Farmland Preservation
The Erie County Farmland Preservation Program protects viable agricultural land by encouraging the formation of Agricultural Security Areas in rural municipalities and by acquiring Agricultural Conservation Easements on property whose owners are interested in preserving higher value agricultural lands. Agricultural Security Areas have been established in order to encourage, promote, preserve, and protect normal farming operations, and Agricultural Conservation Easements prevent the development of the land for any purpose other than agricultural production and related agricultural activities.
The purpose of this program is to:
1. Encourage landowners to make a long-term commitment to agriculture by offering them financial
incentives and security of land use;
2. Protect normal farming operations in Agricultural Security Areas from incompatible non-farmland
uses that may render farming impracticable;
3. Protect farming operations from complaints of public nuisance against normal farming operations;
4. Assure permanent conservation of viable agricultural lands in order to protect the agricultural
economy of the Commonwealth;
5. Provide compensation to landowners in exchange for their relinquishment of the right to develop
their private property; and
6. Allocate County agricultural easement purchase funds and protect the investment of taxpayers in
agricultural conservation easements.
Contact Information
For more information, or if you have questions, please contact John McGranor (814) 451-7423 or jmcgranor[at]eriecountygov.org
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