ALBANY COUNTY — The 30-day annual review period for Albany County Agricultural Districts began on Feb. 1. During this period, landowners can apply to have predominantly viable agricultural land included in a certified agricultural district.

Landowners interested in adding a parcel to one of the county’s agricultural districts must complete an Agricultural District Review Worksheet, found on the Albany County website at bit.ly/4kf43X2.

At the end of the 30-day open period, the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board will review the applications and report its recommendations to the county legislature.

Based on these recommendations and comments received from a public hearing, the legislature will forward proposed modifications to the districts to the commissioner of New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets for approval.

Municipalities whose territory encompasses the lands that are proposed to be included in an agricultural district will receive a map with parcel numbers of the proposed inclusions and will be notified directly in writing of the time, date, and location of the public hearing.

According to the county, voluntary enrollment in the program provides farmers with benefits including: differential tax assessment; protection against unreasonable local regulations; and special review of proposed eminent domain takings.

Also: Required Agricultural Impact Statement for public projects; notification requirements to inform property buyers about surrounding farming practices; and limited protection against nuisance lawsuits.

The first agricultural district in Albany County was created in the towns of Berne and Knox and certified in July 1974. Between 1974 and 1977, the Albany County Legislature formed five more agricultural districts.

In the early 1980s, the Agricultural District Law was amended to allow parcels to be placed in an agricultural district that were not contiguous. This led to consolidation of what was once six districts into the three current agricultural districts:

— District #1: Berne, Knox (27,637 acres);

— District #2: Westerlo, Rensselaerville (17,696 acres); and

— District #3: Bethlehem, Coeymans, Cohoes, Colonie, Guilderland, New Scotland (25,684 acres).

Participation in Albany County’s Agricultural Districts Program has steadily increased since its inception. Today, there are 71,017 acres of land included in the three districts, which represents most of the county’s productive agricultural land.

The majority of the contiguous blocks of districted agricultural land are in the rural towns of Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville, although the increasingly suburban town of New Scotland also has a significant amount of acreage remaining in agriculture.

Agricultural district lands are somewhat dispersed throughout the town of Coeymans and the more densely populated towns of Guilderland, Colonie, and Bethlehem.