LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Lancaster County is at a generational crossroads. As hun dreds of baby boom-era farm owners now near retirement, many are deciding if they want to and can afford to continue fanning. The State of Pennsylva nia has paved over a land mass equal in size to the entire state of Connecticut since 19S0. Today, Lancaster County loses over 1,000 acres of rich farmland each year to development; that figure could rise rapidly in coming years if re tirement-aged farmers elect to sell. Could Lancaster become the next Los Angeles? With the aging trend coinciding with years of de pressed milk prices and escalating land/tax values, county extension officer John Schwartz believes that is a possibility. That’s why Schwartz serves as president of the Board of Trustees of Lancaster Farmland Trust, a private, non profit organization that has work ed to preserve Lancaster County’s productive farmland, thriving agricultural economy, and rich farm-related heritage for the last 10 years. Few people know the strong agricultural heritage Los Angeles had before development In 1944, Los Angeles County ranked #1 in the nation in total agricultural production at $129.4 million; Lancaster ranked 15th at $47 million. In 1992, Los Angeles County ranked only 92nd nationally in agricultural produc tion; Lancaster County ranked 13th. Today, Lancaster County produces $Bl5 million in agricultural products per year. That’s more than any other non-irrigated county in the United States meaning that our production quantity, quality, and costs aren’t unduly dependent upon water avail ability. What’s more, most of the County’s 380,000 acres of remaining farmland is pre dominantly Type I or Type n soil some of the richest, most productive, and scarcest farmland in the world. Lancaster County is also a strategic, low-cost, national food re source since we’re located within 500 miles of 35 percent and 60 percent of the respective populations of the United States and Canada. Agriculture is also important in that it directly employs more than 39,000 people in Lancaster many of them the very Amish and Mennonite (often called Plain Sect), or other conservative peoples whose traditions have shaped the cultural and economic make up of Lancaster for nearly three centuries. Lancaster County fanners are generally viewed as the best of the best production-wise because of their unwavering cultural dedica tion to fuming and their extensive use of low cost family labor. Although Lancaster Farmland Trust works with fanners of all colors, races, and creeds, it has been especially successful in preserving Plain Sect farms. Plain Sect peoples won’t work with the County Agricultural Preserve Board, which also carries out preservaton work, because it is a government entity. They will, however, work with the Trust since it operates and obtains funding privately. Lan caster Farmland Trust’s outstanding relation ship with Plain Sect farmers should prove even mote important in coming years since Amish farmers now purchase the majority of all farms that are sold and kept in farming in Lancaster County. Lancaster Farmland Trust is, however, an active partner with other preservation groups. In fact, that partnership recently contributed to Lancaster County’s being named to the presti gious World Monuments Fund’s (WMF) 1997 “List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.” The Taj Mahal in India, Ellils Island in New York, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii in Italy are also on that list of imperiled and irereplaceable treasures that are threatened by war, weather. Lancaster Farmland Trust Reports When naming Lancaster Coun ty to its endangered list, WMF of ficials urged local and national au thorities, as well as private citi zens, to take action to save die entire “cultural landscape” of Lan caster not just the county’s “pristine farmland,” but also its historic urban towns and rural vil lages. Lancaster Farmland Trust is and has been taking such ac tion, primarily by using a legal tool called a permaent conserva tion easement Permanent conser vation easements establish legally binding land-use restrictions and ensure that land can never be used for non-agricultural purposes, such as housing developments. Those restrictions affect all future owners of that land and they can never be reversed. Farmers who donate or sell a permanent conser vation easement to Lancaster Farmland Trust still own and con trol every other aspect of their land. They still determine how and what to farm. In fact, Lancaster Farmland Trust structures most easements to suit farmers’ person al requirements. Ten of the 17 owners of farms Lancaster Farmland Trust pre served last year donated their per manent conservation easements, saying Canning was such a critical port of their family’s identify that they wanted their hums protected. These farmers recognize that fanning is the backbone of Lan caster’s economic and cultural heritage. Most also understand that by preserving their farms, they reassure neighboring farmers that a continuing commitment to HONESDALE (Wayne Co.) - The "1998 Wayne County Agronomy Day" is scheduled Thursday, March 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Marshall Machinery, Inc. located between Indian Orchard and Beach Lake. Speakers and topics for Agronomy Day include: • Morning Session (10 a.m. to noon) - Lynn Hoffman, Agronomy Department, Penn State, "Corn Planter Adjustment and Maintenance." • Dr. Dennis Calvin, and Liberty Warranted Hybrids A STRONG START FOR OPTIMUM YIELDS. N ow with a new lower pnce, see for yourself how Liberty" Herbicide provides a strong head start to optimize the yields of AgrEvo warranted NK” Brand Bt hybrids with Yield Gard ' dis- Agronomy Day March 12 liberty Liberty Liberty® Herbicide 1-888-GO LIB LINK www.liberty-link.com Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 7, 1998-A25 agriculture makes good economic sense. That reassurance often trig gers renewed area-wide commit ment to the idea of farming ra ther than viewing farmland as an investment to be cashed in to “grow homes” at retirement Thus, it is becoming increasingly com mon to see many adjoining farms in some communities preserved. By donating their easements, most farmers can qualify for signi- Entomology Department, Penn State, - "Potato Leafhopper - Resist Alfalfa.” • Afternoon session (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.), Lynn Hoffman, "Soil Quality Indicators" and Dr. Dennis Calvin, "Biotechnology - The New Science of Seed." Other topics to be covered at Agronomy Day include "1998 Wayne County Chemsweep Program" presented by Chris Santore, Pennsylvania Department or Agriculture and "What’s New for Agronomic Weed Control?" (a video presen- HERBICIDE | Hißmnnt Scant income tax benefits, and a possible estate tax benefit benefits that may make it more economical to remain in fanning. Lancaster Farmland Trust does pay some farmer for their ease ments an average of $3OO per acre. The difference between that pay ment and the actual easement val ue often over $2,000 per acre represents the value of the do nation for federal tax purposes. tation) from the Penn State University Office of Pesticide Education. Pesticide update education credits will be offered at this Agronomy Day for those area farmers who need the credits to maintain their pesticide licens es. Those interested in attending the Wayne County Agronomy Day are asked to call the Wayne County Cooperative Extension at (717)253-5970 ext. 239 with their lunch reservations tnbuted by Hoffman Seeds Liberty kills over 100 grass and broadleaf weeds, fast, with no crop injury, no yield dam- aging carryover, and no change in hybrid performance
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