TodayOfficials celebrate preservation milestone in Cumberland County
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Article RatingFarmers and Cumberland County officials gathered at a farm near Newville Thursday to celebrate a milestone for a farm preservation program they say has helped the area keep an important industry in the face of residential and commercial development growth.
The program, which has now preserved more than 13,000 acres of farmland in the county and more than 365,000 in the state since its inception in 1989, gives farmers a grant based on their farm's value but forbids them from selling any part of it. The county's Agricultural Land Preservation Board administers the grants, which combine county money and matching state funds.
It has helped preserve about 3,300 farms statewide, including Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bender's farm in Southampton Township. Until last year, development had threatened the future of their farm, which the Benders' family had owned since 1945. They decided long ago they would try to keep the farm so they could give it to their children, but with a farm's slim profit margins and the rising value of the land, they were unsure that was possible.
Developers had never approached them, but with a neighborhood development next door, the Benders knew offers would come.
“It's always a possibility,” Barbara Bender said. “(Developments) are all around us.”
Barbara said the grant, which the Benders will receive next month, makes her confident her family will keep the farm.
209 acres a day
The United States loses 209 acres of farmland per day, according to Bill Wehry, the deputy state secretary for the Department of Agriculture.
Wehry said the preservation program has helped Pennsylvania preserve more farmland than any other state, with Cumberland County one of the top 10 counties in the state for farm preservation.
“What a great goal,” Wehry said, “and what a great job you folks in Cumberland County are doing.”
Officials said the program was worth an investment because it helps retain the county's character and stimulate the county's economy.
Economic impact
Republican Cumberland County Commissioner Gary Eichelberger said agriculture has a “huge” economic impact on the county, which is why the county has invested millions in preservation grants. He said farms draw the presence of businesses that support them and reduces the burden on the county to provide water and sewer services because farms do not use them.
Eichelberger also said unchecked development could harm the county's quality of life because people are attracted to open, undeveloped spaces.
“The preservation grants just don't benefit that farm directly,” Eichelberger said. “They really benefit the community at large.”
County officials said they tried to target the grants on areas that could benefit the most from them. Kirk Stoner, Cumberland County planning director, said the county can be divided into two halves - the rapidly developing eastern half, and the still-rural western half. He said the county wants to focus on giving farms in the western half the grants because he does not want to deter development in areas with high-growth potential.
“We have proposals (from grants) from farms in the east, but that's the best investment,” Stoner said. “We want to invest in areas with sustainable agriculture.”
