HARRISBURG, Dec. 11, 2014 – Another 150 acres of prime Berks County agricultural land were added today to Pennsylvania’s record-setting farmland preservation program, Sen. Judy Schwank said today.
The 150 acres added by the Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Board now mean 684 Berks County farms and 68,372 acres are now protected from future development.
“The Berks Countians who own the tracts that were entered into Pennsylvania’s farmland preservation program today have made good and worthwhile decisions,” Schwank, a member of the preservation board, said. “Because of their actions, Berks County deepens its commitment to making sure agriculture has a bright future here and across the commonwealth.”
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.
The conservation easements approved today by the board total $373,750 and were paid to the following Berks County land owners:
- James & Donna Lee Dietrich, Upper Bern Township, 24 acres
- Michael & Rosita Miller, Heidelberg Township, 79.7 acres
- J. Freymoyer, Upper Bern/Tilden townships, 45.7 acres
Since its inception in 1988, the commonwealth has protected 4,732 farms totaling 502,757 acres with $1.3 billion in easements.
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.
For more information on PA’s farmland preservation program, visit the Bureau of Farmland Preservation’s website.
Follow Sen. Schwank on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
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