Thursday, Pennsylvania protected 2,264 acres on 32 farms in 18 counties from future development, investing nearly $8.2 million in state, county and local dollars to ensure that prime farmland is not lost to development. This brings Pennsylvania's total to 6,076 farms and 613,884 acres in 58 counties, now forever protected from commercial, industrial or residential development. Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in the number of preserved farms, investing more than $1.6 billion since 1988 to protect the state's valuable farmland.
The 32 newly preserved farms are in Berks, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Schuylkill, Washington and York counties.
"Saving farmland protects the beauty and productivity of our state, the health of our environment, the vitality of our economy, and our ability to feed a growing population," Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. "It is not only one of the most important investments our state, federal and local governments make together, it is a priority we all agree on."
By selling their land's development rights, landowners preserve their farms, protecting land from future residential, commercial or industrial development. Farm families often sell their land at below market value to ensure that it will remain farmland forever. Pennsylvania partners with county and sometimes local governments and non-profits to purchase development rights, ensuring a strong future for farming and food security.
Pennsylvania has a long-standing partnership with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program -- the first of its kind -- which has invested more than $16 million to date to implement measures on farms to improve water and soil quality in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Gov. Tom Wolf's $1.7 billion planOpens In A New Window to help Pennsylvania recover from the COVID-19 pandemic would further extend these investments. The plan devotes $450 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to support conservation, recreation, and preservation efforts including farmland preservation.
Notable farms preserved at today's PA Land Preservation Board meeting include:
The Nancy A. and Webb C. Miller Farm in Ferguson Township, Centre County is one of three partially forested farms being donated to the program this month. Many preserved farms include valuable woodlots, which provide wildlife habitat, storing carbon and renewing groundwater.
Aaron Ezra and Gary H. Eby in East Earl Township, Lancaster County are the sixth generation of the Eby family to farm this land. Preserving the farm will ensure the family's farming legacy for generations to come.
W. Darren and Suzanne K. Marsteller's farm in Hopewell Township, York County is in an area under intense development pressure as a bedroom community for Baltimore. Local officials have worked hard to protect area farmland, with 4,431 acres enrolled in the township's Agricultural Security Area, a prerequisite for selling the development rights to preserve a farm.
Drew M. and Kimberly S. Cowden raise purebred Shorthorn cattle for show, in Hopewell Township, Washington County, marketing in fifteen states and Canada in recent years.
Farms preserved today and dollars invested, by county: can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3Oq2KU9.
To learn more about Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program and investments in a secure future for Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov. Find recent program highlights in the 2021 Annual Report.
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