The Butler County Agricultural Land Preservation Board is taking applications this month from farmers looking to get farmland preservation easements on their properties.

In Butler County, 50 farms have had their land preserved as farmland through the program, according to the county’s website. The board accepts applications each year for more, grades and ranks them, then passes any that are eligible for funding along to the state for final approval.

In the program, approved farms sell easements to government bodies, so that the land’s deed will have a permanent stipulation that land uses do not hinder its agricultural use, according to Penn State Extension’s information on the program.

Butler County applications are being accepted through Jan. 31.

Those interested can contact the county’s farmland preservation office at 724-284-5305.