Albany - Governor Eliot Spitzer Thursday announced approximately $35 million in funding through the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Program to protect nearly 13,300 acres of active farmland across New York State. The funding is the largest dollar amount ever dedicated for farmland preservation, and will go to protect the largest single amount of acreage in the program’s 11-year history. The funding will go 35 farms in 22 counties.

Grant recipients include seven first-time Farmland Protection recipients and 10 farms that have been in operation for more than 100 years. This year's round of Farmland Protection funding includes:

• $5.1 million for Long Island;
• $6.8 million for the Hudson Valley;
• $4.1 million for the Capital District;
• $1.6 million for the Mohawk Valley;
• $6.9 million for Central New York;
• $7.3 million for the Finger Lakes region;  
• $2.9 million for Western New York.