The State Agricultural Land Preservation Board recently approved easements in 20 counties, including Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill.

Pennsylvania invested more than $10.2 million to purchase development rights for 2,645 acres on 31 farms in the 20 counties, protecting them from future residential or commercial development and continuing support for agriculture.

Listed below by local county are investment totals and farms preserved:

Carbon

Total investment $224,829: state, $123,611; county, $101,218.

• The Amended and Restated Revocable Agreement of Trust of Janet M. Degenhart, 42-acre crop farm, Packer Township.

Lehigh

Total investment $493,414: state only.

• Lehigh County No. 1, 25-acre crop farm, Upper Milford Township.

• Willard A. and Lucille C. Snyder, 54-acre crop farm, Lynn Township.

Monroe

Total investment $910,507: state, $896,542; county, $13,965.

• Russell A. and Denise E. Gould, 25-acre fruit and vegetable farm, Chestnuthill Township.

• Jason M. Green, 106-acre crop farm, Eldred Township.

Northampton

Total investment $739,774: state only.

• Richard R. Becker Jr. and Carol J. Becker, and John E. and Debra K. Becker, 61-acre crop farm, Lehigh Township.

• Shane M. Bollinger, 43-acre crop farm, East Allen Township.

Schuylkill

Total investment $225,100: state, $197,450; county, $27,650.

• Richard W. and Laurie E. Hetherington, Trustees of the Richard and Laurie Hetherington Trust, 49-acre crop farm, Union Township.

• Jared and Nicole G. Manbeck, 55-acre crop farm, South Manheim Township.

Program successes

“Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserved farmland, thanks to the unwavering commitment of our farm families and strong support at every level of government,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “Many of these farmers have been offered the opportunity to sell their land for development, but they’ve chosen instead to stay committed to feeding our commonwealth and carrying on their families’ farming traditions.”

In February, nearly $7.1 million was invested to preserve 25 new farms and 1,905 acres. In 2025, Pennsylvania preserved 167 farms and 14,147 prime acres of farmland across the state, investing more than $50.1 million.

Pennsylvania leads the nation in preserved farms. Since 1988, when voters statewide overwhelmingly supported creating the Farmland Preservation Program, the state has protected 6,704 farms and 665,585 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.84 billion in state, county and local funds.

Statewide, nearly 49,000 farms contribute $132.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy and support almost 600,000 jobs.