An 89-year-old retired St. Joseph County farmer, known for agricultural advocacy during his career, may well have set a conservation benchmark for his neighbors and other county farmers.

Eugene M. Myers, whose 140-acre farm is located in St. Joseph County Indiana, southeast of South Bend, is the first farmer in the county to enroll his land in a Farmland Conservation Easement managed by Wood-Land-Lakes Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. Under the terms of this legal, permanent agreement, recorded with the deed, the property can be willed, sold, or rented, just like any other property, as long as the land is used for agricultural purposes. The farm’s buildings can be altered or razed but not more than one house can exist on the property. The property can also be reverted to a completely natural state. Any future owners will be bound by Mr. Myers' conservation easement.

Mr. Myers made the announcement to a small group of agricultural interests and officials at his farmstead on March 20, 2008, which, he pointed out, was the first day of spring and National Agriculture Day and was quite fitting for the occasion. Mr. Myers contacted Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D because he has good farmland and he wants to see it preserved. He would also like to see more farms put into conservation easements.

One of the purposes of Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D, a non-profit organization, is to permanently protect farmland from non-farm development. Under the terms of the agreement, Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D has assumed the responsibility for the protection of this land forever, through its' volunteer steering committee. Comprised of private citizens and property owners interested in seeing farmlands remain in production forever, the committee will perform yearly on-site monitoring to be sure the restrictions Mr. Myers has placed on his farm are being adhered to. Once an easement is granted, it is highly unlikely it will ever be rescinded.

Mr. Myers’ parents originally owned 100 of the acres that comprise the present farmstead. Eugene became active in the farm operation in 1939 and then purchased the farm and additional acreage in 1949. The main portion of the current farm house was built before 1873. Eugene Myers and his wife Mary lived on the farmstead until 2007, when they moved into a local retirement home. Mrs. Myers died in September, and feeling that she would be in favor of a conservation easement, Eugene began working with Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D in October.

For most of his career, Mr. Myers managed the property as a general livestock (hogs, dairy cows, and sheep) and field crop (corn, hay, and wheat) operation with emphasis on poultry. Selling over 200 crates of eggs a week in South Bend, Elkhart and Niles to grocery stores, hospitals, restaurants, and individuals, he hired help to run the chicken house but he did all the selling.

Mr. Myers was also a salesman of sorts when it came to farm activities and organizations. He is a charter member of the St. Joseph County Soil and Water Conservation District and served on the district board for 44 years. He is well-known locally for advocacy of the District’s annual tree program and other conservation practices. He is also an active recruiter for county Farm Bureau membership. In addition to placing 140 acres of land into a conservation easement, Mr. Myers has also incorporated about 26 acres of his farm in special wildlife habitat programs and 11 acres in a forest reserve program.

Wood-Land-Lakes RC&D has enrolled about 1,400 acres of farmland in the Farmland Conservation Easement program. The organization was formed in 1994 to preserve cropland and natural areas in the 6-county area of Steuben, Elkhart, LaGrange, Noble, Whitley, and DeKalb, as well as some adjacent counties, which include St. Joseph and Allen. For more information about the program click on the related links on the Farm Protection on the Land Committee page of this website, or contact us.