12/16/24 - 110 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/3ubmzu7a
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PA Farmland Preservation Board Protects Another 3,819 Acres
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The Pennsylvania Agricultural Preservation Board voted this week to preserve 3,819 additional acres on 43 farms for future generations through the state's nationally recognized farmland preservation program.
The latest farms to be preserved are located in Adams, Beaver, Berks, Blair, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Monroe, Montgomery and Westmoreland counties.
During the program's 23-year history, 448,466 acres on 4,139 farms have been safeguarded for future agricultural production.
"Agriculture is Pennsylvania's number one industry, providing one in seven jobs and more than $51 billion in total economic impact," said acting Agriculture Secretary George Greig. "Preserving farmland is the first step in securing the future of Pennsylvania agriculture – and our way of life – and I thank the families who have made the decision to set aside land for agricultural production, ensuring the agriculture industry and economy continues to grow and thrive."
The state's farmland preservation efforts work through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program, which was developed in 1988 to help slow the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses.
The program enables state, county and local governments to purchase conservation easements, also called development rights, from owners of quality farmland.
Since the program's inception, state, county and local governments have invested more than $1 billion to preserve farms.
Acting Secretary Greig added that farm succession planning is essential to ensuring producers are available to farm preserved land, and the Center for Farm Transitions can offer assistance to find the next generation of farmers. A number of resources are available at the Center's website.
A list of farms preserved is available online.
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2/28/2011 |
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