OPINION
(Continued from Page A 10)
• Almost one in five local jobs can be
credited to the agricultural industry.
• More than 7,000 people are employed
in production agriculture.
• Lancaster County ranks number 1 in
the country in the number of laying hens;
number 2 in the country in the number of
farms with sales greater than $100,000;
number 3 in the country in direct market
ing food; number 4 in the country in total
number of farms; and number 8 in the
country in the number of dairy cows.
• Lancaster ranks number one in the
state in the production of dairy, broilers,
layers, cattle, calves, hogs, com, hay, and
tobacco.
• Each second, Lancaster County pro
duces 90 eggs, 21 pounds of com, 13
pounds of hay, 9 pounds of chicken, and 7
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• Lancaster’s ag image not to men
tion gorgeous farms represent a signifi
cant driver to our local tourism economy,
generating more than 7 million tourists an
nually who spend 1.3 billion each year.
• Farming is also a solid contributor to
the plus side of our local tax base. For
every $1 of local taxes paid, farm services
use $0.07 easily the lowest amount of
any economic sector or use.
• Farmland also serves a valuable role
in groundwater recharge, allowing the
much-needed rains to soak into our
groundwater through the acres and acres
of field and pasture.
So, Lancaster’s reign as Pennsylvania’s
most significant ag economy, and agricul
ture’s contributions to all of us, simply
cannot be challenged.
Yet and I am sorry to note there is a
“yet” while I can write ad nauseum on
all sorts of positive economic impacts of
agriculture, we also need to consider the
following:
• Lancaster County has among the
most expensive ag land in the entire coun
try, while, at the same time, we have no
ability to extract more from markets of
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• Lancaster County agriculture cannot
survive if our only way to make it on the
farm is through frugal lifestyles and pover
ty level incomes.
And the list of challenges goes on. For
agriculture to continue its success, we as a
community need to understand the chal
lenges and change the message.
You see, I contend that to the average
Lancastrian, preserving our ag economy is
synonymous with preserving our farmland
a notion I believe is not only simplistic
but even potentially threatening to the fu
ture of ag.
. We need to expand the message, and we
need to be vigilant that public policy fol
lows suit. Some tactical examples:
Preserve the farmer. What good is pre
served farmland if we have no farmers to
work it? In this regard, I am pleased to
hold up the chamber’s ag program as one
of the answers. Funded in partnership
with the County of Lancaster, this pro
gram gears its efforts to educa
ting the farmer on sound busi
ness practices, educating the
public on the overall signifi
cance of farming and the ag
economy, providing network
ing opportunities for the local
ag community to learn best
practices, exchange ideas and
learn from each other, and ed
ucate local elected officials on
the issues of significance to the
ag community:
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commodity crops such as com, soybeans,
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• Lancaster County agriculture is con
fined to small fields with lots of urban
neighbors, creating an increasing tension
over co-existence.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 26, 2003-A29
1. Ensuring industrially-zoned land is
every bit as protected as farmland. In Lan
caster County, all land is precious. As vig
ilant as we are about farmland preserva
tion, we need to be just as vigilant
regarding industrially-zoned land. That is
the land where the Tyson’s will locate,
where Pepperidge Farm will settle, where
Sauder’s Eggs will grow all important
elements of our ag economy.
2. Develop a more ag-friendly business
environment. Our local regulations have to
change with the needs of our local ag
economy. Permitting on-farm businesses,
lessening some of the excessive regula
tions, allowing for some more intensive
and efficient farm practices, and promot
ing intergovernmental cooperation to en
sure regional approaches to the solution
are essential.
3. Create a Lancaster brand. The name
Lancaster has great value for the image it
creates. In that regard, tagging locally
grown products with such a brand will in
crease their value.
4. Finally, let’s create a vision for the fu
ture. The Economic Development Compa
ny of Lancaster County is undertaking a
strategic planning process for the future of
economic development. It is vital that the
agriculture interests are involved in the
process. There will be plenty of opportuni
ty for community input throughout the
process, and the ag voice must be heard.
Let me end where I began almost. I
started this column by quoting the Scrib
bler in noting, “agriculture is an important
industry in Pennsylvania and Lancaster is
a fertile place. Let it go at that.”
Let me end by altering that just a
bit... agriculture is an important industry
in Pennsylvania, and Lancaster is a fertile
place. Let’s not let it go at that!
Reprinted courtesy of
Lancaster Business To Business
Magazine, April 2003