Thank you for your support for the preservation of Patterson Farm. Our local farms are essential to quality of life. We recently proposed to the Lower Makefield Board of Supervisors, the following management strategies to ensure Patterson Farm, our community agricultural resource, remains viable for food production today and beyond:
- Expansion of the Farmland Preservation Easement to protect an additional 38 acres of Patterson Farm. This will potentially generate up to $456,000 in preservation funds to improve Patterson Farm's agricultural structures. (Bucks County Agricultural Lands Preservation Program, 2022, Program Guidelines)
- Request Lower Makefield supervisors allocate returning to Patterson Farm the $483,581.09 they received from highway funds for Patterson Farm land sold to build the Interstate 295 exit ramp. Funds to be dedicated for farm upkeep.
- Request Township to collaborate with Patterson Farm Preservation, Inc. to create 'Patterson Agricultural & Heritage Center'. This will further the farms' original purpose since its settlement over 300 years ago, align with the intention of the Agricultural Security Area, and honor the contributions of farmers Thomas & Alice Patterson, the healthy lifestyle they embodied, and the responsible farm stewardship they employed.
- Patterson Farm Preservation, Inc. in residence in Satterthwaite House to fundraise and restore the farmhouse with the mission of working with farmers and institutions of agricultural learning to educate future agriculturists, enhance the natural benefits of Patterson Farm, conduct educational programs of interest to the public, featuring agriculture, history and natural environment, with minimal impact to the farm environment.
- To ensure fairness for all, transfer cropland leasing responsibilities for Patterson Farm from township supervisors to the township Farmland Preservation Corporation, an independent organization created to manage preserved cropland resources.
Comments given at the April 6 Lower Makefield Board of Supervisors meeting may be viewed in the attached link. Go to the "Public Comment" section near the end of the meeting, comments begin at 3:12.
It takes a community to save a farm. Thank you for your support!
Patterson Farm Preservation, Inc. 501c3, the only charitable organization formed with the mission of preserving Patterson Farm, Bucks County, PA. Visit our website