Delaware ranks second in U.S. for preserving farmland

Delaware announced its 24th consecutive round of easement selections by the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation.

With the addition of another 5,500 acres, Delaware has permanently preserved more than 139,000 acres of farmland for future generations.

In a recent report by the American Farmland Trust, Delaware was recognized as having one of the most effective farmland protection programs in the country, ranked second only to New Jersey.

“Our state’s Aglands Preservation Program has been critical to keeping Delaware farms in production,” said Gov. John Carney. “I think we can all agree through the pandemic, we learned how important family farmers are to ensuring food including fruits and vegetables, dairy products and meat are readily available. Preserving farmland is not just about passing a farm down to the next generation, it’s about making sure future generations have food grown locally available to feed their families.”

In this round of easement selections, there were 47 farms preserved in Sussex County, 12 farms in Kent County and four farms in New Castle County. A total of 26 percent of Delaware’s farmland has been successfully preserved through the program.

Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse said, “The purchase of this year’s easements would not have been possible without matching funds from multiple sources, including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, the U.S. Navy’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, New Castle County Council, Kent County Levy Court and Sussex County Council.”

Since the beginning of the program, landowners have donated, on average, 59 percent of their development rights value – that is, they received 41 cents on the dollar for their farm’s development rights value to preserve their farm. The average discount (donation) for Round 24 is 63 percent.

The Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation selects farms approved for easement purchase using an impartial discounted ranking system that maximizes benefits for taxpayers. The foundation does not own the land, but rather purchases landowners’ development rights and places a permanent agricultural conservation easement on the property. Landowners must first voluntarily enroll their farm into a 10-year preservation district before they can sell an easement. In addition to more than 139,000 acres in permanent easements, Delaware’s Aglands Preservation Program has more than 36,000 acres of land enrolled in farmland preservation districts.

County governments can choose to partner with the state program and add county funds to select properties in their areas, leveraging state resources for the greatest impact.

Delaware's statewide program made its first round of easement purchases in 1996 and has since preserved 19 percent of Sussex County farmland, 39 percent of Kent County farmland and 22 percent of New Castle County farmland.

“Sussex County is proud to again support the Delaware Aglands Program in preserving working farms that strengthen our economy and ensure an important part of our heritage continues,” said Sussex County Administrator Todd F. Lawson. “Ag faces a tremendous amount of pressure in the 21st century, be it economic, environmental, or, as the recent pandemic has illustrated, the exceptional. Now more than ever, it is imperative for America to have a strong agricultural sector, and by working with our partners at the state and federal level, we’ll continue to have that right here in Sussex County.”