Two Valley farms protected from development
Feb. 27—{p style="text-align: left;" align="center"}HARRISBURG — Farms in Montour and Union counties were among a Shapiro administration announcement on Friday that protects 3,047 acres on 32 farms in 21 counties from future residential or commercial development.
The Montour County farm is the Gary L. and Renee V., Glenn A. and Sue E. Hertzler No. 2 Farm in Limestone Township, a 56-acre crop farm. The Union County farm is the Leroy F. and Barbara Ann Troester No. 1 Farm in Limestone and Buffalo townships, a 134-acre crop farm. The total investment for the Montour County farm is $124,389. The total investment for the Union County farm is $379,706.58.
The investment of more than $10 million in state, county, and local dollars preserves prime farmland for the future, helping Pennsylvania farms continue to feed families and the economy. The announcement builds on Shapiro continued commitment to the commonwealth's agriculture industry and rural communities, according to the Shapiro administration.
Since 1988, Pennsylvania has protected 6,180 farms and 622,238 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.6 billion. Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserved farmland.
The other newly preserved farms are in Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Chester, Cumberland, Erie, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton, Somerset, Susquehanna, Tioga and York counties.
By selling their land's development rights, landowners ensure that their farms will remain farms and never be sold to developers. Farm families often sell their land at below market value, donate additional land, or agree to conservation practices on their farms in order to leverage additional federal and state money to preserve more family farms, according to Shapiro.
Pennsylvania partners with county and sometimes local governments and nonprofits to purchase development rights, ensuring a strong future for farming and food security.
