TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Two Westmoreland County farms were among the 26 protected by the state in recent purchases of permanent conservation easements in return for owners selling the “development value” of their property. The farms involved in raising crops and livestock were protected under the state’s Farmland Preservation Program from future residential, commercial and industrial use. In the latest round of conservation easements in the 32-year program, the state is protecting 2,370 acres. The state partners with counties to purchase the development value. “Once farmland goes out of production, it rarely comes back,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement. “That’s why preserving farmland it so important.”