Lancaster County, PA
Farmland in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: The Agricultural Preserve Board and What It Means for Buyers
Lancaster County is widely cited as the most productive non-irrigated farming county in the United States, and its farmland-preservation program is large and active enough that a meaningful share of the county's agricultural land is already permanently off the development market. Here's what that means if you're considering buying farmland here.
This page covers what's specific to Lancaster County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.
Why Lancaster County farmland is different: scale, soil, and a serious preservation program
Lancaster County's agricultural soils are widely regarded as among the best non-irrigated farmland anywhere in the world, and the county is frequently described as the single most productive non-irrigated farming county in the United States -- a combination of soil quality, a long, unbroken farming tradition (including a substantial Plain-community farming population), and proximity to major East Coast markets. That same soil quality sits under intense development pressure from the Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg growth corridor, which is precisely why the county built one of the country's most active county-level farmland-preservation programs starting decades ago.
The Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board (APB), funded jointly by state and county sources, pays farmers up to $4,000 per acre for a conservation easement -- a permanent, recorded restriction on the property's deed that gives up the right to develop the land for housing, industrial, or commercial purposes while preserving the farmer's ongoing agricultural use and, notably, their ability to sell or pass down the farm. As of December 31, 2025, the program had preserved roughly 90,867 acres across 1,109 family farms, and the county was projected to cross roughly 125,000 acres -- about 32% of all agriculturally zoned farmland countywide -- by the end of 2025.
What a recorded conservation easement actually means for a buyer
A farm enrolled in the Ag Preserve Board's program carries an easement that runs with the land, not with the current owner -- meaning it binds every future owner, including you, regardless of what the current listing or your own plans anticipate. That's the whole point of the program from the county's perspective: permanence. For a buyer evaluating any Lancaster County farm parcel with even a distant thought toward future subdivision, a secondary residence beyond what the easement allows, or non-agricultural use, confirming preservation status up front is far more important than checking current zoning, because a township can revisit zoning far more easily than a recorded easement can be undone.
It's also worth understanding what preservation does not do: it does not freeze the farm's agricultural operations in place, prevent a sale, or dictate who farms it. A preserved farm can still be bought, sold, financed, and actively farmed -- the restriction is specifically on converting it to non-agricultural development. For a genuinely agricultural buyer, a preserved parcel can actually be an advantage: with roughly a third of the county's agricultural land already protected from development competition, preserved farmland can carry different market dynamics (sometimes a lower price per acre, reflecting the foregone development value) than a comparable unpreserved parcel nearby.
What to check before buying farmland in Lancaster County
Three concrete steps: (1) ask the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board directly whether a specific parcel is already enrolled, and if so, request a copy of the recorded easement to understand exactly what it permits and restricts -- easement terms can vary somewhat farm to farm; (2) if a parcel is not currently preserved but you're purchasing with agricultural intent, ask the APB whether it's currently accepting new easement applications and what per-acre payment range applies, since enrolling can provide meaningful up-front capital while keeping the farm in agricultural use; and (3) do a full title search at the county Recorder of Deeds regardless of preservation status, since Pennsylvania's broader history of severed mineral rights and Lancaster's own mix of preserved and unpreserved parcels can both affect what you're actually acquiring.
If the parcel sits in or near one of Lancaster County's more Plain-community-heavy townships, it's also worth asking the municipality and a local Sewage Enforcement Officer directly how septic, well, and building-permit processes have worked on comparable nearby Amish or Old Order Mennonite farms -- these townships have real, practical experience here, but this project did not find a documented, citable statewide or countywide exemption from standard permitting requirements, so don't assume one exists without confirming directly.
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- Agricultural Preserve Board — Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (accessed 2026-09)
- Pennsylvania county set to reach 125,000 acres of preserved farmland — Bay Journal (accessed 2026-09)
- Lessons from an Agricultural Preservation Leader — Growing Food Connections (accessed 2026-09)
- Lancaster County adds 128 acres to roster of preserved farms — LancasterOnline (accessed 2026-09)
- Farmland Preservation Programs in Lancaster County — Central Penn Realty (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09