At least two farmers in Lee, Marshall and Cedar Run Districts have participated in the program since its inception six years ago.

No landowners in the predominantly suburban Center District have yet to apply.

As of last week, six landowners had submitted applications to participate in the current round of Fauquier's purchase of development rights (PDR) program, Agricultural Development Director Ray Pickering said.

Pickering expects another six landowners to file paperwork by the Aug. 29 application deadline.

About 1,500 acres would be permanently protected from development if the county board of supervisors approves the applications, he said.

Fauquier pays qualified landowners $30,000 per potential home site. To date, it has closed agreements to save 5,392 acres and extinguish 282 potential rural home sites at a cost of $6.9 million.

(The supervisors also have approved applications to save an additional 516 acres and eliminate 36 home sites at a cost of $1 million. These deals still must be closed with landowners.)

Fauquier approved its first PDR applications in 2003. It claims the second most successful PDR program in the state.

The City of Virginia Beach ranks first, saving 7,490 acres and erasing 655 home lots since 1995.

So far, the city has paid $18.3 million for $26.8 million worth of development rights, spokesman Marc A. Davis said.

Fauquier has budgeted $1.5 million to purchase development rights for fiscal 2009, which began July 1.

Under the program, landowners receive $30,000 per potential home lot. In exchange for cash, they agree to place a conservation easement on the affected land, prohibiting its further subdivision. They get to keep the ease land, farm it if they wish and spend the PDR cash as they see fit.

Besides promoting agriculture, the program also reduces the amount of rural development and thus the cost of extending expensive public services to such residences, according to PDR advocates.

PDR program participants also may apply for state and federal tax benefits tied to the greater market value of the extinguished lots.

The six applications received comprise hay and beef cattle operations, Pickering said.

The program continues to remain popular partly because farmers recognize it as a chance to ensure their land will remain rural indefinitely and to "do some financial planning," Pickering said.

He also attributes sustained interest in the program to "our good track record. The farm community is quite aware of it after five or six years."

Pickering believes Fauquier won't have enough cash this year to satisfy demand for the program.

Wayne Arrington and his family have committed four farms and 900 acres within five miles of Elk Run in southern Fauquier to the program.

While the PDR program compensation helps, he didn't join it for the money. "If somebody puts the almighty dollar ahead of preservation, it's not for them," said Arrington, a 62-year-old grain and cattle farmer who plans to pass on the operation to his two sons.

He wants the land to stay open forever. "I don't want to see houses," Arrington said, explaining his long-term motives. "I consider myself a preservationist as well as a conservationist and [the PDR program] works for my family. I don't have enough good to say about it."

E-mail the reporter: ddelrosso@timespapers.com