More land added to state farmland program
Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board protected 1,493 additional acres on 18 farms in 12 counties, including a Greene County farm, from development through the state’s farmland preservation program.
The Harley and Janet Gapen Farm No.1, a 112.07-acre crop farm in Greene County, was among the farms added to the program last week.
Since the program began in 1988, state, county and local governments have invested nearly $1.2 billion to preserve 473,094 acres on 4,403 farms in 57 counties for future agricultural production. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program identifies properties and slows the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses.
The program enables state, county and local governments to purchase conservation easements, also called development rights, from owners of quality farmland. In some cases, the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program provides additional assistance. Last fiscal year, Pennsylvania received $6.1 million in federal reimbursements, the largest amount ever.