Four Chester County farms were recently placed into preservation through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board – strengthening the county’s standing in the agriculture industry.

The Farms set aside to be preserved are the Samuel A. Goodley Jr. farm, a 22.1-acre crop farm near Oxford; the David R. and Ruthann Keirn and Douglas G. and Jessica D. Engle farm, a 10.66-acre crop farm; Plainfield Farm LP near Parkesburg, a 42.95-acre crop and dairy farm; and the Benjamin and Katie Stoltzfus farm, a 33.71-acre crop and livestock operation near Parkesburg.

Agriculture is the number one industry in Pennsylvania, with sales of $5.9 billion. Chester County has the state’s second highest farming revenue – over $550 million, according to the Chester County Agricultural Development Council.

In all, the board preserved 2,359 acres on 26 farms in 13 counties. Since the program began in 1988, federal, state, county and local governments have invested more than $1.2 billion to preserve 486,628 acres on 4,558 farms in 57 counties for future agricultural production.

“Our farmland preservation program’s success is the partnership between government, non-profit organizations and the producers who enroll their land in the program,” Agriculture Secretary George Greig said in a news release. “Working together, we’re preserving Pennsylvania agriculture for generations of farm families to come.”

This year the board approved meeting a $30 million state funding threshold for 2014 easement purchases. Counties across Pennsylvania have certified $16.6 million for farmland preservation in 2014.

The Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program identifies properties and slows the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses. It 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 Ranchlands Protection Program provides additional assistance. Last fiscal year, Pennsylvania received $4.2 million in federal reimbursements.