Massachusetts Farmland Unlocked For Cannabis Cultivation

In the US state of Massachusetts, protected farmland can now be utilised for growing cannabis.

Massachusetts’ Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program, established in the 1970’s, is a voluntary program that pays owners of farmland the difference between the “fair market value” and the “agricultural value” of their land in exchange for a permanent deed restriction protecting it for future agricultural use. This prevents it from being built on by development companies for non-agricultural purposes.

Landowners with at least five acres of land with suitable soils that have been in agricultural production for the last two years can apply for the program – and there are restrictions as to what can be grown on the land from the point of being accepted.