Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration announced that Pennsylvania preserved 2,553 acres on 30 farms in 21 counties, forever protecting them from residential or commercial development.
This investment of more than $8.7 million brings the total during 2023 to nearly $46.3 million invested to purchase land development rights for 13,663 acres on 166 farms, helping ensure that Pennsylvania farmers will have prime farmland to feed our families and economy in the future.
Preserving prime farmland is one of the critical investments Governor Josh Shapiro has made in supporting Pennsylvania's 52,700 farm families. The nearly 6.4 percent overall increase in the Agriculture Department's budget for 2023-24 is multiplying farmers' efforts to conserve land, soil, and water resources by investing in land preservation, equipment purchases, business planning, and farm management tools they need to innovate and grow.
"Without prime farmland, we simply don't have the resources to grow food and supply the $132.5 billion our industry feeds into our economy every year," Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. "Pennsylvania farm families who sell their land development rights are leaving a legacy that ensures Pennsylvania families will have green spaces and healthy farmland available to produce food, income, and jobs. The Shapiro Administration is proud to support that legacy."
Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserved farmland. Since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly supported creation of the Farmland Preservation Program, Pennsylvania has protected 6,314 farms and 632,856 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.69 billion in state, county, and local funds.
Pennsylvania partners with county, and sometimes local government and nonprofits to purchase development rights, ensuring a strong future for farming and food security. By selling their land's development rights, farm owners ensure that their farms will remain farms and never be sold to developers.
Farms preserved today and dollars invested, by county:
- Adams County – Total investment – $348,810, $299,721 – state, $24,989 county, $60,100 Township
- Arentz Family #2 – 60-acre crop farm, Union Township
- Bruce Pohlman and Son Hog Farm – 43-acre crop farm, Union Township
- Berks County – Total investment -- $1,011,061, $451,359 – state, $559,702 county
- Jerry L. and Darlene A. Berk – 89-acre crop farm, Albany Township
- Dean E. and Darene B. Hartman – 140-acre crop farm, Lower Heidelberg Township
- Elam G. Hoover – 133-acre crop farm, Bern Township
- Blair County – Total investment – $270,127, $185,127-- state, $85,000 -- county
- James R. and Linda J. Negley – 125-acre crop farm, Huston Township
- Bucks County – Total investment – $143,500, state only
- TNT Groundworks – 17-acre crop farm, Riegelsville Borough
- Chester County – Total investment – $239,977, $9,645 state, $230,333 county
- Thomas W. Morelli, Jr. – 42-acre crop farm, East Nantmeal Township
- Erie County – Total investment – $165,051 state only
- Shane L. and Judith A. Kosterman #1 – 92-acre crop farm, Venango Township
- Franklin County – Total investment – $271,066 state only
- Donald and Denise Martin #1 – 105-acre crop farm, Guilford Township
- Huntingdon County – Total investment – $301,630, $256,630 state, $45,000 county
- Kristen N. and Kenneth E. Snyder Jr. – 224-acre crop and livestock farm, Warriors Mark Township
- Lancaster County – Total investment – $182,806, $12,046 -- state, $125,760 – county, $45,000 township
- Sandra J. Witmyer – 43-acre crop farm, Warwick Township
- Lebanon County – Total investment – $51,423, $26,498 – state, $24,929 county
- Charles R. and Susan M. Zimmerman – 20-acre crop farm, Jackson Township
- Lehigh County – Total investment – $1,474,385, $1,178,403 – state, $206,019 – county, $89,963 – township (Upper Milford)
- Russell E. and Susan L. Foster – 130-acre crop farm, Weisenberg Township
- Stanley A. and Carol A. George – 64-acre crop farm, Weisenberg Township
- Donald A. Haas – 55-acre crop farm, Lowhill Township
- Leslie H. Nonnemacher – 21-acre crop farm, Upper Milford Township
- Lycoming County – Total investment – $230,423, $217,852 – state, $12,572 county
- Mountaintop Real Estate Holdings – 98-acre crop farm, Cogan House Township
- Gary R. and Barbara A. Womelsdorf – 81-acre crop and livestock farm, Moreland Township
- Mifflin County – Total investment – $230,099, $175,830 – state, $54,269 county
- Steven R. and Juanita M. Byler – 167-acre crop farm, Granville Township
- Montgomery County – Total investment – $1,420,431, $902,031 – state, $302,400 county, $216,000 -- township
- Andrew Dale and Tanya Joy Frankenfield – 12-acre crop and livestock farm, Franconia Township
- Northampton County – Total investment – $317,682 state only
- Stacey and Clayton Stine III – 42-acre crop farm, Upper Mount Bethel Township
- Union County – Total investment – $464,958, $388,976 – state, $75,982 county
- Luke W. and Ada Mae Hoover #2 – 25-acre crop farm, Buffalo Township
- Alan C. and Chrystal L. Kaler #1 – 141-acre crop and livestock farm, Lewis Township
- Washington County – Total investment – $244,893, $234,893 – state, $10,000 -- county
- Charles E. Monticello #2 – 97-acre crop and livestock farm, Cross Creek Township
- Wayne County – Total investment – $145,542, $132,712 – state, $12,829 -- county
- Charles J., Amy S. and Andrew Theobald – 96-acre crop and livestock farm, Clinton Township
- Westmoreland County – Total investment – $311,174 state only
- Rosa Beth Snyder-Boyd and Kenneth H. Ofslager #2 – 86-acre crop farm, South Huntingdon Township
- Wyoming County – Total investment – $147,868, $96,378 – state, $51,490 -- county
- Benjamin Zdandiewicz – 68-acre dairy farm, Falls Township
- York County – Total investment – $722,708, $430,317 – state, $292,392 -- county
- Daniel J. and Beth A. Innerst #2 – 103-acre crop and livestock farm, Springfield Township
- Christopher G.F. and Megan E.F. Lighty #1 – 138-acre crop farm, Windsor Township
These purchases continue to multiply public dollars invested in conservation initiatives, including the new $154 million Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program, supporting farmers' efforts to reduce water pollution and improve soil quality, along with Clean & Green tax incentives, Resource Enhancement and Protection dollars, and other conservation funding. Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program also secured a $7.85 million federal grant from USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program to support climate-smart conservation on preserved Pennsylvania farms, an investment that will not only improve conservation efforts, but help measure their impact.
To learn more about Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program and investments in a secure, sustainable future for Pennsylvania agriculture, visit agriculture.pa.gov.