Farmland Preservation

2012 National Resources Inventory Report

2015
The report provides updated information on the status, condition, and trends of land, soil, water, and related resources on America's farmland. The 2012 NRI provides nationally consistent data for the 30-year period 1982–2012.
Last Modified
Jul 20, 2018
Viewed
1873 times

2017 Census of Agriculture: National and Pennsylvania Data

2019
The Census of Agriculture is a census conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service that provides the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every county in the United States. Files below for entire report and Pennsylvania data. In Pennsylvania, agriculture is a $7.7 billion industry.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
2083 times

ACEPP Program Audit

2008
Legislative Budget and Finance Committe audit of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program
Last Modified
Jan 30, 2017
Viewed
3786 times

Act 149 of 1988 (amends Agricultural Area Security Law)

1988
Organizations/Sources: Pennsylvania General Assembly
This act established Pennsylvania's agricultural conservation easement program. It amended the act of June 30, 1981 (P. L. 128, No. 43), known as the "Agricultural Area Security Law," to further provide for agricultural areas, public hearings, evaluation criteria, decisions and reviews of proposed areas, appeals, limitation on local agencies, policy of Commonwealth agencies, limitations on exercise of eminent domain and purchases of development easements in agricultural areas; authorizing the issuance of bonds for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements; making an appropriation; and making editorial changes. (As legislation, the act was known as House Bill No. 442.)
Last Modified
Dec 14, 2020
Viewed
9350 times

Agricultural Area Security Law (as amended through 2013)

2013
This is a copy of Act 43, which created the Agricultural Security Area program. The document reflects all revisions to this statute, through Act 19 of 2013.
Last Modified
Feb 03, 2017
Viewed
11378 times

Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program

The Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program enables state and county governments to purchase conservation easements on productive farms. The easements protect the farmland from non-agricultural development. (print edition of ConservationTools.org guide)
Last Modified
Aug 31, 2017
Viewed
6600 times

A Guide to Farmland Preservation, 3rd Edition

2008
A Guide to Farmland Preservation will help guide local Pennsylvania organizations through the process of preparing agricultural conservation easement purchase applications for consideration by the State Board. Page 29 describes the installment purchase of agricultural conservation easements by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture through bonds issued by the New Garden General Authority.
Last Modified
Aug 16, 2011
Viewed
5478 times

A Guide to Preserving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region

2006
Organizations/Sources: Chesapeake Bay Foundation
A primer on the benefits of farmland preservation, this 20 page publication discusses the significance of farmlands relative to the health of the Chesapeake and includes tools for preserving farmland. It also includes a comprehensive list of information sources for federal, state, local and private programs and assistance.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2015
Viewed
3752 times

Farmland Preservation Annual Reports: 2008–2017

The annual reports provide an overview of farmland preservation tools in Pennsylvania and their track record. They include data on the participation in the Clean and Green program and a list of all agricultural security areas in the state by county and township.
Last Modified
Aug 29, 2018
Viewed
11971 times

Farmland Preservation Options for Landowners: Government and Private Approaches to Conservation Easements in Pennsylvania

2023
Authors: Andrew M. Loza
Fifty-eight Pennsylvania counties have agricultural land preservation boards that purchase agricultural conservation easements. Sixty-eight private, charitable land trusts accept donations of conservation easements or, less commonly, purchase them. These two paths to farmland preservation differ in many ways. WeConservePA guide. 4 pages.
Last Modified
Jan 31, 2023
Viewed
4273 times

How Well Do Purchase of Development Rights Programs Contribute to Park and Open-Space Goals in the U.S.?

In the United States, momentum for purchase of development rights (PDRs) programs is accelerating and they now exist in 20 of the 50 states. Their primary constituents are agricultural interests, and conservation and open space advocates. The 20 states’ statutes were reviewed and telephone interviews conducted with officials in each of the states who were responsible for implementing the legislation.
Last Modified
Jun 25, 2018
Viewed
1411 times

Pennsylvania Code: Chapter 138e. Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program

Organizations/Sources: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Chapter 138e of the Pennsylvania Code addresses the state's Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program. It includes the rules for the Land Trust Reimbursement Grant Program.
Last Modified
Apr 05, 2011
Viewed
5639 times

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture/Bureau of Farmland Preservation Website

Provides basic information on the purchase program as well additional resources, including a list of farmland preservation county administrators.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2015
Viewed
5418 times

Protecting York County's Rural Environment

2009
Organizations/Sources: York County Planning Commission
This report discusses the various zoning and preservation practices being used by municipalities in York County. It includes Agricultural Protection Zoning (APZ), Agricultural Security Areas, Conservation Easement Programs, and Clean & Green. It also provides an overview of legal challenges related to APZ.
Last Modified
Nov 05, 2015
Viewed
4532 times

Why Preserve Farmland?

2023
Authors: Nate Lotze and Andrew M. Loza
Farms feed us and provide a host of other public benefits. However, every day, the amount of fertile farmland diminishes as development spreads. When farmers think that the farms around them will be sold for development, which would result in the enterprises that support farming leaving and the loss of their support network, this can set off a downward spiral in a farming community: farmers leave farming or stop reinvesting in their farms because they fear the consequences of being one of the last farmers in an area. Farmland preservation programs can provide assurance to farmers that there will always be a critical mass of farms in an area, bringing stability to the local farm community and economy. WeConservePA guide. 5 pages.
Last Modified
Feb 08, 2023
Viewed
4401 times