Delaware Ag Secretary Don Clifton announces the 29th round of Agland Preservation Easements.
This year, the state adds 36 new pieces of land to the almost 160,000 acres of land already set aside as preservation easement properties.
This means that the family that owns the land, typical farmers and producers, are giving up their and any future owners development rights.
Secretary Clifton says the easements keep areas in the program preserved as open land by purchasing landowners’ development rights through the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation.
“It was 2nd, 3rd, 4th round… somewhere in there that my father, William Donald Clifton, Sr., had the easements in place for our farms: The farm that I own and those of my siblings." he told DPM.
This group of easements includes the Oliphant Family Farm, where this year’s announcement event was held.
Governor Matt Meyer gave remarks during the event.
“The land we’re looking at, for the Oliphant family and for so many families across Delaware, is their 401k. And this program enables us to support these farm families long into the future.” he said.
The program was first authorized under former Governor Mike Castle but wasn’t funded until Governor Tom Carper’s administration.
This round of easements cost nearly $15 million dollars, which Secretary Clifton called a “significant” discount. All three county governments chipped in some funds.
