Farmland Preservation Area
Farmland is Marion County’s Brand
For there to be horses and a horse industry, there must be farmland. The Marion County Commission created the Farmland Preservation Area (FPA) in 2005 to manage growth and protect the areas valuable soils, water and spring sheds.
Marion County is home to about 80,000 equines on 1,200 horse farms. The FPA encompasses 193,000 acres in the northwest portion of Marion County and a large concentration of horse farms are located in the FPA. In recent years, 2,500 acres has been removed from the FPA through determined petitioning by developers. This will continue without public pressure to keep the boundaries set in stone. It is our mission to protect this area through community support and collaboration with the County. Once the farmland is erased, it can never be replaced.