On August 10, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced that Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board permanently preserved 2,303 acres on 30 farms in 16 counties for agricultural production.

“These newly preserved farms represent an investment in the future of our state economy, our environment, and the world’s food supply,” said Redding. “The partnership of state, county, local and federal government working to protect these farms from non-agricultural development combines with the farmers’ commitment to a longstanding tradition of conservation. Together our efforts benefit the common good.”

Since the commonwealth’s program began in 1988, federal, state, county, and local governments have purchased permanent easements on 5,359 farms totaling 555,006 acres in 59 counties for agricultural production.

Under Governor Wolf, funding has increased by more than $12.5 million, which means $40 million is available for the program this fiscal year, Redding added. Since taking office, the Wolf administration has preserved 627 farms totaling 52,342 acres of prime farmland across Pennsylvania.

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 more than $1.7 million under its most recent cooperative agreement to preserve eight farms totaling 1,652 acres.

The Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program, as it is formally known, is dedicated to slowing the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses. Funding allows state, county, and local governments to purchase conservation easements from owners of quality farmland. State, county, local, funds committed at this week’s meeting, and allocated to county programs, will secure the purchase of development rights to preserve farms waiting on the county backlog lists.

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program, visit agriculture.pa.gov.

Farms Preserved:

Berks

The Brenda L. Dehart farm, a 35-acre crop farm

The Keith J. and Margaret Ann #1, a 120-acre crop and livestock farm

Bucks

The Dolores Bonk farm, a 110-acre crop farm

Schmidt Properties, LLC, a 55-acre crop farm

Butler

The Ron and Carol Kennedy farm #1, a 100-acre crop and livestock operation

The Charles and Gretchen McGowan farm #1, a 49-acre crop farm

Chester

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, Inc. #2, a 70-acre crop farm

The Benjamin S. and Mary K. Lapp farm, a 71-acre dairy operation

The Bootsie B., Nina H., and Andrew P. Pannell III farm #2, a 69-acre crop farm

The Benuel S. and Marian Stolzfus farm, a 108-acre crop and livestock operation

Columbia

The Donald W. and Joyce M. Megargell farm, a 64-acre crop farm

Dauphin

The Robert and Nancy Kain farm #1, a 62-acre crop and livestock operation

The Albert Morgan farm #2, a 48-acre crop and livestock operation

Indiana

The Phyllis Streams #1 farm, a 137-acre crop farm

Lancaster

The Merrill Dan Borntrager farm, a 76-acre crop and livestock operation

The John B. Groff and Jeanette H. Newcomer farm, a 22-acre crop farm

The Darla and H. Landis Weaver, Jr. farm, a 162-acre crop and livestock operation

Lawrence

The Lance and Megan Nimmo farm #2, a 35-acre crop farm

Lebanon

The Burnell H. and Darlene H. Martin farm #2, an 18-acre crop farm

Lehigh

The Harriet M. Herb farm, a 28-acre crop farm

The Delbert S. and Kayleen M. Skirk farm, a 61-acre crop farm

The Kevin L. Smith farm #2, a 47-acre crop farm

The Kevin L. Smith farm #3, a 92-acre crop farm

Lycoming

The Charles E. Kitzmiller farm, a 121-acre crop and livestock operation

Lorson Angus Farms, an 82-acre livestock operation

Northampton

The Estate of Margaret Nagy farm, a 81-acre crop farm

The Robert C. Oswald farm, a 69-acre crop farm

Potter

The R. Wayne Baumann farm, a 169-acre crop farm

Westmoreland

The Carbone Revocable Trust farm #1, a 94-acre crop farm

The Wayne and Hope Frye farm #3, a 47-acre crop farm