- Government
- Administration Services
- Planning & Community Development
- Agriculture
- Farmland Preservation
Farmland Preservation
Preserved Farmland in Centre County, 2023
Pennsylvania leads the nation in farmland preservation, with 619,191 acres and 6,148 farms preserved. Since 1989, the state government, 58 counties, numerous municipalities, and the federal government have invested more than $1.6 billion in our agriculture industry's ability to feed our families and our economy.
Why Preserve and Protect Prime Farmland?
Because we're losing prime farmland to other land uses. In 2003, the County Comprehensive Plan recorded that approximately two acres of farmland were lost to other uses per day — the equivalent of an average size Centre County farm every three months. Pennsylvania lost 728,700 acres of agricultural land to development between 1982 and 2007.
Because our farmers feed us.
Because agricultural operations provide significant environmental, economic, cultural and aesthetic benefits to our community and beyond.
Learn more
Agriculture is our heritage and our future
Centre County has a rich agricultural history as the home of The Pennsylvania State University. Established in 1855 as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania and renamed the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania in 1862, Penn State has trained generations of farmers to sustain central Pennsylvania as an agricultural region.
Preserved farms are farmland forever
Of the 59,000 farms in Pennsylvania, 1,023 are located in Centre County.
There are farms in Centre County where families have been working their land for more than 200 years. Most want to continue farming and don’t want to see their land lost to development. Farmers who preserve their farmland are safeguarding it from development forever. They’re protecting it for their descendants as well as honoring the legacy of their ancestors, and building their own legacy as stewards of their land.
Centre County Preserved Farms
Since 1991, Centre County has preserved 59 farm parcels and 8,785 acres of farmland.
For more information about farmland preservation, please contact Diana Griffith, Centre County Ag Land Preservation Coordinator, at dlgriffith@centrecountypa.gov or (814) 355-6791.
WATCH Farmland Preservation: Preserving Our Roots, Securing Our Future
Tools and References
- Why Preserve Farmland?
- Respect for Farmland
- Centre County Farmland Preservation Map
- PACE Questions and Answers
- PACE Program Guide
A guide to preserving farmland in Centre County through the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) program - A Visual Tour of Farms Preserved through Centre County's PACE Program
- An Agricultural History and Visual Tour of Penns Valley and Brush Valley farms featuring some of Centre County's preserved farms
This agricultural history and visual tour of Penns Valley and Brush Valley farms was funded by Verizon Wireless to fulfill Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) stipulations to mitigate adverse effects from a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wireless telecommunications facility in Centre County. - Guide to Preserving Centre County Farmland Forever
Presentation to the Ag Forum of Centre County_09.08.21 - Agricultural Security Areas (ASA)
- Agricultural Land Preservation Board
- PACE Program
- 2020 Centre County Planning Opportunities: Agriculture
- The Economic Impact of Agriculture in Pennsylvania: 2021 Update
- Commercial Solar Leases
- 2022 Pennsylvania Agriculture Power 100, a guide to Pennsylvania's agricultural policy leaders