Farmland Preservation Grants recipients announced

Eight localities in Virginia have been awarded just over $1.06 million from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).  Localities must use the money to preserve farmland within their boundaries through local Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs. PDR programs compensate landowners who work with localities to preserve their land permanently by voluntarily placing a perpetual conservation easement on it.

VDACS allocated almost $150,000 each to Virginia Beach and the counties of Albemarle, Clarke, Fauquier, Isle of Wight, James City, and Stafford.  Rappahannock County also will receive an $11,000 grant. 
“Local governments receiving these funds will be able to use them alongside their dedicated local support, creating new opportunities to preserve working farmland, produce goods for purchase, create jobs, generate tax revenue, and protect our precious natural resources,” Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore said in a statement.

This is the seventh time that the Commonwealth has provided state matching funds for certified local PDR programs.  Of the 22 local PDR programs in Virginia, 18 have received local funding during the past few years.