Prime farmland mapped
WASHINGTON, D,C. - locations of the nation’s
The first of hundreds of “prime farmlands” was
county maps to show published recently by the
EVERY
WEDNESDAY IS
mf- DAIRY
” DAY
AT NEW HOLLAND SALES STABLES, INC.
New Holland, PA
If you need 1 cow or a truck load, we have from
100 to 200 cows to sell every week at your price
Mostly fresh and close springing Holstems
Cows from local farmers and our regular
shippers including Marvin Eshleman, Glenn Fite,
Gordon Fritz, Blame Hoffer, Dale Hostetter, H D
Matz, and Jerry Miller
SALE STARTS 12;30 SHARP
Also Every Wednesday, Hay, Straw &
Ear Corn Sale 12:00 Noon.
Ail Dairy Cows & Heifers must be
eligible for Pennsylvania Health Charts.
For arrangements for special sales or herd
dispersals at our barn or on your farm, contact
Abram Diffenbach, Mgr.
717-354-4341
Norman Kolb
717-397-5538 XT
Soil Conservation Service
(SCS), U. S. Department
of Agriculture.
The map is of Peach
County, Ga., one of 122
counties in 46 states being
inventoried this year for a
nationwide “Important
Farmlands Inventory.”
Most of the counties have
been under intense pressure
from urban development. An
additional 154 counties have
been selected for inventory
m 1977.
The agency hopes to
complete inventories and
publish color maps for each
of 1200 counties - or more
than one-third of the nation
- by 1980.
Prime farmland, for
purposes of the SCS in
ventory, is that land best
suited for producing food,
feed, forage, fiber and
oilseed crops. Farmland
already converted to urban
uses or highways is not
considered prime farmland,
even though it may have
been at some earlier time.
Technical criteria for
identification of prime
farmland are based on soil
characteristics.
The county-by-county
survey will provide the
detailed information needed
to support new department
policy, announced June 28, to
help keep the nation’s best
farm, range, and forest
lands from going into non
agricultural uses.
USDA has urged all
federal agencies to adopt the
policy that federal activities
that take prime farmland
should be carried opt only
when there are no suitable
alternative sites and when
the activity meets an
overriding public need.
Many state, county, and
municipal officials and
planning agencies share
USDA’s concern for
preservation of prune far
mlands and are expected to
find the maps useful in
making their own land use
decisions.
SCS estimates that 250
million acres of U.S. lands
presently in croplands are
prime farmland. That is
about two-thirds of the
present cropland acreage.
Some 24 million additional
acres of prime farmland not
now being used for crops
Honey
exhibited
YORK - Members of the
York County 4-H Bee Club
received ribbons for their
extracted honey and
beeswax during the Honey
Show sponsored by the York
County Beekeepers
Association. Those members
entering the 4-H class and
receiving blue ribbons were
John Jacoby, Robert Spahr,
and William Spahr. A
member receiving a red
ribbon was Edward Spahr.
The judge for the show was
Ralph Camber from the
Dutch Gold Honey Inc.,
Lancaster.
TRY A
CLASSIFIED
Lancaster Farming, Saturday. July 24.1976
could be converted to
cropland simply by begin
ning tillage.
Other prime farmland
already has been committed
to such uses as high density
forest, wildlife areas, and
farmsteads and farm roads.
Of prime farmland still
available for future cropland
use, a sizeable bite is taken
each year by urban ex
pansion. Another bite goes
under water for lakes and
reservoirs. Still more acres
are “leap-frogged” by
suburbs that build some
distance away from urban
centers. Leap-frogged acres
seem destined eventually to
be urbanized unless
legislative action is taken to
keep them in farming, ac
cording to the conservation
agency.
Each county map
published by SCS will show
the location of prime far
mland; additional farmland
of statewide or local im
portance (often useful
cropland too sloping to be
classified as prime); and
“unique” farmland. The
latter are those acres par
ticularly well suited for
growing a specific crop of
high value, like California's
avocado area near San
Diego; Michigan’s red tart
cherry region, and cran
berry bogs in Massa
chusetts, New Jersey, and
Oregon.
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