Riffel Farm Conservation Easement

The Riffel Farm Conservation Easement covers almost 350 acres of mostly agricultural land in Henry County in west-central Missouri. The land is comprised of two parcels: approximately 270 acres immediately north of the city of Clinton, and another 80 acres just east of Clinton, which is the county seat of Henry County and which is steadily expanding outward into the surrounding countryside.

The easement was donated to Greenbelt in 2024 by Betty Riffel, whose family has assembled, farmed, and stewarded the land over a lengthy period of time. In fact, some parts of the property have been in the Riffel family for over 100 years, which would make those portions of the land eligible for Century Farm status (although the property has not been formally enrolled as such).

Roughly 90 percent of the property is devoted to agricultural uses, primarily cropland for commodity crops such as corn and soybeans. A portion of the land also serves as pasture for cattle. The remaining roughly 10 percent of the land consists of several streams and drainages which are surrounded and buffered by wooded areas.

The protection of the Riffel Farm is important to Greenbelt for several reasons. For one thing, the property represents a significant amount of undeveloped natural landscape that contributes to a larger network of open space in Henry County and possesses scenic and potential educational value to the community. Second, most of the soils on the property are classified by the US Department of Agriculture as prime farmland or soils of statewide importance. Third, this agricultural landscape is threatened by ongoing residential development due to its immediate proximity to the growing, sprawling city of Clinton. And fourth, the protection of this farmland by means of an agricultural conservation easement is consistent with the goals and methods of Greenbelt’s Working Lands Initiative.