{"id":29733,"date":"2026-05-07T11:01:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=29733"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:01:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:01:03","slug":"press-release-maryland-permanently-preserves-five-working-farms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/05\/07\/press-release-maryland-permanently-preserves-five-working-farms\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE: Maryland Permanently Preserves Five Working Farms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>ANNAPOLIS, MD<\/b> <b>(May 07, 2026)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 On May 6, 2026, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bpw.maryland.gov\/Pages\/default.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Board of Public Works<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> approved five new easements through the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/malpf\/Pages\/default.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Agricultural Preservation Foundation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, protecting 534.569 acres of prime farmland in Caroline, Charles and Dorchester counties for future generations and agricultural endeavors. In Maryland, agricultural easements preserve productive farmland and woodland to ensure the continued production of food and fiber.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cEvery acre we preserve is a promise to our farming families and a vital investment in Maryland\u2019s resilience,\u201d said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks. \u201cBy securing more than 534 acres, we are strengthening local food systems, supporting rural economies and advancing our ambitious conservation goals while keeping agriculture at the heart of Maryland\u2019s identity.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since its founding in 1977, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Maryland Agricultural Preservation Foundation has permanently protected land in each of Maryland\u2019s 23 counties, preserving 393,000 acres to date. The Foundation acquires agricultural preservation easements from farmers who wish to conserve their land. These easements are essential in sustaining Maryland\u2019s agricultural landscape, enhancing local food systems and supporting the economies of rural communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland achieved its \u201c30 by 30 conservation goal\u201d (30% of the state\u2019s total land area achieved by 2030) set forth in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/land\/Pages\/md-the-beautiful-act.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland the Beautiful Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in May 2024, six years ahead of the target. These newly-approved easements will further advance the state\u2019s next conservation goal\u2014conserving 40% by 2040.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more information on the Foundation or about agricultural land preservation, please contact Executive Director Michelle Cable at (410) 841-5860 or <\/span><a href=\"mailto:michelle.cable@maryland.gov\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">michelle.cable@maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 07, 2026) \u2013 On May 6, 2026, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved five new easements through the Maryland Agricultural Preservation Foundation, protecting 534.569 acres of prime farmland in Caroline, Charles and Dorchester counties for future generations and agricultural endeavors. In Maryland, agricultural easements preserve productive farmland and woodland to ensure<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/05\/07\/press-release-maryland-permanently-preserves-five-working-farms\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[403,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mda-newsroom","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29733"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29735,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29733\/revisions\/29735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}