On October 12, the PA Agricultural Land Preservation Board voted to permanently preserve 3,620 acres on 44 farms for agricultural production.

The board preserved farms in 20 counties: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Franklin, Greene, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lehigh, Lycoming, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Washington and Westmoreland.

“Pennsylvania is a rich and diverse state, and our agriculture industry reflects that in its people, its products, and its farms,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “In each corner of our state and everywhere in-between, agriculture is unique, important, and threatened by pressures of development, challenging markets, and a host of other factors. Despite these challenges, the 40 families who stepped forward today to preserve their operations did so because they want to see their land remain in production agriculture in perpetuity. They are committed to the future of agriculture here, so we’re committed to investing in them.”

Redding added the meeting resulted in the greatest number of farms and acres being preserved in a single meeting for the program in three years.

The PA Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program, as it is formally known, identifies properties and slows the loss of prime farmland to nonagricultural uses. It enables state, county and local governments to purchase conservation easements, or development rights, from owners of quality farmland.

Since the program began in 1988, federal, state, county and local governments have invested nearly $1.4 billion to preserve 542,800 acres on 5,213 farms in 59 counties for future agricultural production. The state continues to lead the nation in the amount of farms and farmland preserved for use in production agriculture.

In some cases, federal funding helps to preserve these lands. In 2016, the department signed a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service that allows Pennsylvania’s program to submit farms for consideration by the federal Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.

The department secured $1,725,650 in funds under its most recent cooperative agreement to preserve eight farms totaling 1,652 acres, with the potential for additional funding in 2018.

For more information, visit the PA Farmland Preservation Program webpage.

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[Posted: Oct. 16, 2017]

10/23/2017