Aug. 29, 2023
HARRISBURG – A farm located in the 131st Legislative District has been added to the Commonwealth’s list of preserved farmland, according to Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-Lehigh/Montgomery/Northampton).
The 27-acre Dominick Basciano and Jane B. Heft Crop Farm in Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, was one of 35 farms in 18 counties included in the latest round of farmland purchases by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. More than $8.6 million in state, county, and local funding was invested to protect 2,645 acres from future development.
“This state program is helping to preserve Lehigh County’s farming heritage,” said Mackenzie. “By preventing this farm and others in the county from disappearing, we are ensuring agriculture’s continued economic role in the local and state economies.”
The Farmland Preservation Program allows farm families to sell their land’s development rights, preserving their farms forever and averting future residential, commercial, or industrial use. The Commonwealth partners with county and sometimes local governments and nonprofits to purchase the development rights, ensuring a strong future for our agriculture industry and food security.
Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in the number of preserved farms with 6,266, and has invested nearly $1.7 billion since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of the program.
Representative Milou Mackenzie
131st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Andy Briggs
717-260-0674
abriggs@pahousegop.com
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