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PA Preservation Board Protects Additional 2,928 Acres of Prime Farmland

Posted on: Thursday, 9 April 2009, 12:22 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Prime farmland in 14 counties will remain viable for future agricultural production through today's action by the Agricultural Preservation Board to protect an additional 2,928 acres on 37 farms, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

In its 21-year history, Pennsylvania's nationally recognized farmland preservation program has safeguarded 414,720 acres on 3,782 farms from development.

"Agriculture is Pennsylvania's leading economic enterprise, employing one in seven citizens and contributing $5.8 billion to our state's economy each year," said Wolff. "We must continue to maintain our excellence in agriculture by protecting our productive farmland for use by future generations."

The latest preserved farms are in Berks, Centre, Clinton, Cumberland, Fayette, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Union and York counties.

The state's farmland preservation program works through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program, which was developed in 1988 to help slow 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.

Since the program's inception, state, county and local governments have invested more than $1 billion to preserve farms.

For more information about Pennsylvania's nationally recognized farmland preservation program, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us and click on "Producers."

CONTACT: Nicole L. C. Bucher (717) 787-5085

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Source: PR Newswire

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