of the soil and water conservation
districts law.

6. "Farmer-purchaser farmland protection agreement" means preemptive
purchase rights or other provisions that are part of or linked to a
farmland protection conservation easement providing the easement holder
the preferential right to purchase protected farmland at its
agricultural use value in the event the landowner intends to sell such
farmland to a purchaser who does not intend to maintain the land in
commercial agricultural production and who does not have the requisite
farming experience and farming income to demonstrate, in a manner
acceptable to the department, a good faith plan to maintain the land in
commercial agricultural production. The purpose of such provisions is to
ensure that farmer-purchasers who would maintain protected farmland in
commercial agricultural production can afford such farmland that might
otherwise be sold at a higher price to other purchasers.

7. "Agricultural use value" means the fair market value of a property
that is restricted by an easement to its productive commercial
agricultural use value rather than the highest and/or best potential use
value for residential or other non-agricultural purposes.