Department of Agriculture Protects Another 35 Farms, 2,645 Acres Of Farmland, In 18 Counties

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced 2,645 acres on 35 farms in 18 counties will be forever protected from future residential or commercial development. These preserved farms represent an investment of $8.64 million in state, county, and local dollars.

“‘No farms, no food’ is the battle cry for farmland preservation across the country,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Pennsylvania has led that charge, and families who preserve their farms join forces with government, investing together to ensure that future Pennsylvania families will have green spaces and healthy farmland available to produce food, income, and jobs.”

Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in preserved farmland. Since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of the Farmland Preservation Program, Pennsylvania has protected 6,266 farms and 628,967 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing nearly $1.68 billion in state, county, and local funds.

Pennsylvania partners with county and sometimes local governments 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.

The newly preserved farms are in Adams, Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Chester, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Union, and York counties.

Click Here for the list of farms preserved.

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 releases by PA Environment Digest and the PA Dept. of Agriculture.