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Disappearing Farms in PA
Rodale Institute News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kate Smith phone (814) 863-8649
FAX (814) 865-3746
Scott Overholt phone (610) 683-1486
FAX (610) 683-1494
November 12, 1996
New Book Warns Of Disappearing Farmland in Pennsylvania
Farmers and their Children Often Faced With Tough Sow or Sell Choices
in Rapidly Urbanizing Areas
The rich soils of Lancaster County, PA, allow farmers to produce more food per acre than any other non-irrigated county in the United States yet these same soils are being paved over so fast that 95% of the citizens of the region are concerned about the disappearance of farming in southeast Pennsylvania.
This is just one of the findings presented in a new booklet entitled "Beyond the Last Fencerow: The Future of the Food and Farm System in Southeast Pennsylvania."
The book is full of contrasts from bright to dark. For example, while consumers and voters are overwhelmingly in favor of preserving farming close to home, most farmers doubt their children will keep the land in cultivation.
When farms disappear, the region becomes more dependent on food from elsewhere, making it vulnerable to price and availability fluctuations due to things like energy costs, natural disasters and political events in faraway places.
"Beyond the Last Fencerow" was published by the Regional Infrastructure for Sustaining Agriculture project (RISA), and funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and The Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
In the ten counties of southeast Pennsylvania, 42% of the states total agricultural production grows on just 16% of the state's farmland. Yet, this region is urbanizing rapidly, taking some of the nations best
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Rodale Institute News Release
November 12, 1996
Page 2 of 2
farmland out of production permanently.
"Agriculture provides food, jobs, and scenic open lands, yet these benefits are being lost," says Dr. Kate Smith of the Pennsylvania State University, one of the project leaders and authors. "The barriers to sustaining agriculture here are enormous." In addition to the lack of opportunity for young people in farming, the book discusses economic, land use and policy issues.
As the state's 1996 harvest season gives way to winter, we are reminded that southeast Pennsylvania is likely to lose 12,000 more acres of prime farmland to development - as it has every year since 1969.
Smith is hoping the book will inspire action in Harrisburg and Washington to help remove some of the impediments to profitable farming, as well as the incentives to sell to developers. Even the inheritance tax can keep an aspiring young farmer from taking over the family business.
But getting the consumers of the area to think about the food system in their state is just as important, according to Smith. "People can vote with their ballots and their dollars to support agriculture close to home," explains Smith. "Losing more farms isn't something people would let happen, if they had a chance to think about it."
The 31-page booklet was co-authored by Smith, Janet Hammer and Jonda Crosby. It features original cover art by Berks County artist Karle Maurer, and is available at no charge by contacting Kathy Koehler at 610-683-1400.
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RISA was established with primary funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Its purpose is to promote regional cooperation among farmers, consumers, marketers, farm suppliers, policymakers, and technical support professionals that supports an economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture and food system in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Rodale Institute works with people worldwide to achieve regenerative food systems that renew environmental and human health. It is a nonprofit organization, tax-exempt under sections 501(c)3 and 509(a)2 of the IRS code. It is not affiliated with or a division of any for-profit corporation.