FARMLAND PRESERVATION FUND Subject to annual appropriations, this bill establishes a fund for the development and implementation of programs that benefit Tennesseans by preserving farmland and forestland, including a grant program for conservation easements. Within such fund, this bill establishes a special agency account, to be known as the farmland preservation fund, which must be administered by the commissioner of agriculture, for funds allocated to the department of agriculture for purposes of this bill. GRANT PROGRAM This bill requires the department to develop a grant program within the farmland preservation fund for farmland and forestland owners to enroll their land in a permanent conservation easement held by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal income taxation and that acquires or proposes to acquire a conservation easement on farmland or forestland in the state, whether through purchase, donation, or other transfer ("qualified easement holder"). This bill authorizes the department to award a grant to a qualified easement holder or directly to the farmer or forester. A grant application must include, at a minimum, proof satisfactory to the department that (i) the farmer or forester has entered into, or has contracted to enter into, a conservation easement with a qualified easement holder; and (ii) the farmland or forestland covered by the conservation easement will be used for farm or forestry purposes. PROHIBITIONS This bill prohibits a qualified easement holder from selling, transferring, releasing, or otherwise divesting a conservation easement acquired by participating in the grant program. Additionally, this bill clarifies that governmental entities are not eligible to participate in the grant program. RULEMAKING This bill authorizes the commissioner to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill, including the establishment of eligibility criteria.