Five Lehigh Valley farms, totaling 148 acres, will be preserved under a state investment program that protects them from future residential or commercial development.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office announced Thursday that more than 1,228 acres on 22 farms in 14 counties were part of a $5.8 million investment in state, county and local funds.

“Every farm preserved is a promise to the next generation — a promise that productive farmland, family legacies and Pennsylvania’s agricultural heritage will endure,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “From a Bucks County farm with roots stretching back more than 260 years to an Adams County family preserving its fourth farm, these stories show the lasting impact of farmland preservation.”

Three Lehigh County farms received an investment of $979,040, with $624,612 coming from the state, $99,756 from the county, $1,986 from Heidelberg Township, $195,478 from Upper Macungie Township, $56,581 from Upper Saucon Township and $627 from Lower Milford Township. They are:

• Antonio J. Ferreira’s 56-acre crop and livestock farm in Heidelberg Township

• Christine P. Muth-Whitby’s 25-acre crop farm in Upper Macungie Township

• Russell M.K. Schantzenbach’s 42-acre crop and livestock farm in Upper Saucon and Lower Milford townships.

Two Northampton County farms received an investment of $274,192 from the state. They are:

• Christopher W. Greeby’s 11-acre crop farm in Plainfield Township

• Jacob R. and Amanda M. Klein No. 3, a 14-acre crop farm in Forks Township.

According to its website, Lehigh County has 428 preserved farms covering more than 29,000 acres. In July, the county approved 11 additional farms totaling nearly 786 acres to be saved from development in 2027.

Northampton County has a similar program that has preserved 270 farms covering more than 20,000 acres since 1989.

Also in the region, Robert W. Field’s 21-acre crop farm in Hamilton Township, Monroe County received an investment of $227,221, with $213,800 coming from the county.

In Bucks County, David N. Leopold and Laura S. Rathgeb’s 32-acre crop farm in Bedminster Township, which dates back to 1765, was preserved. Along with the Kinney Family Limited Partnership’s 49-acre crop farm in Buckingham Township, they received an investment of just over $1 million with more than $650,000 from the state.

The state partners with county and sometimes local governments and nonprofits to buy development rights. By selling development rights, property owners ensure that their properties will remain productive farms and never be sold to developers.

Since 1988, Pennsylvania has protected 6,781 farms and 671,082 acres in 58 counties from future development, investing more than $1.83 billion in state, county, and local funds.

Farmland was also preserved in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Dauphin, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Montgomery, Susquehanna, and York counties.