§ 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.