In fact, farmland is disappearing at a rapid rate. Conserving our farmland, however, is essential to food production.
Farms support rural communities and help to keep real estate taxes low.
Open, undeveloped spaces, like farmland, are critical to replenishing groundwater supplies and protecting the environment. Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program allows farmers to sell their development rights to the state, ensuring that the land will always stay in agricultural production. Farmland Preservation is one of the many land-use tools that allow citizens to determine what their communities will look like in the future. The bureau oversees the Commonwealth's program to purchase agricultural easements and administers legislative programs designed to preserve farmland through the State Agricultural Preservation Board. Pennsylvania's program is the second largest in nation.