BY ROBERT E. LEIBY AND DAVID L. DUNBAR Lehigh County Cooperative Extension Office The decade of the 1980 s was a period of rapid economic and population growth for much of the eastern half of Pennsylvania. Growth meant change for many rural communities and residents. For example, growth created new employment opportunities and an expanded tax base for municipali ties. But these benefits were balanced by new environmental challenges and difficulties for loc al governments in providing necessary public services. Among those affected by change were thousands of families who traditionally earned their livelihood from farming. For some rural families, growth meant opportunity to profit from the sale of land which became increasing ly valuable for commercial and residential development For other farm families who desired to con tinue farming, rapid population and economic growth meant new challenges. Penn State agricultural eco nomists conducted a study to bet ter understand why fanners leave agriculture in areas experiencing population growth and develop ment pressures. This study focused on five southeastern Pennsylvania coun ties: Berks, Bucks, Lehigh, North ampton, and York. These counties were chosen because they are important agriculturally and they are close to growing metropolitan areas. During the period 1978-1987, they experienced decreases in both farmland acreage and value of agricultural production (see table). The loss of acreage and production partially reflects the heavy pressure for development in all of them. A mail questionnaire was com pleted by 153 current farmers and 96 farmers who had recently stopped farming. Respondents gave multiple rea sons for leaving fanning lack of farm profitability was the com mon reason. Belief that their type of farm operation was no longer profitable was more prevalent among former fanners than cur rent farmers. Profitability may be related to farm type. A larger percentage of the former farmers were milk pro ducers, and a larger percentage of the cunent farmers were grain growers. At least part of the loss of dairy farmers was due to the government dairy termination program, which provided finan cial incentives for dairy farmers to sell their herds. The response “could make more money by selling land” was the second most important reason given by former fanners for leav ing fanning. Among current far mers, 89 percent said they believed that they could make more money by selling their farm than they could by farming the land. It is important to keep in mind that not all farmland sold goes into development. Less than 50 per cent of the land sold by former far mers in this study is currendy being developed. Nevertheless, the tendency for development is significant. Even among current farmers, 66 percent have been approached by developers on a regular basis. The growing ten dency toward development is important because farmers located Farming Grows In Southeast Pa. next to development were more likely to leave farming than those not so located, other factors being equal. In most cases, problems such as increased vandalism, traffic con gestion, and difficulty in obtaining farm supplies and services were not reasons to leave farming. However, with respect to vandal ism, only former farmers said they frequently had problems with livestock being harmed. Other than this severe instance, it appears that vandalism prob lems are tolerated at certain levels. For example, littering, although not a reason for leaving farming, was a problem frequently exper ienced by about 40 percent of both former and current fanners. Traff ic congestion was frequently experienced by about 26 percent of both current and former far mers, while trespassing was fre quently experienced by about 18 percent of former farmers and 20 percent of current farmers. Receiving complaints about the farm (regarding farm noise, spray, odors, dust or blowing debris) had a slightly negative impact on the likelihood of staying in farming, although the majority of respon dents nevef received such com plaints. Lack of available labor was cited by 37 percent of the former farmers as a reason for leaving farming, and former farmers relied more on hired labor than did current farmers. Of those who did hire labor, 74 percent of both cur rent and former farmers said hir ing had become harder during the last five years the main reason offered was ‘ ‘workers can get paid more elsewhere.” Credit was also more difficult for former than current farmers to obtain, and more of them relied on credit. Former farmers exper ienced more difficulty with availa bility of markets and agricultural information services than did cur rent farmers. Increases in property taxes were perceived as a problem even by those farmers who are in the “Clean and Green” preferen tial taxation program. The presence or importance of off-farm income was not directly related to the probability of leav ing farming, although 42 percent of respondents and 32 percent of spouses had off-farm employ ment. Of those who held off-farm jobs, 53 percent of current fanners said it was very important in their decision to continue farming and 59 percent of former farmers said it was important to their house hold while they were farming. Almost 32 percent of the former farmers saw higher pay in off farm employment as an incentive to leave fanning. These results suggest that off-farm income was a significant factor for many farm households, but was not necessari ly either a transitional phase-out of farming or a significant force keeping those in farming. The survey results indicate that many Pennsylvania farmers remain committed to farming despite real or potential difficul ties. Sixty-two percent of current farmers surveyed said it was likely they would still be farming five years from now. Current fanners tended to have more positive atti tudes toward farming in their area, and would encourage others to farm there as well. Commitment to farming extends beyond the individual far mer, with more current than for mer farmers responding that it was important that their land continue to be farmed after they cease doing so themselves (S 3 percent and 43 percent, respectively). The majority of both current and for mer farmers expressed satisfac tion with being a farmer, and viewed farming as not just a job TabU Changes in farmland acreage and farm product sales for study counties, 1978-87 Count Berks Bucks Lehigh Northampton York County Berks Bucks Lehigh Northampton York Source U.S. Crams of Agriculture 1 Calculated in 1952-I4 dollars unng ALL PURPOSE CART * 2 Sizes In Stock * 8 Cu. Ft. Assembled w/Solld Front vi 120” Wheels Pneumatic, $125.00 * 15 Cu. Ft. Assembled w/Removable Front w/26” Wheels Pneumatic, $155.00 Elam M. Ebersol 558 Gibbons Road Blrd-ln-Hand, PA 17505 FREE MOUNTING On All Tires owr*rM,ojß r/iirs ssssassss jiL, < sssssbbssss aaaaaais in&tontjrun sSSSsasSS (717) 656-2574 but a way of life. Programs such as farmland zon ing or the purchase of conserva tion easements may indeed result in the preservation of farmland, but these programs are not broad based enough to address the prob Changes in farmland acreage 1978-82 (acres) - 7,685 - 5,439 - 10,029 - 7,999 - 5,001 (acres) - 10,184 - 26,954 + 1,629 - 15,578 - 21,640 Changes in farm product sales 1 1978-82 ($1,000) - 4,909 - 10,459 - 12,016 - 8,335 - 4,003 pnos index WOODEN WHEELBARROW ESALE ON THE FARM TIRESERVICE • MOUNTING FREE • RADIO DISPATCH SERVICE* BEFORE YOU BUY HIGH MILEAGE ALL SEASON TIRES CHECK OUR PRICES FRU BALANCING Of All Tires Purchased With This Ad _ LF lems of individual operators, far mers unable to obtain necessary farm labor or to earn a reasonable return on their investment will ultimately go out of business, even though their land may continue to (Turn to Page Dl9) 1982-87 1982-87 ($1,000) - 21,347 - 5,133 410 - 9,938 - 15,305 * Made With Pressure Treated Lumber * Assembled With Stainless Steel Screws (Also With Poplar Lumber) * Removable Sides * 66” Long, 27” High, 24” Wide * $157.00 Plus Tax Unless Exempt * Wooden Wheel With Side Rim Call Answering Service 717-354-5561 Dealer Inquiries Welcome LEOLA TIRE SERVICE, inc. 258 W. 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