Lehigh County farmland owners will have another opportunity to apply for participation in the county’s farmland preservation program.

The program is accepting new applications until Oct. 1.

With the recent announcement of increased county funding over the next three years, the preservation board is extending the deadline for this year only to give additional interested landowners an opportunity to apply.

Lehigh County is developing a new Municipal Farmland Preservation Partnership Program in an effort to leverage Lehigh County and commonwealth farmland preservation funding to preserve more farmland.

The program will provide matching funds from the county to townships offering farmland preservation match funding.

Farmland owners who preserve their farms receive payment in return for giving up their development rights.

The farms are protected in perpetuity with agricultural conservation easements.

An agricultural conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a land trust that permanently protects land for agricultural use by prohibiting other non-compatible land uses.

Applicants’ farms are ranked and prioritized using a farmland evaluation system considering such factors as soil quality, farm size, land use, zoning and proximity to other preserved farms. Top ranked farms are selected for preservation.

As of May 1, Lehigh County has preserved 267 farms with 21,693 acres of land protected with perpetual agricultural conservation easements.

Lehigh County ranks fifth among all 67 Pennsylvania counties in both the number of farms preserved and the acres of farmland preserved.

For an application and more information on the Lehigh County Farmland Preservation Program call Diane Matthews-Gehringer at 610-391-9583 ext. 14.