planning: Farmland Preservation Main Page

Montgomery County, PA

P.O. Box 311, Norristown, PA 19404-0311
Courthouse Hours: 8:30a.m. to 4:15p.m.
Phone: 610-278-3000
Website: www.montcopa.org

Montgomery County Farmland Preservation Program

 Farm House

The Montgomery County Farmland Preservation Program purchases agricultural easements from productive farms in Montgomery County. When the easement is sold, the owner keeps the land but no longer has the right to build nonagricultural buildings. The land must remain in farming in perpetuity. The farmer may sell the land, but the new owner must continue to grow productive crops or pasture on it.  Applying to the program is voluntary.

Current Status

As of April 2008, 112 farms have been approved for permanent preservation, for a total of 7,285 acres of county farmland that will never be developed.  About 47 additional farms currently are applicants. Statewide, over 350,000 acres have been preserved under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. Interested farmers are encouraged to submit an application.   

Funding

Funding for the program comes from both the county and the state and, sometimes, the municipality.  The Montgomery County Commissioners allocate money each year to preserve farms in Montgomery County.  The remainder of the funding comes from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through cigarette taxes, the Growing Greener program, and various other sources.  A township or borough may contribute money to preserve a farm within its own boundaries.

Montgomery County Agricultural Land Preservation Board
Curtis N. Kratz, Chairman
Robert A. Ayerle
John R. Harris
A. Harris Mosher
Jonathan E. Rinde, Esq.