Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF)

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), created by the General Assembly in 1977, was one of the first agricultural land preservation programs created in the United States and has become one of the nation's leaders in agricultural land preservation, preserving more agricultural land than any other state in the country. MALPF purchases agricultural preservation easements that forever restrict development on prime farmland and woodland; it has permanently preserved land in each of Maryland's 23 counties, representing a public investment of over $900 million. Since 1980, MALPF has purchased easements on over 2,500 properties, permanently preserving over 350,000 acres. Its mission is to preserve productive farmland and woodland for the continued production of food and fiber; curb the expansion of random urban development; help curb the spread of urban blight and deterioration; protect agricultural land and woodland as open space; protect wildlife habitat; and enhance the environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

Owners of prime farmland and woodland in Maryland who wish to sell a perpetual agricultural preservation easement on their land. Easements are administered in partnership with certified local (county) agricultural land preservation programs. See the Foundation's fact sheets and the 'How Can the Foundation Help You?' page for detailed landowner eligibility and easement criteria.

Contact your local (county) program administrator or MALPF Foundation staff for easement applications and information; addresses and telephone numbers, fact sheets, annual reports, and applicable laws and regulations are available on the MALPF website. Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401, 410-841-5700.