Preserving our land,
preserving our future.
Once our farmland is paved over, we can never get it back.
That’s why it’s so critical to save the acres we have left.
The Process
How do we protect farmland?
When we work with a landowner to preserve their farm, that farmland is protected forever. This means that no matter who buys the land in the future, it will always remain farmland. While there’s a lot of technical work that goes into preserving a farm, the basic process is simple.
- A landowner contacts us about protecting their farm. It’s often unsurprising to realize local farmers are searching for avenues to protect their farmland for future generations! When this happens we meet with the farmer to discuss their goals, and to ensure they understand what preserving their farm will mean. If the landowner still wants to move forward, we move into a formal review process.
- The landowner signs a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a legally binding document that permanently keeps the land in agricultural use. The landowner still owns their land, and they can still choose to sell it or pass it along to their children. But when they do, the conservation easement remains in effect.
- We maintain the easement forever…really! Farmland preservation isn’t a once-and-done transaction. We visit all 594+ preserved farms every year to check in with the farmer, help them implement conservation practices, and ensure that farmland stays farmland. And when the land eventually changes hands, we continue our partnership with the new landowner.
- FARMS PROTECTED FOREVER BY LFT
- 594
- ACRES OF FARMLAND PRESERVED BY LFT
- 36947
- ACRES OF FARMLAND AT RISK OF BEING DEVELOPED
- 300000
Save our farms. Before it’s too late.
Each year, Lancaster loses more than 3,000 acres of farmland to shopping malls, business complexes, and housing developments. That’s eight acres today, eight acres tomorrow, and eight acres every day of the year. Lancaster Farmland Trust is dedicated to helping farmers of all backgrounds preserve their farms and way of life for future generations.
300,000 acres of Lancaster farmland are still unprotected. And with our county’s population projected to grow by 6.3% over the next 20 years, we’re about to be faced with the most intense development pressure in our community’s history.
If we don’t take action now, we will lose this land—and much of what makes life in Lancaster County so special—forever.
Our Heritage
Let’s Talk Values.
Lancaster County Has Them. In More Ways Than One.
Lancaster County’s farms boast some of the richest, most productive agricultural soils in the world. More than 425,000 acres of them, in fact. Our fields and pastures are our county’s most valuable natural resource. Our farms provide us with so much more than corn and cows. They protect our watersheds. They recharge our groundwater and control flooding. Well-managed farmland improves air quality and provides food and cover for native wildlife as well as livestock.
Our county’s agricultural roots go deep, and our community understands the importance of our farmland. That’s how Lancaster Farmland Trust—working alongside our partners at the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board—have preserved 30% of the county’s working lands. While that’s an achievement worth celebrating, it means that 70% of our farmland is still at risk of being developed. If you believe our farmland is too valuable to lose, we urge you to help us protect it for future generations.
Save the open spaces you love.
