LESA

Farmland Preservation

Farmland Protection

Between 1982 and 1997, 1.47 million acres of farmland were developed in Pennsylvania, representing 94% of all newly developed land in the state.

The Agricultural Conservation Easements Purchase Program was developed in recognition that farming is a vital component of the country's economy and farmland and open space are valued natural resources.

The money in the Agricultural Conservation Easements Purchase Program is a combination of state and local matching funds and is administered at the county level. As of November 2001, 45 Pennsylvania counties were participating in the program resulting in the preservation of 1,764 farms and a total of 194,619 acres.

View the PA Department of Agriculture statistics for Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchases by County.

Farmland Preservation and GIS: GIS Interface Helps Pennsylvania Prioritize Farmland for Preservation from the National Consortium for Rural Geospatial Innovations-Chesapeake, PSU

Pennsylvania Wins National Farmland Protection Award

Washington, D.C., February 5, 2001 -- American Farmland Trust, a national farmland conservation group, today presented Governor Ridge and the State of Pennsylvania with a national achievement award for farmland protection. The award recognizes Pennsylvania for having protected the most farms and farmland of any state in the nation.

Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program, which is publicly funded, has permanently protected nearly 1400 farms and more than 180,000 acres of farmland. This year alone, the state protected nearly 300 farms-the most preserved during any one-year period since the program's inception.
    - American Farmland Trust
      Press Release

Mapping Farmland Preservation

Total Easement Acreage
Total Easement Acreage

Number of Easement Farms
Number of easement farms

Total Easement Purchased
Total Easement Purchased