Kent County’s voluntary Purchase Development Rights, or PDR Program, compensates owners of farmland for accepting a permanent deed restriction on their land that limits future development for non-agricultural purposes.
To that end, the county has been awarded two state and federal grants worth nearly $376,000 to help preserve 218 acres of farmland in Tyrone and Solon Townships.
Since its inception in 2002, the county has preserved approximately 3,000 acres of active farmland across nearly 30 individual properties. Local farmers markets like the Grand Rapids Downtown Market and the Fulton Street Farmers Market account for over $231 million in market value from farming annually, generating $95 million in economic impact.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, in 2024, farmers earned an average of 11.8 cents of every dollar spent on domestically produced food sold at grocery stores and restaurants combined, with the remaining 88.2 cents absorbed by off-farm costs including processing, marketing, and distribution.
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