Legislation has been introduced in the state Senate to make more farmland unavailable for economic development projects.

Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Chambersburg, has introduced Senate Bill 1232 to expand the states Agriculture Conservation Easement Purchase Program. Mastriano cited Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences statistics showing the number of acres of farmland in Pennsylvania fell by 6% (7.3 million acres) between 2012 and 2017. The number of farms dropped by 10% (53,157) over that same period.

Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Conservation Easement Purchase Program includes 58 participating county programs that receive state funds for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements. An agricultural conservation easement is a legal restriction that limits the use of the property to agricultural purposes and the landowner is financially compensated for the sale of the easement.

Since 1988, the program has purchased permanent conservation easements on 5,979 Pennsylvania farms, covering 606,215 acres in 58 counties. Mastriano said applications outnumber the program’s available funding.

“My bill will increase dedicated annual funding by earmarking 25% of the realty transfer tax to go towards the easement program,” Mastriano wrote in his legislative memorandum. “This will equate to an average infusion of over $100 million additional annual funds for farmland preservation. Portions of the realty transfer fee are already dedicated to the Keystone Fund and the Pennsylvania Housing and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE program) and I believe that the easement purchase program has proven itself worthy of also receiving dedicated funding.

The Republican candidate for governor also proposes to expand the eligibility of farms by reducing the minimum subdivision size for preserved farmland from 50 acres to 25 acres and allowing parcels less than 10 acres that are adjacent to preserved land or used to produce crops unique to the area to be eligible for the easement program.

“Pennsylvania’s agricultural land provides scenic images of rural life landscaped across fertile valleys of surrounding hills and mountains,” Mastriano said. “These open spaces are a beautiful backdrop and draw thousands to our state to spend money in Pennsylvania’s growing agritourism business. We must act now to preserve these lands.”

The bill has been referred to the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.