LEBANON — Eleven possibilities for preserving Warren County farmland — ranging from conservation easements to concentrated housing — will be pitched to the county commissioners today.

        “It's getting to the point where, if we're going to market the county as having this rural atmosphere, we're going to have to do something to preserve it,” said farmer Tom Spellmire, co-chairman of the farmland/open space committee.

        Case in point: In the year it took the committee to develop its recommendations, the county probably lost 1,600 acres of farmland. That figure comes from Ohio Department of Agriculture reports that the county lost 8,000 acres, or 5.7 percent, from 1995 to 2000.

        Mindy Hale, 34, a lifelong resident of Harlan Township in southeastern Warren County, said she has seen the transformation and is eager for government to put the brakes on it.

        The United States is losing 1.2 million acres of farmland a year, according to the Farmland Preservation Trust.

        But the loss has been particularly swift in Warren, the state's second-fastest growing county. In 2000, the county had 133,000 acres in farmland. That is less than Butler's 146,000 acres, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

        The commissioners requested a study of preservation options after a 2000 survey showed a third of county farmers wanted their land to stay in agriculture permanently and another third wanted it to stay in agriculture as long as they owned it.

        The farmland/open space preservation committee includes developers, farmers, planners and local offi cials. The group did not reach consensus on its recommendations, said county Planning Director Bob Craig.

        They include:

        • Buying permanent conservation easements — prohibitions on development — on land that would continue to be farmed but also have limited public access. The county doesn't have any closed-loop hike/bike trails, Mr. Spellmire noted, and farmland might be a good place to run one through or around.

        • Planning roads, water lines and other infrastructure with agricultural uses in mind — for instance, making sure roads are wide enough for tractors.

        • Letting farmers expand by borrowing against their land. In exchange, they would agree to permanent conservation easements on the land to be bought.

        • Developing or rehabbing subdivisions in cities, thus revitalizing their cores and making it less likely farmland will be used for houses.

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