The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced today the preservation of 2,044 acres on 29 farms in 15 counties, forever protecting them from future residential or commercial development. The investment of more than $10.2 million in state, county, and local dollars preserves prime farmland, helping Pennsylvania farms continue feeding our families and our economy in the future.
“Prime soil and clean water are critical resources for feeding a growing population,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Families who preserve their farms forge a partnership with government, investing together in ensuring that future Pennsylvania families will have green spaces, and the resources to produce food, income, and jobs. Connecting businesses and communities to resources they need to sustain our economy and feed our quality of life is a key goal of the Shapiro Administration.”
Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in preserved farmland. Since 1988, the Department of Agriculture has protected 6,231 farms and 626,321 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.67 billion in state, county, and local funds.
Pennsylvania partners with county and sometimes local governments and non-profits 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.
The newly preserved farms are in Adams, Berks, Butler, Centre, Clinton, Cumberland, Lancaster, Lehigh, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Union, and Wayne counties.
Farms preserved today and dollars invested, by county:
Adams County – Total investment – $1,123,968, $34,776 – state, $521,300 – county,
$567,892 – township
- Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. #26, Conewago Township, 80-acre horse farm
- Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. #34, Union Township, 63-acre horse farm
- Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. #35, Union Township, 90-acre horse farm
- Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. #36, Union Township, 35-acre horse farm
- Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc. #37, Conewago Township, 56-acre horse farm
Berks County – Total investment – $703,376, $604,966 – state, $98,410 – county
- The Nathaniel S. and Rebecca Weaver Burkholder Farm, Richmond Township, 77-acre crop and livestock farm
- The Charles M. III and Linda L. Evans Farm, Jefferson Township, 51-acre crop farm
- The Elizabeth Moore Farm, Tulpehoken Township, 120-acre dairy farm
Butler County– Total investment – $965,706, $940,706 – state, $25,000 county
- The Debra S., DuWayne L., Ronald K. Flinner and Kimberly R.Cunningham Farm, Muddy Creek Township, 58-acre crop farm
- The H. George, Kathleen J., and Daniel Joseph Hartzell Farm #3, Slippery Rock Township, 144-acre crop farm
Centre County – Total investment – $632,152, $582,152 – state, $50,000 – county
- The Leo and Bernard Corl Farm, Benner Township, 156-acre crop and livestock farm
Clinton County – Total investment – $128,346, $98,346 – state, $30,000 – county
- The Justin J. Snook Farm #1, Greene Township, 60-acre crop and livestock farm
Cumberland County – Total investment – $747,775, $297,775 – state, $450,000 county
- The Jerry L. and Sherri A. Mills Farm, Dickinson Township, 134-acre dairy farm
- The Steven W. and Thomas H. Nealy Farm #6, North Newton Township, 68-acre crop farm
Lancaster County – Total investment – $331,415, $19,782 – state, $267,983 – county, $43,650 – township
- The Joel A. and Jaclyn L. Frey, and Wayne L. and Maryanne W. Hershey Farm, Manor Township, 42-acre crop farm
- The Christ L. and Martha K. Riehl Farm, Mt. Joy Township, 19-acre crop and livestock farm
- The David J. Smucker Farm, Caernarvon Township, 44-acre dairy farm
Lehigh County – Total investment – $630,096, $515,714 – state, $5,000 – county,
$109,382 – township
- The Curtis C. and Janet C. Hoffman Farm, North Whitehall Township, 84-acre crop farm
Mifflin County– Total investment – $93,849, $72,798 – state, $21,050 – county
- The Shawn D. and Emily J. Yoder Farm, Menno Township, 65-acre dairy farm
Monroe County – Total investment – $423,419 state only
- The Homer Borger, Jr. Farm, Eldred Township, 80-acre crop farm
Montgomery County – Total investment – $1,863,665, $1,367,042 – state, $211,623 – county, $285,000 – township
- The College Settlement of Philadelphia Farm, Horsham Township, 30-acre crop farm
Northampton County – Total investment – $2,105,710, $1,699,543 – state, $406,167 – county
- The Malika Chaib Farm, Moore Township, 13-acre crop farm
- The Jeffrey Lynn Setzer and Randy Craig Farm, Lower Nazareth Township, 129-acre crop farm
- Anton Michael Bon Shannon and Lisa A. Miskelly Farm, Lower Nazareth Township, 13-acre crop farm
- The Mary Ellen Wetzel Farm #1, Moore Township, 37-acre crop farm
Northumberland County – Total investment – $169,587, $163,000 – state, $6,588 – county
- Sandra L. Mincemoyer and Mincemoyer Irrevocable Trust Farm, Delaware Township, 89-acre crop farm
Union County – Total investment – $4,470, $4,469 – state, $1 – county
- The Matthew B. Stewart Farm, White Deer Township, 11-acre crop farm
Wayne County – Total investment – $287,634, $282,455 – state, $5,178 – county
- The Justin G. and Alison T. Hoffman Farm #1, Manchester Township, 54-acre crop farm
- The Barbara Ann and Steve L. VanOrden Farm #1, Damascus Township, 146-acre crop farm
These investments will multiply public dollars invested in conservation initiatives, including the new $154 million Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program, supporting farmers’ efforts to reduce water pollution and improve soil quality. Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program also secured a $7.85 million federal grant from USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program to support climate-smart conservation on preserved Pennsylvania farms, an investment that will not only improve conservation efforts, but help measure their impact.
To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program and investments in a secure, sustainable future for Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov. This post adapted from one by the PA Dept. of Agriculture.
