D26—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, February 23,1980
CHICAGO, XL. More
than 2700 acres of U.S. prime
farmland are taken out of
production on an average
day for houses, shopping
centers, roads and other
uses.
Several agricultural
economists said that
workable land-use policies
must be established to
preserve the future of farm
ing.
University of Wisconsin
agricultural economist
Richard Barrows points out
that existing land-use
Delaware offers
bulletin of direct
marketing laws
DOVER, Del. Roadside
markets and pick-your-own
ventures have become a
popular way to sell locally
grown produce in Delaware.
There’s even interest in re
establishing a farmers’
market or two in the state.
Regardless of the method
of direct marketing you
choose, there are laws and
regulations governing the
sale of fresh fruits and
vegetables in Delaware.
The Extension Service, in
cooperation with the state
Department of Agriculture,
has prepared a bulletin
which explains these
regulations. Though not all
inclusive, the booklet “Laws
and Regulations Affecting
Direct Marketing in
Delaware” provides a
workable guide to the
various legal aspects of
direct marketing produce in
the state.
The bulletin is broken
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Ag economists review land use planning
policies by themselves have
been largely ineffective in
protecting farmland.
“Land-use planning has
often been criticized as too
weak to protect farmland.
However, land-use planning
is not always weak, as il
lustrated by the planning
program in Walworth Coun
ty (Lake Geneva) Wiscon
sin,” Barrows said.
“Instead of viewing the
plan as a document showing
where urban growth should
occur, Walworth County
farmers and rural citizens
used planning as a process of
down into 11 sections
covering the following
subjects: entrance-exit
requirements and parking at
roadside markets and pick
your-own establishments,
zoning, advertising, public
health standards, weights
and measures, pesticide
uses, labor, taxes, licenses,
cooperative marketing
associations, and reducing
risks of accidents.
There is also a list of
references which cover
these topics in greater depth.
Each section contains a
descriptive review of the
specific laws or regulations
in question and then refers
the reader to agencies that
can be contacted for further
assistance.
Copies are available from
University of Delaware
extension crops marketing
specialist Carl German
302/738-2511.
building a concensus about
rural problems and solu
tions.
“More than 550 public
meetings were held over an
eight-year period resulting
m new local laws to control
subdivisions, a new zoing or
dinance, and plan for hous
ing, transportation and other
local concerns. Walworth
County’s efforts have
preserved farmland by
guiding development to
poorer agricultural soils in
areas where farm operations
will not be disrupted.
“The key for success was
the involvement of local peo
ple in deciding the future of
the county. The plan itself
was not as important as the
public participation that
built the community concen
sus to preserve farmland,”
Barrows said.
Other policies mentioned
by Barrows included
agricultural zoning,
farmland tax policies and
purchase of development
rights.
Zoning has a poor track
record in preserving
farmland, but Barrows ex
plains that the reason is
because the zoning was not
designed to protect
farmland.
“A few counties in the U.S.
have successfully used zon
ing to protect agricultural
land. The zoning was design
ed by rural people to protect
their farm operations..”
Some states have adopted
a use-value assessment law
which assesses farmland for
tax purposes according to its
value in producing
agricultural commodities.
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Assessing farmland at
market value resulted in
taxes so high that many
farmers were forced to sell
land to speculators and
developers.
This farmland taxation
system has not been suc
cessful in states like
Maryland and has been only
moderately successful in
other areas of the country.
According to University of
Illinois agricultural
economist Harold Guither,
government policies have a
strong influence on land-use
decisions.
“The right of eminent do
main allows government to
acquire land for public pur
poses, such as highways, air
ports and parks, provided
the owners are justly com
pensated,” he said.
“Regulatory devices in
clude zoning, subdivision
regulation, health, housing,
plumbing and electrical
codes and various nuisance
ordinances,” according to
Guither.
He said “Federal income
taxes probably have a much
greater impact on land use
than property tax. Deduc
tions for real estate loans
and property taxes lower the
effective cost of land and
provide incentives for own
ing more than if the deduc
tions were not allowed. As a
consequence, the demand
for land and housing has in
creased.
“Government decisions
can result in subsidies in
housing and community
development activities or in
incentives to remove land
from agricultural uses.
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Lower interest rates and
guaranteed credit encourage
developers to build housing
projects often on
agricultural land instead of
in the decaying areas of
large cities,” Guither said.
Other methods of en
couraging development in
clude selling tax-exempt
bonds, providing properly
tax exemptions for industry
and providing sub
sidies which all contribute to
the disappearance of
agricultural land, according
toGuither.
He concluded that “most
land-use decisions depend on
people and where they
decide to live and work.
Government’s role, then, is
to direct those decisions by
guiding the placement of
work places and homes so
that we use land carefully
and do not destroy produc
tive agricultural land.”
PH: 215-267-3808