Today, Pennsylvania safeguarded 2,638 acres on 30 farms in 16 counties through the state’s nation-leading Farmland Preservation Program. Since 1988, the program has purchased permanent conservation easements on 5,843 Pennsylvania farms, covering 594,457 acres, in 59 counties, ensuring they will remain farms in the future.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen vividly how crucial our farms are for food in our stores and on our tables,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Ensuring that farms stay farms instead of becoming warehouses or parking lots is an investment in all of our futures, and one of the most effective partnerships among farmers and government at every level.”
Preserved farms are protected from future residential, commercial or industrial development. They represent targeted investments in the future of farming and food security in Pennsylvania.
The 30 farms preserved today are in Beaver, Butler, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union and York counties.
These farms include crop, cattle, sheep, goat and dairy operations.
Notable farms preserved today include the Keith Eckel Farm, a 78.85-acre crop operation with soils classified as the most productive, along the banks of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in Lackawanna County.
The David F. and Diane M. Friedman Farm, a 48.45-acre crop operation in Northampton County, is being preserved in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceOpens In A New Window. In addition to providing land necessary for food production, preserved farms with forested and natural areas also provide significant wildlife habitat.
The Alfred D. Nagle Farm, a 98.53-acre crop operation in Schuylkill County, is part of a 4,100-acre Agricultural Security Area (ASA), of which 646.42-acres are permanently preserved. There are more than 1,000 townships across Pennsylvania with designated Agricultural Security Areas. This designation is required for farms to be preserved through the state farmland preservation program.
Farms preserved and dollars invested, by county:
Beaver County – total investment of $68,993 state, $20,100 county
The Rachel Mignogna Farm #1, a 21-acre crop and livestock operation
Butler County – total investment of $341,544 state, $100,000 county
The Foertsch Farm 2020 #2, a 102-acre crop and livestock operation
Chester County – total investment of $1,004,986 state
The Christ S., Jr. and Martha F. Petersheim Farm, a 54-acre crop and livestock operation
The Terry L. and Nancy M. Stauffer Farm, an 88-acre livestock operation
The Emanuel K. Fannie S. Stoltzfus Farm, an 82-acre crop and livestock operation
Cumberland County – total investment of $383,926 state, $105,881 county
The Kenneth E. and Patricia Ann Dietch Farm, a 31-acre crop operation
The Alvin M. and Pauline G. Weaver Farm, a 116-acre crop and livestock operation
Dauphin County – total investment of $131,160 state
The James L. Jr. and Lorretta L. Long Farm, an 87-acre crop operation
Lackawanna County – total investment of $437,803 state, $147,843 county
The Keith W. Eckel Farm #1, a 79-acre crop operation
The Kathy M. Everett Farm #1, a 147-acre crop operation
Lancaster County – total investment of $314,899.12 state, $674,385.00 county
The A. Omer, Charmayne Brubaker Farm, a 45-acre sheep and goat operation
The Levi S. and Ruth Ann Kauffman Farm, a 77-acre crop operation
The Lorna and Bartnick Nolt and Karen M. & Amos Conley Farms, a 70-acre crop operation
The Warren Z. and Linda M. Sensenig Farm, a 110- acre dairy operation
The Edward L. and Debra A. Zug Farm #2, a 29-acre crop operation
Lawrence County – total investment of $ 100,096 state, $23,362 county
The Douglas and Karen Beatty Farm, a 93-acre crop and livestock operation
Lebanon County – total investment of $153,686 state, $67,223 county
The S. Cleason and Mary Joyce Nolt Farm, an 87-acre crop and livestock operation
Lehigh County – total investment of $54,553 state, $1,276,533 county
The Larry Lew Hower Estate, a 71-acre crop operation
The Richard and Patricia R. Hughes Farm, a 43-acre crop operation
The Mark A. and Katherine Lichtenwalner Farm, a 135-acre crop operation
Luzerne County – total investment of $940,105 state
The Joseph and Patricia Gans Farm, a 274-acre crop operation
Northampton County – total investment of $803,454 state, $357,024 county
The Paul H. et al Deck Farm, a 115-acre crop operation
The David F. and Diane M. Friedman Farm, a 34-acre crop operation
The Brad J. and Allyson Weinhofer Farm, a 74-acre crop operation
Schuylkill County– total investment of $205,448 state
The Alfred D. Nagle Farm, a 99-acre crop operation
Snyder County – total investment of $126,478.63 state
The Myra L. and Smith, Paul R. & Gordon E. Deitrich Farm, a 61-acre crop operation
Union County– total investment of $134,376.58 state, $126,963 county
The Richard O. Grace, Michael and Jamie Noll Farm, a 105-acre crop operation
York County– total investment of $930,960 state
The Ronald E. Coleman Farm #2, a 161-acre crop and livestock operation
The Glen A. and Susan E. Daugherty Farm #3, a 32-acre crop operation
The David S. and Janet D. Evans Farm #1, a 117-acre crop and livestock operation
To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program and investments in a secure future for Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov.
