Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board announced April 17 it has safeguarded five Chester County farms through its farmland preservation program.
The farms are Greenpoint Farm, a 112.8-acre nursery; the Nelson, Joanne, Melvin and Karen Horst farm, a 62.9-acre crop farm; the M. King farm, a 59.9-acre crop farm; the McAfee Family Partnership farm, a 120.2-acre crop farm; and the Joseph and Katherin McCammon Trust farm, a 162.7-acre crop farm.
In all, the board preserved 2,778 additional acres on 28 farms in 13 counties.
“The best agriculture land is often the best land for development, but our farmland preservation program ensures prime soils stay in farming,” said George Greig, state agriculture secretary. “I thank the producers who want to preserve their land and the people behind the scenes who make it happen. Together, we’re preserving agriculture, the cornerstone of Pennsylvania’s economy.”
Since the program began in 1988, federal, state, county and local governments have invested more than $1.2 billion to preserve 489,409 acres on 4,586 farms in 57 counties for future agricultural production.
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.
