January 23rd, 2025
By Ariel Looser
More than 4.1 Million Acres Protected by Farmland and Ranchland Protection Programs Nationwide
American Farmland Trust’s Farmland Information Center has released findings from surveys of both state and local purchase of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs. These surveys tracked the status of farmland and ranchland protection nationwide through 2023. PACE programs have collectively invested nearly $7.9 billion to acquire over 25,000 easements and permanently protect about 4.2 million acres across 33 states.
State PACE Programs Increase Rate of Farmland Protection
A portion of this activity was undertaken by state-run PACE programs, either independently or jointly with local public programs or private entities. Cumulatively, state programs have spent more than $5.5 billion to protect over 3.6 million acres of agricultural land across nearly 20,000 easements. Key partners—including local governments, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other federal agencies, foundations, and individuals—have spent an additional $3.2 billion to complete these projects.
Last year alone, state PACE programs acquired 589 easements, protecting nearly 112,000 acres of farmland and ranchland. As compared to the prior year’s activity, this is a 4% increase in easements acquired and a 28% uptick in acres protected. State programs and their local partners invested more money to accomplish these projects: more than $272 million in state funds were spent to complete these projects, a 40% increase over the prior year. State PACE programs reported having more than $846 million available for future projects, down 16% from last year’s available funds.
The jump in acres of agricultural land protected this year correlates with an increase in the average size of easements protected by state programs. In 2023, the average project size was 190 acres, up 23% from the prior year, when the average easement protected was 155 acres for state programs.
Easements aren’t only getting bigger—they’re also, on average, more expensive. In 2023, state programs paid an average of $2,437 per acre in state funds for their easement acquisitions, up 10% from the previous year. Programs are often leveraging additional funds to supplement state dollars; with the reported additional funds factored in, the total cost to acquire was closer to $3,550 per acre—a 20% increase over the previous year.
Colorado, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and California continue to lead the nation in acres protected, while Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and Massachusetts remain standouts for easements acquired to date.
Local PACE Programs Spend More Dollars to Protect Larger Easements
To date, local PACE programs have protected nearly 1.2 million acres across more than 11,000 easements. Over half of this activity was undertaken jointly with state or other local PACE programs. The remainder—nearly 529,000 acres across 5,200 easements—was done independently by local programs (this figure does include projects completed with federal funds). Local programs have spent more than $2.3 billion to accomplish this work.
On average, local programs spent more dollars to protect easements over the last four years than at any other point since 2012. Despite increased investment on the part of localities, this year’s survey shows the rate of independent activity by these programs has slowed over the last 4 years. Consistent with these trends, survey data shows an increase in the average acquisition cost for local programs: local spending per acre protected went up 4.6% between 2020 and 2024. The average easement protected by local programs is also 11% larger since the last survey in 2020.
Among local PACE programs, Lancaster County, PA, leads the nation in both total easements and acres acquired, followed by Carroll County, MD. Frederick and Harford Counties, MD, are among the top five programs for easements and acres protected; Baltimore County, MD, is among the top five programs for acres protected, and Chester County, PA, is among the top five for easements acquired.
The Farmland Information Center is a clearinghouse for information about farmland protection and stewardship, developed in partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The FIC tracks PACE program activity, as well as the acres protected by land trusts. Factoring in the additional acres protected by land trusts, AFT’s Farmland Information Center estimates that upwards of 7.9 million acres of farmland and ranchland are now permanently protected through agricultural conservation easements nationwide. The latest survey data by program can be found in the following tables, posted on the Farmland Information Center website: