With more than 301,121 acres approved for permanent preservation through 2,618 agricultural easements, the Pennsylvania State Farmland Preservation Program is first in the nation in number of acres preserved.

Butler is one of 55 counties now enrolled in the farmland preservation program. There are now 28 farms preserved in Butler County.

The State Agriculture Land Preservation Board established minimum requirements a farm must meet to qualify for the program. The land is evaluated on the following terms:

It must be included as part of a duly recorded agricultural security area in the township.

It must have at least 50 percent of its soils available for agricultural production that are Capability Classes I-IV, as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

Contain at least 50 percent, or 10 acres, of harvested, cropland, pasture or grazing lands.

Be contiguous of at least 50 acres in size unless the tract is at least 10 acres in size and either utilized for a crop unique to the area or is contiguous to a property which has a perpetual easement in place.

The development pressure in the area and suitability of the tract for development.

Pre-existing perpetual restrictions against development.

Location in an area identified by the county or township comprehensive plan as desirable for agricultural use.

The applicant's stewardship of the land, conservation practices, best management practices, nutrient management and erosion and sedimentation control.

An applicant must submit an entire parcel as identified on the Butler County Tax Assessment Maps.

After an application has been submitted, it will be checked to make sure all minimum requirements are met.

The application will then be scored using Butler County's Land Evaluation Assessment System.

This system ranks the conservation easement application by evaluating soil and location factors for each tract under consideration. The land evaluation is 50 percent and site assessment 50 percent of the total score.

In this way, farms are ranked by the quality of soils, development of farmland and clustering potential.

After applications are ranked each February, the top farms are appraised. All applications are subject to the availability of funding.

The farmers must then deposit $1,500 for the appraisal. The deposit will be refunded if the applicant does not sever the contract of sale and applicant accepts an offer equal to the appraised value of the conservation easement.

The appraisal report will provide the Butler County Agricultural Land Preservation Board with an estimate of the value of the easement, which is the difference between the market value and farmland value.

Interested landowners have until Jan. 31 to submit applications. Contact the Butler County Conservation District Office for more information.