The state Department of Agriculture has announced the preservation of 2,017 acres on 33 farms in 16 counties through the state’s Farmland Preservation Program, which protects farms from future residential, commercial, or industrial development. The newly preserved farms are in townships in Armstrong, Berks, Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Schuylkill, Washington, and York counties. Most farms were preserved with a combination of state and county funds. Heidelberg Township, Lehigh County, invested township funds to preserve a 47-acre equine farm. To learn more about the preserved farms, click here.