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

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture