Pennsylvania's Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program has made the state a national leader in permanently preserving farmland for agricultural production by allowing farmers to sell or donate agricultural easements to local, county, or state governments, which protect prime farmland from future residential or commercial development. Several farms along the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail have been preserved through this initiative. Between 1989 and 2012, more than 459,000 acres of Pennsylvania farmland, including 15,000 acres in Cumberland County, were protected in this way, with additional land added each year. To qualify, at least half of a tract must be harvested cropland, pasture, or grazing land, and participation is voluntary, competitive, limited to properties currently engaged in agriculture, at least 52 acres in size, and enrolled in an Agricultural Security Area. Land is prioritized and farms are ranked based on soil quality, farmland potential, proximity to other preserved farmland, consistency with county planning, and vulnerability to development. More than 27% of Pennsylvania's acreage is farmland, over half of it is in active production, and farming is the state's leading economic enterprise, making preservation initiatives important for the economy, the state's agricultural character, the future food supply, and a way of life valued across generations.