The farms are located in Adams, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Carbon, Chester, Cumberland, Fayette, Franklin, Lawrence, Lebanon, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Potter, Schuylkill and York counties.
These joint investments by state and local governments ensure that Pennsylvania farmers will have the prime-quality land they need to continue feeding our families and supporting jobs and communities in the future.
Since the Shapiro Administration began, Pennsylvania has preserved 380 new farms and 32,505 prime acres of farmland across the state.
“Pennsylvania has some of the most productive farmland in the nation,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “When that land is lost to development, we lose one of our most valuable economic assets. The Shapiro Administration continues to stand up for Pennsylvania’s farmers by supporting the contributions they have made to seal our reputation as a national leader, and by investing to protect and improve the resources they need tomorrow, and the innovations that will keep PA on top.”
In 2023 and 2024, Pennsylvania preserved 332 new farms and 27,481 prime acres of farmland across the state, investing more than $96.6 million. Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in preserved farmland.
Since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly supported creating the state’s Farmland Preservation Program, Pennsylvania has protected 6,530 farms and 652,085 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing nearly $1.76 billion in state, county, and local funds.
The state partners with local governments and nonprofits to purchase development rights for preservation, ensuring a strong future for farming and food security.
By selling development rights, farm owners ensure that their farms will remain productive farms and never be sold to developers.
The 600-acre Holl Farm — Cumberland County’s largest preserved farm to date — will leverage federal dollars to preserve farms on the county’s wait list by virtue of participating in the federal government’s easement program in 2024.
Click Here for a list of farms preserved and the announcement.
Visit Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Program webpage to learn more about this program.
Related Articles This Week:
-- Manada Conservancy Protects 656 Acres in Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape In Dauphin County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- MCall: Northampton County Will Preserve 43 Acres Of Open Space In Stockertown
-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Protect Public Lands To Protect Local Businesses And Communities - By Silas Chamberlin, DCNR Conservation & Natural Resources Advisory Council & York County Economic Alliance [Federal Recreation Cuts]
-- WHYY: New Book By Doug Tallamy Urges Everyone To Put Native Plants In Their Yards
-- Brodhead Watershed Assn. Hosts May 6 Gardening For Wildlife - How People Benefit When Nature Thrives Workshop In Monroe County [PaEN]
-- Central PA Conservancy: April 11-12 Celebrate Letort Spring Preserve Weekend In Cumberland County
-- TribLive: Seton Hill, Westmoreland Land Trust Host April 13 Outdoor Family Event
-- Willistown Conservation Trust Hosts May 15 Exploring Otter Populations, Conservation And Their Vital Role In Nature, Rushton Conservation Center, Delaware County, 6:00 p.m.
[Posted: April 10, 2025] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment