Dauphin County's Farmland Preservation Program
General Information and Program Statistics
About the Program
General Information and Program Statistics
About the Program
- Agricultural Conservation Easements purchased through this program are perpetual; that is, they last forever.
- Proceeds from the sale of an Easement are taxable. Payments may be taken over up to five years. You are urged to contact a tax expert for advice.
- The County Board has set a maximum payment cap of $1,500.00 per acre.
- If you sell your property after an easement is purchased, you must notify the County Board within 30 days. It is recommended that you contact the County Program Administrator well in advance of any sale to ensure proper procedures are followed.
- New deeds to eased farms that are sold must recite the easement deed restrictions verbatim.
- Landowners are responsible for ensuring that all agricultural activities on the land are done in compliance with an approved conservation plan. This applies if you farm your own land or rent it to another farmer.
- An annual inspection of the farm is required to determine compliance with the terms of the easement. This includes following the conservation plan.
- The policy of the County Board is to not publish names of program participants. However, all information associated with the easement purchase is a matter of public record.
- This program does not affect property taxes.
- It is required that your adjoining landowners be notified prior to approval. Adjoining landowners are afforded the opportunity to comment on the sale for a limited set of reasons.
- There are restrictions on the number and type of new structures that may be built as well as on subdivision of the eased land.
- It is possible to donate an easement to the program. If an easement is donated, the landowner does not receive payment but the donated value is usually tax deductible.
Figures from Dauphin County
- Through the 2006 program year, the Dauphin County program has selected 103 farms for easement purchase, totalling 10,489 acres in nine municipalities. The municipalities, number of preserved farms, and number of acres that have been preserved are listed below.
|
Municipality
|
Easements
|
Acres
|
|
Conewago
|
1
|
238
|
|
Gratz
|
1
|
94
|
|
Jackson
|
14
|
1,225
|
|
Londonderry
|
6
|
681
|
|
Lykens
|
31
|
3,470
|
|
Mifflin
|
22
|
2,170
|
|
Upper Paxton
|
15
|
1,492
|
|
Washington
|
12
|
982
|
|
County Total
|
103
|
10,489
|
- To date, Dauphin County has secured $1,398,100 in federal funds for easement purchase in Dauphin County. This equates to approximately eight additional preserved farms.
- The largest contiguous block of preserved farmland in Dauphin County is 1,561 acres on 13 farms, located in Lykens Township.
- To date, the county program has received 1 donated easement.
- Through the 2006 program year, the county program has used $15,373,354 in federal, state and county funds to purchase conservation easements. None of the funds were used for administrative costs.
- Since 1998, Dauphin County has provided $635,463 in funding for the program. County funds are matched by the state, and are in addition to state grants.
- The $635,463 in county funding was matched with $724,194 in state funds for a total of $1,359,657. This equates to approximately eight additional preserved farms.
Map of eased parcels in Dauphin County.
