06/14/2012 | Press release

Preservation Board Protects Nearly 2,400 Acres of Prime PA Farmland

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News for Immediate Release
June 14, 2012
Preservation Board Protects Nearly 2,400 Acres of Prime PA Farmland
Harrisburg - The Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board today protected 2,389 additional acres on 28 farms from development through the state's nationally recognized farmland preservation program.
The newly preserved farms are located in Allegheny, Berks, Butler, Clinton, Cumberland, Greene, Indiana, Lancaster, Lehigh, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry and Schuylkill counties.
Since the program began in 1988, state, county and local governments have invested more than $1.1 billion to safeguard 463,595 acres on 4,293 farms for future agricultural production.
"Preserving farmland is the first step to ensuring the continued success of agriculture, our state's leading industry," said Agriculture Secretary George Greig. "Thanks to the foresight of producers across the state, we're able to preserve a way of life for a new generation that will keep Pennsylvania growing far into the future."
The state's farmland preservation efforts work through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program 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.
For more information about Pennsylvania's nation-leading farmland preservation program, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us and search "farmland preservation."
Media contact: Will Nichols, 717-787-5085
Editor's Note: A list of farms preserved at today's meeting follows:
Allegheny
The Peter A. E. Couch Jr. farm, a 52.24-acre crop and livestock operation
Berks
The Frank and Carol Szarko farm #1, a 34.10-acre crop farm
Butler
The Jeffrey Kennedy farm #2, a 76.09-acre crop and livestock operation
Clinton
The David Gingrich farm #2, a 253.13-acre crop farm
Cumberland
The John and Julia Stover farm, a 140.43-acre crop and livestock operation
Greene
The James and Pearl Willis Living Trust farm #2, a 100.76-acre crop and livestock operation
Indiana
The Douglas and Valerie Bieda farm, a 95.40-acre crop farm
Lancaster
The Abram, Robert and Thomas Barley farm, a 34.02-acre crop and livestock operation
The Abram, Robert and Thomas Barley farm #1, a 196.77-acre crop and livestock operation
The James and Judith Ann Bollinger farm, a 117.64-acre crop and livestock operation
The Gary and Brenda Landis farm, a 24.98-acre crop farm
The Anna Wenger Trust and Rohrer Farms LLC farm, an 88.11-acre crop and pasture operation
The Glenn and Lucille Wenger Revocable Living Trust farm, a 72.49-acre crop farm
The Jeffrey and Dawn Witmer farm, a 70.61-acre crop and livestock operation
Lehigh
The Alice Bastian farm, a 75.99-acre crop and pasture operation
The Eric and William Daniels farm, a 33.29-acre crop and livestock operation
The David and Terri Knoedler farm, a 29.84-acre crop farm
The Vincenzo Tucciarone Sr. farm, a 29.83-acre pasture farm
Lycoming
The Allen and Gay DiMarco farm, a 116.17-acre crop and livestock operation
The Carl Dincher farm #1, a 25.00-acre crop farm
Montgomery
The Gordon and Sandra Lee Moser farm, a 65.82-acre crop farm
The George Sterner farm #1, a 56.67-acre crop and livestock operation
Northampton
The Gary Hahn farm, an 84.39-acre crop farm
The Carol Keller farm, a 110.91-acre crop farm
The Edward and Gerald Thaler farm, a 118.36-acre crop farm
Perry
The Matthew Rice farm, a 112.80-acre crop farm
The Nevin and Mary Ann Rice farm, a 60.24-acre crop farm
Schuylkill
The Ruth and Jennifer Jones farm, a 113.30-acre crop farm
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