A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 15,2001
Lancaster Farmland Trust President To Leave
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
The Board of Trustees of Lan
caster Farmland Trust an
nounced that President Thomas
D. Stouffer has announced his in
tention to leave service to the or
ganization at the end of March
2002.
Trustee Board Chair Lee J.
Dmitzak said, “On behalf of the
trustee board, staff, members,
and farmers who have preserved
farms with Lancaster Farmland
Trust, the organization thanks
Tom for a job well done. Al
though we will all miss him a
great deal, we all understand his
desire to move on to new chal
lenges.”
A national search for his re
placement will be undertaken in
the near future.
Reflecting on his years at Lan
caster Farmland Trust, Stouffer
said, “I feel fortunate to have
been a part of the tremendous
success that farmland preserva
tion has enjoyed in Lancaster
County over the past five years.
Thanks to the work of many ded
icated individuals who have sup
ported this important cause,
farmland preservation has moved
into the mainstream of Lancaster
County agriculture.”
Office Closed
Christmas,
New Year’s
On Christmas Day, Tuesday,
Dec. 25, iMncaxter Fanning
office is closed. The office will
reopen Wednesday, Dec. 26.
For (he Dec. 29 issue, there
are some deadline changes:
Public Sale and Mailbox ads,
5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21.
Classified. Section D ads,
5 pm. Wednesday, Dec. 26.
Classified, Section C, Farm
Equipment ads, 9 a.m. Thurs
day. Dec. 27.
General News, noon, Thurs
day. Dec 27.
On New Year's Day. Tuesday,
fan I. Ixmcaster farming office
is closed The office will reopen
Wednesday, Jan 2
For the Jan 5 issue, there are
some early deadline changes:
Public Sale and Mailbox ads,
5 p.m. Friday Dec 28
(lassificd. Section D ads,
4 p.m Monday, Dec. 51
Classified. Section C, Farm
Equipment ads, 9 a.m. Wed
nesday. Jan. 2.
General News, noon, Wed
nesday. Jan 2.
Lancaster
Farming's
Classified Ads
Gat Rasults!
Coal
Stokers
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Starting at
Originally from Elizabethtown,
Stouffer was appointed in Sep
tember 1996. During his tenure,
the Trust has experienced steady
growth. The number of farms
preserved increased from 58 in
September 1996 to 136 through
December 8, 2001. Preserved
acreage increased at about the
same rate: from about 3,650 to
about 8,800. (Landowners have
donated more than half the ease
ments.) Trust active membership
has also increased from less than
800 to about 1,100. Events such
as the Trust annual dinner, sum
mer picnic, and Pedal to Preserve
have also enjoyed popularity.
Also during his tenure, gifts
from supporting donors have en
abled the Trust to develop its
own CIS capability, making farm
evaluations more objective and
professional.
Although the Trust does not
receive government funding to
preserve farmland, Stouffer has
worked closely with both county
and state officials to ensure farm
land preservation remains a legis
lative priority. Dramatic public
funding increases in the past few
years, coupled with the Trust’s
private efforts, have brought
Lancaster County’s preserved
farm total to about 500 farms, the
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In presentations across the
state and at regional and national
conferences, Stouffer has consis
tently supported the development
of a broad public policy agenda
for farmland preservation cen
tered on continuing economic
benefits to farmers in exchange
for the restrictions imposed by
perpetual easements.
He chairs 10,000 Friends of
Pennsylvania’s Rural and Agri
Drought Expanded To
Include 62 Of 67 Pa. Counties
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) DEP Secretary David E.
Hess announced Dec. 5 that 62 of
Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are
now under a drought declaration
as conditions continue to deterio
rate despite recent rain. Thirty
one counties are now under a
drought warning and 31 counties
are under a drought watch.
“Groundwater levels are con
tinuing to decline when they
would normally be increasing,”
Hess said. “Now we’re seeing
streamflows dropping rapidly,
reaching record-low levels in
Paddock
cultural Policies Task Force, co
chairs the Agricultural Land
Preservation Committee of the
South Central Assembly for Ef
fective Governance, and is a
member of the Lancaster Rotary
Club and the Lancaster Chamber
of Commerce and Industry’s Ag
riculture Committee.
Stouffer is also active in the Rt
23 coalition sponsored through
the Chamber, fri that activity and
in efforts to establish agricultural
some cases, particularly in the
southcentral and eastern portions
of the state.”
Hess said 17 counties have pre
cipitation deficits of more than
10 inches for the year.
“We need significantly above
normal precipitation over an ex
tended period of time in order for
conditions to improve,” Hess
said. “It took several months to
reach this point, and it may take
several months to recover.”
Twenty-two counties that pre
viously were on the drought
watch list were added to the
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security areas in fanning town
ships, the Trust has maintained
close contact with Amish farm
ers-consistent with the fact that
40 percent of farms preserved by
the Trust are owned and farmed
by Old Order Amish.
Stouffer, a retired Marine
Corps colonel, has no immediate
employment plans, but intends to
stay active in programs related to
agriculture and land preserva
tion.
drought warning list. They are
Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Carbon,
Columbia, Delaware, Fulton,
Huntingdon, Juniata, Lehigh,
Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery,
Montour, Northampton, North
umberland, Philadelphia, Pike,
Schuylkill, Snyder, Union and
Wayne.
Seven counties Fayette,
Greene, Lackawanna, Luzerne,
Somerset, Susquehanna and Wy
oming are being added to the
drought watch list, which totals
31 counties.