BERKS COUNTY LEADS IN FARMLAND PRESERVATION

By Senator Michael A. O'Pake
Minority Chairman, Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee
April 5, 2004

            With the recent action of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board, of which I am a member, Berks County is now the leader in the state in the number of farm acres preserved for Pennsylvania's future. 

            Through the purchase of agricultural conservation easements valued at more than $1.7 million, an additional 842 acres of farmland was added to Berks County's preserved total covering 316 farms and 37,250 acres. 

            The action means Berks County has now surpassed previous leader Lancaster County with its 36,703 acres preserved by the program. 

            This is good news for both Berks County's and Pennsylvania's leading industry.  It is also good news for the maintenance of pastures, green fields and open space.  Forty percent of the land space in Berks County, over 220,000 acres, remains in farming. 

            The fact is, agriculture remains Pennsylvania's leading industry.  It produces over $45 billion annually and one in every six jobs.  

            That's why, with the tough financial challenges faced by farmers and the constant pressure of development, Pennsylvania's legislature took definitive action in 1988 to create Pennsylvania's farmland preservation program. 

            As a result, Pennsylvania today is a leader in this effort, preserving more farmland than any state in the nation. 

Berks County, too, deserves much credit for the $30 million farmland preservation bond issue approved in 1999 which has worked in tandem with the state's program to the benefit of our county. 

But as much as our program has been a success, much more remains to be done. 

In Berks County alone, there are 185 farms totaling 18,646 acres waiting to be added to the preserved list. 

And the situation is similar in many other farm rich regions of our state.  That's why Governor Rendell has proposed a new, $100 million funding initiative over four years to preserve an additional 375 farms totaling more than 43,000 acres. 

The bottom line is simple.  Farmland lost to development is farmland lost forever.  We will never get it back. 

Working together, Pennsylvania and Berks County must continue to do all that it can to retain our leadership position in farmland preservation.  We owe it to the next generation and generations yet to come.

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