HARRISBURG, Dec. 12, 2013 – Pennsylvania’s 25-year-old agricultural land preservation movement acted today to protect another 878 acres of Berks County farmland, Sen. Judy Schwank said.
“Nine more tracts of prime Berks County farmland are now protected from development,” Schwank said. “This means, once again, that agriculture will continue on as one of this region’s biggest economic engines producing the tastiest produce, meat and dairy not only for Pennsylvanians but people throughout the world.”
The Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board, of which Schwank is a member, approved the preservation of the following farms:
Ronald Bordner Perry Township 26.4 acres
Robert & Dianne Ketterer Albany Township 117.1 acres
Ronnie & Lynn Folk Upper Bern Township 137.6 acres
Richard Greib Upper Bern Township 51.6 acres
Ernest E. Heckman Windsor Township 189 acres
Charles & Christi Loverich Upper Tulpehocken Township 75 acres
Phares & Ellen Newswanger#1 Maxatawny Township 125.4 acres
Phares & Ellen Newswanger#2 Maxatawny Township 50 acres
Dalton & Dorothy Zimmerman Upper Tulpehocken Township 105.7 acres
The farms are being preserved through the purchase of $1.8 million worth of conservation easements.
Since its inception in 1988, the commonwealth has protected 4,532 farms totaling 484,270 acres. Berks County counts 668 farms in the statewide total and 66,994 acres. And, it remains the leading county in the number of acres of farmland that have been preserved.
The long-term goal of the state’s program is to permanently preserve farmland. The holders of the easements have the right to prevent development or improvements of the land for purposes other than agricultural production.
Local, county or state government – or any combination of the three – may buy easements.
Counties that decide to have an easement purchase program must create an agricultural land preservation board.
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More information about Sen. Schwank is available on her website, Facebook and Twitter.