Shapiro administration invests $5 million to protect farms and acreage

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Shapiro Administration announced that Pennsylvania protected 2,038 acres on 22 farms in 13 counties from future residential or commercial development. The investment of nearly $5 million in state, county, and local dollars preserves prime farmland for the future, helping Pennsylvania farms continue feeding families and the economy.

Governor Shapiro demonstrated his commitment to conservation in his 2023-24 budget proposal by continuing to support the conservation tax credits, loans, grants, incentives and initiatives in the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, and proposing a new $2.5 million investment to help guarantee the integrity of state and local investments in preserving prime farmland.

Since 1988, Pennsylvania has protected 6,202 farms and 624,277 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.6 billion in state, county, and local funds. Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in preserved farmland.

Pennsylvania partners with county and sometimes local governments and non-profits 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.

The newly preserved farms are in Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Crawford, Cumberland, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer, Union, and York counties.

Western Pennsylvania farms preserved today and dollars invested are:
• Crawford County– Total investment – $100,931, $99,931 state, $1,000 county
• The Levi A. and Susan M. Byler Farm, East Fallowfield Township, an 89-acre crop farm
• Mercer County– Total investment – $155,880, $110,680 state, $45,200 county
• The Robert L. and Nancy E. Witt Farm, New Vernon Township, a 150-acre crop farm

These investments will multiply public dollars invested in conservation initiatives, including the recently launched $154 million Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program, supporting farmers’ efforts to reduce water pollution and improve soil quality. Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program 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.