Pennsylvania preserved 1,519 acres on 22 farms in 11 counties, forever protecting them from residential or commercial development. The development rights approved for purchase today by the State Land Preservation Board represent a more than $5.8 million investment in ensuring that Pennsylvania farmers will have prime farmland to feed our families and economy in the future.
“In the simplest terms, without farms we don’t eat,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Pennsylvania has some of the richest soil in the nation and is situated near ports, railways, interstate highways, and 40 percent of the nation’s population – the very people we need to feed. Protecting those economic opportunities and irreplaceable resources for our farmers is one of the most important investments we make as a state.”
Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserved farmland. Since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly supported creation of the Farmland Preservation Program, Pennsylvania has protected 6,336 farms and 634,375 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.69 billion in state, county, and local funds.
Pennsylvania partners with county, and sometimes local government and nonprofits to purchase development rights, ensuring a strong future for farming and food security. By selling their land’s development rights, farm owners ensure that their farms will remain farms and never be sold to developers.
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Categories: Pennsylvania, Rural Lifestyle