Dear Friend,

As we enjoy the warmer temperatures, sunshine, and showers of spring, farmers are busy planting and tending their fields to bring the freshest and tastiest foods to our local farm stands and markets. For anyone who visits a local farmers' market or farm stand, you recognize immediately that Lancaster County is a showcase for locally grown, high quality produce.

While we all enjoy the "fruits" of farmers' labor, we must remember how important it is to save the land that produces this bounty. Lancaster County enjoys the distinction of being home to the highest quality agricultural soils in the country. Preserving our farmland ensures that farmers will continue to have this precious resource available to grow our food. When you support farmland preservation, you not only help guarantee that we will continue to have locally grown, fresh, and tasty food, you also ensure that the agricultural industry in Lancaster County will remain viable for years to come.

In addition to being critical to our food system, agriculture is the foundation of our local economy. Did you know that one in five jobs in Lancaster County is in the agricultural field? --- that's twenty percent of the county's workforce, or over 51,000 jobs.   The agricultural industry adds about $4 billion a year to our economy.

Lancaster County is also known for the incredible diversity of its agriculture. The county's 4,500 farms make it one of the top farming counties in the United States. Together, these farms raise 45 million broiler chickens, 10 million laying hens, 95,000 dairy cows, 250,000 beef cattle, and 335,000 hogs annually. The county also leads all Pennsylvania counties in the value of its livestock, dairy products, wheat, corn, hay, tobacco, eggs, and milk, earning $725 million a year in agricultural revenue.

There is no doubt that saving our treasured agricultural lands is critical to maintaining a thriving and successful local economy. Every dollar that goes into preserving farmland has an impact on our workforce and local community. As we watch the farmers working their fields and raising livestock, we need to remember how important the soils are to their success. As the first Amish farmer to preserve his land said years ago, "Once the land is paved over, it is gone forever."

We have a window of opportunity to accomplish our goals in farmland preservation. In Lancaster County the goal is to sustain agriculture, and to do this, we need to have enough acres of farmland preserved. For many reasons, it is a goal well worth our efforts.

Cordially,
Karen Martynick