A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 1,2003 '
Group Adds Muscle To Farmland Preservation
RYAN ROBINSON
Special to Lancaster Farming
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Armed with a fresh poll that
shows Lancaster County resi
dents overwhelmingly support
saving farms from development,
a private group is launching a
major new effort to preserve
many more farms here.
The Oxford Foundation Inc. in
Strasburg hopes to strengthen
existing local preservation groups
by tapping national sources for
millions of dollars in funding.
“Our desire is to pick up the
pace of farmland preservation,”
said Marilyn Ware, secretary of
Oxford Foundation’s board of di
rectors. The county’s efforts “be
long on a national stage.” Ware
called current farmland preserva
tion work by the county Agricul
tural Preserve Board and the pri
vate, nonprofit Lancaster
Farmland Trust “superb.” But
with the continued pressure of
new housing and business devel
opment, those groups are not pre
serving enough farms fast
enough, she said.
Most residents polled random
ly recently by Susquehanna Poll
ing and Research Inc. agree with
Power Expo Nov. 12-13
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Power Expo 2003 (Land
scape, Nursery, and Turf Power
Equipment Expo) will debut Nov.
12-13, at the Pennsylvania Farm
Show Complex in Harrisburg.
Organizers expect to draw up
to 4,000 attendees, among them
landscape contractors and nurs
ery owners, highway/park main
tenance personnel, municipali
ties, school districts, and a whole
host of other prospective buyers.
Visit the PLNA Website at
www.plna.com or call (800)
898-3411.
•A program to help producers maximize quality,
health and value
•Gives buyers greater confidence in the health of cattle
purchased through LMA Member Livestock Markets
•Industry-wide calf vaccination/preventive
health program that provides greater
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•Meets consumer demand
for safe, wholesome beef
her. Of the 359 registered voters
polled, a large majority said that
they are concerned about the loss
of farmland (88 percent) and that
more protection of farmland is
needed (79 percent). Most resi
dents (66 percent) said the pace
of growth and development is too
fast, and commissioners should
increase efforts to preserve farm
land (61 percent).
The Oxford Foundation pres
ented the findings of the poll to
county commissioners and some
commissioner candidates. Ware
asked commissioners to approve
a new $5O million to $lOO million
bond issue to pay for preserving
farms a move favored by near
ly six out of 10 people who were
polled.
Approving a new bond issue
would show that the local com
mitment to farmland preserva
tion remains strong, Ware said.
The move would strengthen the
county’s chances of receiving ad
ditional federal matching money.
Exactly how much federal money
may be available for local preser
vation is not yet known, but Ox
ford Foundation Director Philip
Calhoun thinks it will be “sub
stantial.”
The show will host exhibitor's,
comprised of equipment compa
nies and suppliers to the land
scape, nursery, and turf indus
tries.
Other highlights of Power
Expo 2003 will be the first dem
onstration area in Pennsylvania,
a Power Equipment Rodeo, and
hands-on education. For a com :
plete line-up of events, visit
www.plna.com.
Exhibit booth space is still
available for Power Expo 2003.
For more information, contact
Linda Weiss at (800) 898-3411 or
Iweiss@plna.com.
“We are hoping to create a na
tional momentum,” said June
Mengel, who will be working part
time with the Oxford Founda
tion. “On a small scale, it would
be millions, and we would hope
to expand that.” The Oxford
Foundation will work to make
that opportunity happen. It is
also seeking funds from The
Conservation Fund, the Ameri
can Farmland Trust, the Nation
al Geographic Society, and the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
“We’re all in some way on the
same team,” Ware said, adding
that the Oxford Foundation is
committing to three years of
work with the initiative. The call
for funds from national sources is
not falling on deaf ears.
“What place in the country is
farmland more important to the
economy and identity than Lan
caster County,” asked Ed McMa
hon, vice president for programs
with The Conservation
Fund, which is based out
side Washington. “It is
known throughout Ameri-
ca. If we cannot save farm-
land in Lancaster County,
than where can we save
it?”
“We think Lancaster
County could serve as a
model for other counties in
Pennsylvania,” McMahon
said. Local preservationists
were obviously happy with
the news of a possibility of
additional funding. ‘I think
it is wonderful,” said Rich
Doenges, Agricultural Pre
serve Board director. “We
have a significant unmet
need from owners of farm
land.
“The support has been
very good from the com
missioners, but we need
more to get a chance to get
into this backlog that we
have.”
So far, SIS farms total-
A
/wa t£\
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ing 45,348 acres have been pre
served by the Agricultural Pre
serve Board. In addition, nine
farms, amounting to 762 acres,
have been approved for preserva
tion, but the transactions have
not yet been settled, Doenges
said.
The Lancaster Farmland Trust
has also preserved more than
10,000 acres here. Commissioner
Chairman Paul Thibault ac
knowledged that, with funds
generated by a 1999 bond soon
running out, the Oxford Founda
tion’s call for a new bond issue
“comes at an opportune mo
ment.”
But, Thibault said, “I really
haven’t formed any opinion on it
yet. We have to get new money if
we’re going to continue (farm
land preservation) at any pace. It
comes down to the age-old ques
tion of how to pay for it.”
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Commissioners approved a
special $25 million bond issue for
farmland preservation in 1999.
Doenges said he expects funds
from the bond will be extin
guished by the end of this year.
Mengel admitted it will be a chal
lenge to pull together the funding
sources needed to preserve as
much of the county’s 300,000 ag
riculturally-zoned acres as possi
ble.
The Oxford Foundation is a
private family foundation dedi
cated to promoting excellence in
health, human services, educa
tion, early childhood develop
ment, historic and environmental
preservation, arts and culture,
and public policy planning.
Editor’s note: This story origi
nally appeared in a slightly differ
ent version in the Oct. 22 Lan
caster New Era. New Era staff
writers Tim Mekeel and Patricia
Poist contributed to this report.
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