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
