If the newly formed Save Our Farms Coalition is successful in its mission, it won't be around long. The coalition, made up of preservation groups, formed to combat Gov. Tom Corbett's proposal to shift money generated by a cigarette tax from farmland preservation to the state general fund.......

Lancaster Farmland Trust is a private, independently funded organization dedicated to preserving farmland in Lancaster County. The county's Agricultural Preserve Board does the same work, but with public funds. To date, the Ag Preserve Board has preserved about 70,000 acres of Lan......

Correction March 22, 2012 — An earlier version of the story below misidentified the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. ••• The view of Lancaster C......

Farmland preservation in Lancaster County and across the state is in jeopardy, according to local officials. Gov. Tom Corbett's 2012-13 budget proposal calls for siphoning off the dedicated state funding for farmland preservation in order to balance next year's spending plan. "In ......

Lancaster County commissioners Chairman Scott Martin did something Wednesday he hadn't done since he took office in 2008. He voted against appropriating county money for farmland preservation. It's not that Martin is against farmland preservation, he said. Rather, he feels......

Lancaster County's financial commitment to farmland preservation is projected to drop for the fourth year in a row this year. At their weekly meeting Wednesday, the county commissioners are expected to approve a plan to spend $4.13 million on various programs aimed at forever protecting L......

Three generations of a Warwick Township farm family saluted public officials and business representatives for agricultural preservation efforts on Dec. 21. "Our family thanks you for helping us continue this legacy" of Christian Bomberger, who bought 564 acres in 1732 from the sons of Wil......

  Charlie Smithgall believes his Drumore Township farm is special. The 243.5-acre parcel on Harmony Ridge Drive is one of the larger unbroken farms in Lancaster County, where the average farm size is around 70 acres. The property encompasses a sizable portion of the Fishing......

Lancaster Farmland Trust will turn 25 in 2013. And what better way for the private, nonprofit organization to celebrate its birthday than helping Lancaster County crack the next big farmland preservation goal — 100,000 acres under easement. "We know it's a lofty goal, but we......

Lancaster County passed another milestone Wednesday on the path to becoming the first county in the nation to preserve 100,000 acres of farmland. At their weekly meeting, the county commissioners approved the preservation of three farms totaling 232 acres, which pushed the total acreage o......

Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday authorized the preservation of a 10.35-acre farm, one of the smallest farms to be preserved in more than 20 years. Development will never occur on the farm at 294 Ore Mine Road in East Donegal Township that's owned by Forrest and Ceil Sheffy of ......

The Clay Township Zoning Hearing Board granted an unusual time extension as part of a variance hearing on June 2. Jere L. and Donna L. Bollinger, 805A South Fairview Road, Lititz, were granted a variance allowing them to merge two deeds into one by submitting an annexation plan for propertie......

The value of farmland in Lancaster County is not increasing at the astronomical rates found in the Midwest. In fact, in four of five geographic regions in Lancaster County, farms are selling for less per acre than they did three years ago, when the economy tanked, according to new figures......

Lancaster County once again hauled in more state money for farmland preservation than any other county in Pennsylvania. The state Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Farmland Preservation has allocated $2.3 million to Lancaster County for 2011. That's nearly $400,000 more than t......

Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday pledged just over $5 million to farmland preservation in 2011. That total includes $4.06 million for the county's Agricultural Preserve Board, a $750,000 challenge grant to Lancaster Farmland Trust and $250,000 in matching funds set aside for to......

In the words of one official, they're "another tool to help farmers stay in East Hempfield," Lancaster's second-biggest suburban township. Township officials have started working on that new tool, transferable development rights, otherwise known as TDRs. A third of East Hempfield'......

Nothing is free anymore.Currently, the staff of the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board does not charge owners of preserved farms when it reviews proposals from owners looking to subdivide and/or develop part of their property or launch farm-based businesses.All of these ac......

James E. Huber, a four-term Lancaster County commissioner and longtime community activist, died Monday. He was 75.Huber was pronounced dead at Lancaster General Hospital of heart disease, according to county Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni."He was a true Lancaster Countian from start......

This article is a follow-up to the recent "Inside Story" series on farmland preservation. Five years ago the county's Blue Ribbon Commission for Agriculture rated tax relief for farmers as one of its highest priorities. The commission's primary recommendation: freeze real es......

Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks — three neighbors in eastern Pennsylvania — are the only counties participating in the state's tax-freeze program for preserved farms. The three counties together have preserved 471 farms. Lancaster County has preserved nearly 1,100 farms. Lehig......

The last time Karen Martynick saw Amos Funk was at the end of 2009. And even then, at the age of 98, Funk, who is considered the father of farmland preservation in Lancaster County, wanted to know how the movement he helped start some five decades ago was progressing. "He was quizzin......

When Ephrata School District officials announced they planned to build a driveway across an Ephrata Township farm preserved by Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board, county commissioners said, "No way." The battle went all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which ult......

In summer 2005, the Lancaster County Commissioners announced plans for the county to borrow as much as $100 million, most of it to preserve additional farmland. The commissioners actually borrowed only $37.5 million over three years. They had said they anticipated that future boards of co......

What have county taxpayers and Lancaster Farmland Trust donors received in return for the tens of millions of dollars they have pumped into farmland preservation in Lancaster County? Beyond saving tens of thousands of productive agricultural acres forever, it is clear that they have helpe......

Don Ranck said he hasn't changed his mind about Lancaster County's farm preservation program since it began three decades ago. "I don't see any redeeming value in it," the Paradise Township farmer and chairman of township supervisors said bluntly. "Let the marketplace work. Keep g......

Gary Van Dyke, a large animal veterinarian who lives in the village of Churchtown, began discussing land preservation with farmers in Caernarvon Township more than a decade ago. "We talked about how we could do something different here," he recalled. "We can't afford the infrastructure th......

Henry Beiler was one of the first Amish farmers in Lancaster County to preserve his land forever. In separate transactions in the 1980s, he preserved half of his Upper Leacock Township livestock, dairy, hog and crop farm with the county's Agricultural Preserve Board and the other half wit......

As financial resources dwindle, both the county's Agricultural Preserve Board and the private Lancaster Farmland Trust are spending more time and resources monitoring hundreds of existing easements. Acquiring easements is the part of the preservation process everyone hears about. But keep......

The Environmental Protection Agency recently presented a "smart growth achievement award" to the Lancaster County Planning Commission. But the county's chief planner, James Cowhey, said the community as a whole deserved the award from the federal agency because it is "preserving agricultu......

Thirty years ago this spring, Lancaster County began a program to preserve its prime farmland from development. That program has grown into the nation's model. The county has saved nearly 1,100 farms and about 85,300 acres — more than any other county in the country. But that's on......

Even as Lancaster County preserves farms, it loses other farms and farm acreage to development each year. Everyone knows that. Everyone except the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2007 Census of Agriculture, released last year, indicates that Lancaster Count......

When she preserved the first farm in Lancaster County, the late Frances Bear, a Martic Township environmentalist, said, "I wanted other people to get the idea." Since Bear donated the preservation easement on her 87-acre farm to the county commissioners in March 1980, hundreds of other Lanca......

Millersville resident Robert McLane is gearing for a fight.The Manor Avenue resident said he's not going to sit by idly and watch what he calls the "destruction of Amos Funk's legacy" through the development of the farmland surrounding Funk's Farm Market on South Duke......

Amos H. Funk, a farm preservationist of national stature, died Sunday at Lancaster Regional Medical Center. A Lancaster resident, he formerly lived in Millersville. He was 98.Funk was a member of Gov. William Scranton's Committee on Agriculture and of Governor Raymond Shafer's Comm......

Lancaster County commissioners today voted to permanently preserve four farms — three of them for a fraction of their value.Matt Knepper, director of the county's Agricultural Preserve Board, said he's seeing more and more farmers offer the county "bargain sales" to......

Can Lancaster County's farmers help clean up the Chesapeake Bay's watershed without damaging the agricultural economy?State Sen. Mike Brubaker asked nearly 100 people attending the county's first agricultural summit how many think that dual goal is impossible.No hands we......

Lancaster County commissioners today are expected to vote to protect two farms under the county's farmland preservation program.But if the state budget impasse, which enters its 57th day today, isn't settled soon, the owners of those two farms could join four other county farmers w......

Lancaster County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to preserve four farms, totaling about 360 acres.The county's Agricultural Preserve Board had recommended the commissioners buy perpetual conservation easements on the farms.The preserved farms are:• ......

Only three townships in Lancaster County besides East Lampeter do not have agricultural security areas. Farmers are petitioning for the designation in all three: Paradise, Leacock and Upper Leacock townships. The biggest fight could come in Paradise Township, where 10 farmers have asked......

Buying a first city home just got a little easier for low- to moderate-income residents. First-time homebuyers in the city will now have access to a pool of $350,000 in assistance for down payment and closing costs through the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership. Previously the aid, ......

Lancaster County is getting less state money this year to help preserve local farms, so officials here are hoping to stretch those dollars further. For 2009, the county will receive $2.4 million from the state Bureau of Farmland Preservation, down from $3.1 million in 2008, Matt Knepper, direct......

Correction — United Way of Lancaster County saw a 30 percent increase in the number of volunteers and a 23 percent increase in the number of people donating items for holiday programs. A story posted on LancasterOnline Thursday didn't no......

Lancaster County Commissioners today approved spending $444,458 to help preserve two farms in Warwick Township and one in Rapho Township. A fourth farm in Conoy Township will be preserved with $379,285 in state money. Through its Agricultural Preserve Board, the county buys preservation ea......

The county's 2009 budget plan had its coming out party today. This morning, county administrator Charlie Douts formally proposed the budget plan or, using the county's budgetspeak, "put it on the table." But for many county departments, the spending plan for next year is no cause for celeb......

Lancaster County commissioners are considering a 2009 budget that would keep the millage rate at 3.416.At a work session Tuesday, the commissioners discussed the $272.68 million spending plan they will vote on next month.The commissioners will formally propose the budget at its......

Lancaster County Commissioners this morning added a 25-acre Manor Township farm to the county's preservation tally, bringing the number of preserved agricultural acres here to 79,771. At their meeting this morning, commissioners authorized spending $43,984 to preserve the Daniel and Amy Yocom f......

In the early 1980s, nine people sat around a table with no funding, plenty of criticism and a skeptical public — but also a common dream. The county-appointed Agricultural Preserve Board wanted to somehow ensure the rapid building of new homes and businesses didn't swallow up too m......

Twenty years ago, Ryan Meck's father gave his son a couple packs of vegetable seeds, a section of the family farm and the chance to get his hands dirty.Meck managed to coax a few radishes and zucchinis from the soil, but they weren't pretty."It didn't start out too ......

A historic milestone is fast approaching.When the Lancaster County commissioners meet this morning, they are expected to authorize the preservation of a 124-acre crop-and-dairy farm in Bart and Colerain townships owned by Bart Township supervisors chairman Calvin Keene and his wife, Valeri......

Taxpayers for two decades have paid millions of dollars to preserve farms — nowhere more than in Lancaster County, the nation's leader in farmland saved from development. The rich farmland is preserved forever. In perpetuity. Or is it? Most don't know that farmers &mdash......

With an economic crunch being felt across the spectrum of government programs in Pennsylvania, agricultural preservation is not immune from the dangers of dwindling resources.The Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Board on Thursday approved $33 million for farm easements across the state i......

Agricultural preservation issues are cropping up again in Salisbury Township.In June, a proposal to amend Salisbury's zoning ordinance drew a standing-room-only crowd, including many Plain-sect farmers. Supervisor Lester Houck told the audience then that Agricultural Preserve Board off......

After approving the third tax hike in four years, the county commissioners voted to set aside $9.3 million for farmland preservation.•••Lancaster County commissioners Wednesday approved a 7.1 percent tax hike for 2008.That means ......

Just as they have for the past 25 years, people are flocking to Elizabeth Farms to cut their own Christmas trees. On Wednesday, the Lancaster County commissioners made sure a large part of this popular Elizabeth Township destination — which is one of the largest Christmas-tree farms in th......

When Caroline Novak started consulting for the Lancaster Farmland Trust in 2004, she made some bold statements. The nonprofit farmland preservation group and the county's Agricultural Preserve Board could double the number of acres they save from development each year, she predicted. M......

The veto of a proposal for a 788-acre agricultural security area in East Lampeter Township will be appealed in Commonwealth Court in the upcoming weeks, said an attorney for the Conestoga Valley Coalition preservation group. "There's a statutory provision in the ag security act that provides fo......

A rare coalition of Amish and English farmers has vowed to keep pursuing a proposal for an ag security area axed last week by East Lampeter Township. In a near-replay of a 2004 scenerio, the township supervisors turned down the farmers' petition to establish a 788-acre zone encompassing 13 ......

Amos Funk always planned to sell the family farm for development. "We never put a deed restriction on the farm because I didn't think it should be preserved," he says. Funk, now 96, pioneered the farmland preservation movement in Lancaster County. So some observers ar......

Lancaster County now has preserved more acres of farmland than any other county in the nation. After years of finishing second behind Maryland's Montgomery County in acres permanently saved from development, Lancaster has vaulted to the No. 1 spot, according to a report published Friday in ......

Lancaster County commissioners Wednesday approved the hiring of a new deputy administrator for human services.Frank W. Koerber, 45, of East Hempfield Township, will start work July 23 at an annual salary of $86,000.He fills a position that has been occupied by James Laughman on an i......

In Penn Township, three is a magic number.Two farms in the township were permanently preserved from development Friday, thanks to a partnership of three entities — Lancaster Farmland Trust, Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board and Penn Township.Each member of the partn......

fA Clay Township farm considered a prime location for development sold for more than $8.7 million Friday, breaking the $100,000-per-acre barrier.The price may be a Lancaster County record for a large parcel of farmland, a real estate official said.Lincoln Developers of Ephrata purch......