Since 1950, Madison County has lost about 735 acres of working farmland every year, according to a county-appointed committee report. The county’s forests are also diminishing – with more than 20,000 acres lost to development in the past 24 years, the report states. The group – made up of local residents chosen by the board of supervisors – has spent the past year developing a local “purchase of development rights” program in an attempt to stop this trend.