Klein Farms
In January 2019, Klein Farms, LLC of Milam and Falls Counties partnered with TALT to donate a 773-acre conservation easement.
Gene and Jan Klein had always been innovative and passionate land stewards. In 1995, after almost 20 years of traditional farming, Klein’s bank went belly-up and his farming assistance was delayed. Gene had a choice to make – quit farming or quit plowing. “I just quit plowing the ground. I had to,” Klein said.
Though no-till farming was still an enigma to most of the region, Klein was determined to find a way. He engineered his own equipment and developed new farming techniques when existing tools were not sufficient for his situation, and he is now seen as a trailblazer in the central Texas farming community. In the years since he made the conversion, Klein has seen his costs decline and his yields increase. Added benefits include the reduction of wind and water erosion and the development of healthy organic matter levels in the soil.
As members of Falls County Farm Bureau, the Kleins received the Texas Farm Bureau newsletter which led them to the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. “I saw an advertisement for a conservation easement workshop in Boerne and decided to go hear what they had to say,” said Klein. “That’s where I met James Oliver. He struck me as someone I could trust and who understood the realities of a small farming operation. I did a little research online and decided TALT was a perfect partner to help me accomplish my goals.”
Because Klein Farms provides the family income, they were able to utilize the enhanced tax incentives for donated conservation easements and deduct the value of the conservation easement against 100% of their adjusted gross income (AGI). This deduction may be applied over a 16-year period and is one of the most generous charitable tax deductions allowed by law.
The Kleins and their children, who always enjoyed hunting and observing wildlife on their working lands, made this decision together. “Gene and I love to spend evenings in the box blind we call our ‘hotel’ watching the wildlife,” said Jan at the time of the easement closing.
It was this love of the land that was the impetus for the conservation easement partnership with the Texas Agricultural Land Trust.
“I wanted to be sure my land remains in production and is never sold off in small portions for development. I want my family to be able to come out and enjoy the farm forever,” Gene said.
All photos by Wyman Meinzer.
Jan Klein passed away in 2020. She will be missed but her memory remains ever-present on the very lands she helped protect and in the family time spent there. Thanks to the Klein family and their commitment to conservation, a piece of Texas is permanently conserved for future generations.