Georgetown, Del., May 8, 2007: Sussex County Council is once again teaming with the state of Delaware and a local land trust, contributing as much as $405,705 in an ongoing effort to keep agriculture alive and well in Delaware.

County Council, at its Tuesday, May 8, 2007, meeting, approved that amount as its contribution to buy easements for two properties, totaling 214 acres, in the Laurel and Seaford areas. The properties are working farms that are among a number of other properties statewide to be considered in the next round of easement purchases through the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Program.

The $405,705 is the County’s share in the roughly $1 million price tag. The remaining cost of purchasing the easements will be paid for through state and federal farmland preservation funding.

The properties, which the non-profit Sussex County Land Trust recommended to County Council for funding, await final approval from the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation. The Foundation will announce the properties selected for permanent preservation at its May 24, 2007, meeting.

“We are pleased once again to participate in this program, which will preserve additional open space in the county,” said County Administrator David B. Baker. “Since we began five years ago, Sussex County has helped to preserve 2,400 acres of farmland through the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Program.”

Mr. Baker added that Sussex County continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to agriculture, evidenced by the total acreage protected and the nearly $2 million set aside by the County for the preservation program since 2002.

“Historically, agriculture has been the No. 1 industry in Sussex County,” Mr. Baker said. “The Sussex County Council believes preserving working farms like these will solidify agriculture’s continued role in our economy and its rooted presence in the community for many years to come.”

The property owners will retain ownership of their lands, but will forgo any rights to subdivide and develop the parcels in the future.

Michael McGrath, who manages the Preservation Program, said the partnership of the County and Sussex County Land Trust over the years has “reinforced the commitment that the State and Sussex County government have made to support the agricultural community, and its viability as one of the leading industries in the State of Delaware.”

Delaware Department of Agriculture Secretary Michael T. Scuse thanked Sussex County Council and the non-profit Land Trust for their dedication to preserving farmland and open space. “As funding partners, they are helping us maximize our state dollars to continue to implement our successful, nationally recognized farmland preservation program that has done so much to ensure Sussex County’s quality of life now and in the future,” Mr. Scuse said.

County Council President Dale R. Dukes said the Council is again honored to be a partner.

“The combined efforts today of the County Council, the Land Trust and the State will guarantee that agriculture has a home in Sussex County tomorrow,” Mr. Dukes said. “This is an investment in our future.”