Ten acres of land on the Merrylegs Farm property in Padanaram will be permanently preserved for agricultural use.

The property at 607 Elm Street, now being leased by Flying Carrot Farm, has been placed under a conservation restriction that prohibits future development, Select Board members were told at their Aug. 18 meeting.

Members of the Owen family have owned the land since 1895, Buzzards Bay Coalition President Mark Rasmussen told Select Board members. Merrylegs Farm, which has a long history in town, was known for breeding Morgan horses.

Just over seven acres of the land had been sold in 2020 for two house lots. Family members decided to preserve the remaining 10 acres of the property, Rasmussen said.

The land was acquired through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, a federal program of the United States Department of Agriculture that protects agricultural uses of land.

This site was especially attractive to that program, Rasmussen said, because of its location near an unnamed stream that flows into Apponagansett Bay.

The family sold the 10 acres for $1.8 million, which Rasmussen described as about half its financial value. “They’re making a wonderful, generous donation of half the value of the land in order to see it preserved,’’ he said.

No town funds were involved in the sale, which was covered through the federal program.

Rasmussen described Flying Carrot Farm, now located at the site, as a “lively, active farm’’ that sells flowers, eggs and vegetables, Rasmussen said.

Select Board members voted 4-0 to support the conservation restriction. Board Chair Heidi Silva Brooks abstained because she is a neighbor to the property.