An additional 236 acres of prime agricultural land is now permanently protected in Cecil County through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
The property, owned by Lee Vosters, is on Randalia Road in Chesapeake City.
The farm was once part of the larger 913-acre Polk Steele Howard farm which occupied most of the Randalia peninsula. An apiary was operated on the farm until the 1950s, and again in recent years. The farm was also used for growing asparagus and raising beef cattle. Currently, the farm is used for field crops and Randalia Bee Hives.
The property is located within a Priority Preservation Area. Specifically, it encourages the conservation of agricultural and forested lands; encourages sustainable agribusiness and other natural resource-based industries; maintains the equity value of agricultural land; maintains the rural character of the County; and protects private property rights, a county release stated.
The Cecil County Department of Land Use & Development Services continues to work toward the 55,000-acre agricultural preservation goal set in 2000. 30,520 acres have been placed into protective agricultural easement and an additional 22,766 acres is owned by federal, state, and local governments. With this new addition, Cecil County will have a total of 53,286 acres of land that is permanently protected from development.
