4 —Lancaster Farming, Saturday. January 31, 1959 Editorial - - A pair of local announcements com ing to th s desk within the past week con cerned 1 nked problems in Lancas l er far ming as well as farming everywhere m the Unted States. 'The first of these announcements '■came from the Lancaster County Land Use Committee, composed chiefly of su pervisors of local federal and state agen cies directly- or ndirectly involved m land management wkhin this area. The actual "legwork'7 or on-the-spot mapping by ihe comm ttee was conducted by W. Martin Muth, SCS work-umt-conservation isf, who probably knows more about the sods, fafm.ng areas and land uses of this county than anl other one man. Through a massive random-sample measuring system the committee compil ed their estimate of land uses within the county last spring and summer. They compared this with the acre-by-acre County Soil Survey completed by SCS .n 1938 and 1950 census figures on land use = temper ng the stahsticai results with their knowledge of the area, its for mers. changes m farm practices, and ur ban development. The end result A valid estimate of approx tnotely 15,000 acres, or four per cent of the county's farmlands, diverted .from agriculture to other uses. This diver sion covers a per od of at least 1350 - 1958, and due to the correlaton of the earlier Soil Survey with Census figures, cm undetermined port on of the 1940's At the same time, the Farmers Home AdrrLnistration's county supervisor, R.ch ord W. Hoover, has announced an in crease m h s agency's mvesiment limit ,n Lancaster County farms to $40,000 for -one farm-ownership loan. Ths increase was required by "changing economc conditions makng it necessary for local farmers to make larger investments in iarms and farming operations including such ihmgs as stable cleaners, p.pe-1 ne milkers*and bulk m Ik tanks." It is obvious that some of this in crease at least was required by the r sing cost of land m Lancas'er County Reflect ing a nationwide trend which has pushed farmland values ,nto space faster and farther than the Soviet "Lunkik." Which brings us by way of the back pasture to the primary 1 nked problem. What to do about the increas ing diversion of fertile farmland to non agr cukural uses? When less fertile areas would serve the interests of non-farm meeds just as well, or better. Lancaster County is the Garden Spot It is one of the world's great limestone -basins. It is threatened wth total urban ization. This is not a Ight, casual or pass ing problem. It is growing. Spreading irom the great metropoll’an complex to the east and resulting in 15,000 acres of this country's fertili'y beng d verted "Within the past few years. The c t zens of Lancaster County, and of Pennsylvania, must decide in the near iutuxe if they wish to perm t the r most fertile farmlands to be "developed" Un- THIS ' —ln :aa President Eisenhower is on sound ground when he com plains that farm programs now in effect are too costly and, in addition, ineffective in controlling either prices or production. The new Congress, when it settles down to tackling "the sticky problem of farm .surpluses, will have no dif ficulty in agreeing v/ith the President on both counts. It isn’t, however, likely to agree with him on what should be done about it In support of his conten tion that farm program costs are too high, Mr. Eisenhower Reminded Congress that the XL S. Department of Agricul ture this fiscal year will spend more than $5,000,000,- 000 (b) “for the support of WEEK "«hington <- - idson With Clin. Ike To Cut Costs farm prices on a very farm products.” There would be less quar rel with that huge sum if it were resulting in prices gen erally fair to both producers and consumers. It could be justified if it showed a reas onable promise of bringing production into balance with market demand. $2,000 Per Farm The Department of Agri culture is spending at the rate of more than s7jooo 000,- 000 a year. That figures, on the basis of 3,500,000 farms, at some $2,000 a year per farm. By no means all of that goes to farmers. Abaut 25% goes to operating expenses, including salaries to the more than 80,000 USDA em- like the regular election of government offic als, there is no recall m tins matter. If the land is "developed", that's it. It is lost to faming. Many U. S. counties already have taken dteps to protect themselves from th s loss by plac ng fertile oreas irT"farm zoning districts," according to Erling D. Solberg of the USDA Ag. Research Ser v.ce. He reports that Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota were among the first states' to- create zoned distr c’s for forest ry and recreaton. Other states have fol lowed their lead. California has created agricultural zomng distr cts where all non-form activities, even food process ng, are excluded. The result has been to save farm pioductivtty and channel ur ban, suburban or induslral activit.es in to land areas well suited for them, but "One cam of agricultural zoning has been 'and should be to find alternative areas of less fertile soils that can be-used satisfactorily for non-farm purpose, thus preserving the most feri le sods," Dr. Sol berg says. A recent survey by his agency shows that about 17 rrrlhon acres of Classes I - IV land have been taken out of farm pro duction wdhm the past 15 years. Much of it has been the flattest, least erodible, most productive and most intensively farmed. Dr. Solberg urges timely and appro- action by local at zens to prevent loss of fertile lands, while a.dng healthy suburban-industrial growth. ' He reports that four types of zonmg regulations are available to interested areas. They are: "Use" laws that restrict the use to which land can be put. Build mg-tract regulations that set lower limits on the size of building lots or tracts; building-height regulations, and densty-of -population laws to prevent either darig erous overcrowding or wasteful scatter- the suburban population. For the individual farmer there is the dec sion of whether he wonts to reta.n the power to hold his land available for speculation as a suburban development site, conlnue farming it himself, or pass it on to his children. Agricultural zonmg for Lancaster County would not only remove fertle lands from speculation, but, would parti ally alleviate the pressure for higher and higher pnces.' This would automatically result in lower taxes for the future, since the land could only be taxed for its farm value and not for the "development" pos sibilities. Zoning-power enabling acts for about half the nation's count es have been pas sed by state leg.siatures. Lancaster farm ers might well consider the possibilities of us.ng this method of preserving their way of life. (Copies of Agricultural Information Bullet n No. 196, "The Why and How of Rural Zoning", are for sale by the Super intendent of Documents, U. S. Govt. Print ing Office, Wash. 25, D.C. Price: 40 cents each) However, with record crops ployees. Another 25% is the harvested and increased mar cost of export subsidies, school lunches and other sur- , u „ _ ~ plus disposal .programs. fault "with the President s _ • - demand for action During 1958 the govern- congress has adopted many merit paid farmers more than f « h recommendations $1 billion as a 'part of the ma(Je by Secretary Benson IS"th °j and backed by the President. SS c”Sr“ p^oSa“ s 11 1 1“’ howeVer ' re,used 40 Y““a™“™» V the P^ SS f, L a " d “ ", „ . Administration would have number of acres in cultiva- , . , ‘ Most “«» s su W>° rted er before g P at 90 %of parity when Mr. _ " . Eisenhower became Presi- Government holdings of 1 had trouble figuring- out| what Jesus meant. One « seem clear enough. p o ,| ment, he was shutting tj of those who tried to J look silly. Without sayuj No to their tricky yofl question, he called thong to the fact that they owl something, and owed q| thing; and perhaps hinted J were behind with then m J on both accounts. Hov.eJ mg -beneath the surface I brilliantly simple ansv. Ct l see a truth which is for America as it is 01 J province of the Roman Enj tunes ago Every man, w| realizes it or not, is a J two worlds. One is the hurl around him, as in Ameuca] of us owe America a g t j We can appreciate ouij more if we stop to think t| people would like to mj than to any other coimtrl globe. Our country has a! our loyal support. The' other world is caj Kingdom or Realm cf God] visible always (“it cometh observation”), but it is important, and infinitely jl during, than any human I wealth. If we owe out j much, we owe the Kmgdoij yet more. 1 Many Problems It is not easy to say, ini possible, just wjiere the I| of. this earth end and the I of Heaven begins-. People S the two worlds as distmJ people say they overlap ol is sure: if they overlap, tn! in us, for we are citizens! worlds This raises many pi especially where the l\vo| overlap. Suppose the Stall thing is wrong which I kno| sees it, is right ” Suppose commands me to do sonij am quite sure God forbids’! I should be a good citizen,! I be a good citizen and gof my conscience? One third If I try to be a citizen c|' world only, I shall find j sometimes fighting again! But if I take my citizeij God’s world only, I shall t| ferent to my Iniman biotlJ Bisters. Only by loving bj and man can I be a good of both worlds. (Based on outlines copjnfl ilio Division o 1 Christian LI National Council of the Clm Christ in the XT. S. A, Belq Community Press- Service.) keting of hogs, prices of 1 products declined last and in mid-December > aged only slightly abo' year earlier Farm cost rates are sh to have continued their trend, averaging some t' per cent higher for the J The report further st that with improved price' some products in 1958 11 per cent increase in output, farm income sharply increased last 1' despite increased costs Patronize Lancaster F< mg Advertisers. Lancaster Farmini Lancaster County’s Own Weekly ! P O Box- 1124 Lancnstoi, Penna. | Offices. | 53 N'oi 111 Duke St. [ LancTstei, Penna I Phone - Lancaster | RX press 4-3047 Dan McOiew, Editor; Robert O f’umnbeil Advert'; Dire tor .V Business Wi®* nstaniiliocl Not ember 4, '1 Published r\oiv Saturday j Lancast r Fanning, Lancaster* Filtered as 2nd class matter Lmcaster, Pa under Act of ' 3, IS7I addition il entry at Ik Joy, Pa Rates: $2 per v thiee years ?5. Single copv ' ■> i ents Members Pa Newspaper ers’ Association. National I'®l lal Association. !