MADISON, Wis. -- The farm immortalized in Ben Logan's book "The Land Remembers" is being protected with a conservation agreement.

The 89-year-old author signed a deal last week with the Mississippi Valley Conservancy to protect Seldom Seen Farm, the setting for his story about growing up in rural Wisconsin.

The ridgetop farm is in the southwestern corner of the state between Mount Sterling and Gays Mills. Logan now lives in Viroqua.

Tim Jacobson, the conservancy's executive director, calls the farm "an important piece of American cultural history."

The conservation easement allows Logan to keep ownership of the farm, which will continue to be leased as farmland, but the easement also ensures future owners will not develop the land.