STATE OF FARMLAND PRESERVATION
Technology has changed how farmers farm. Markets and consumer
will eventually be preserved. This level of interest in preservation is
preferences have changed both the products farmers grow and the
unprecedented and could provide the foundation for maintaining
way it is grown. Increasing regulations have changed the operations
farming in Lancaster County for generations to come.
on farms. Climate change is increasing the already uncertain weather conditions farmers must deal with on a daily basis. Earning a living
Being able to meet the demand of farmers wanting to preserve their
from farming is a constant challenge requiring long hours of hard
land is critical to the success of the county’s preservation efforts. The
work, dogged determination, vast knowledge, and an undying
inability of the APB or LFT to meet the demand of farmers interested
commitment to working the land.
in preservation will eventually lead farmers to seek other options and will discourage others from applying to participate.
Increasing prices for farmland, driven by both competition among farmers for land and development pressure, along with the other costs of establishing a farm operation, makes it increasingly difficult for new farmers to enter the farming business. In spite of the many challenges, farmers continue to farm Lancaster County’s farmland and continue to embrace farmland preservation.
THE FUNDING A successful program to preserve farmland is not possible without adequate funding. The fact that the APB and LFT have 250 farms waiting for preservation suggests that additional funding is necessary
Working with either the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board
to meet demand, achieve the goals of places2040, maximize outside
or Lancaster Farmland Trust, almost 1,500 farm families have made the
funding, and build on the investment already made in farmland
decision to permanently protect their land. Interest in preservation
preservation.
continues as more than 250 landowners are currently on waiting lists with either the APB or LFT with no guarantee that their farm
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S tate o f Farm l and P re s e r vati on R e por t
2021
Since 2001, when the county commissioners took the step of issuing a bond to invest in farmland preservation, county funding for www.lan caste rf arm la ndtr u s t . o r g
