Outagamie County has over 45,000 acres designated as AEA

MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) – Outagamie County was one of five Wisconsin counties to have acres designated as agricultural enterprise areas (AEAs).

According to a release, The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has designated over 88,000 acres as AEAs in Chippewa, Dodge, Dunn, Green Lake, and Outagamie counties.

The acres in Outagamie County that are designated as AEAs are:

• Cicero Blackmour AEA, Outagamie County: Includes 45,466 acres in the towns of Black Creek, Cicero, and Seymour. This is the third AEA in the county and joins Three Rivers and the Greenville Greenbelt AEAs. The goals of the AEA are to explore and expand beyond traditional agriculture and agricultural-related uses to allow for increased sustainability and market stability for existing and future agricultural operations. 

There are currently 43 AEAs in the state totaling 1.4 million acres located in portions of 28 counties, 119 towns, and the Bad River Reservation.

An AEA designation identifies land important to Wisconsin’s agricultural future that supports local farmland protection goals, the agricultural economy, environmental efforts, and rural prosperity.