The highest honor in the Lancaster County agriculture industry was presented to Luke Brubaker at the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry's agriculture industry banquet at Shady Maple Banquet & Conference Center Thursday night.Brubaker is an owner of Brubaker Farms in East ......

Lancaster County each year raises just over 100,000 acres of corn for grain, more than any other county in the state. But corn takes second place to a crop you might not expect. It's something you can't salt and butter and crunch on row by row. Unless, maybe, you're a shee......

Lancaster County commissioners on Tuesday voted 2-1 to join 14 Pennsylvania counties to buy health insurance for county employees for the next three years.The move will save taxpayers a projected $5 million without changing employees' medical coverage, because the county's current ......

Attendees of Lancaster Farmland Trust's annual fall dinner last month ponied up enough donations to preserve an 85-acre farm in Leacock Township.The Acres for Auction event at the Trust's Oct. 21 dinner at Eden Resort netted $54,750 in contributions. That sum will be matched, dolla......

Correction Oct. 15, 2009 — The article below said Ephrata Township refused to provide water and sewer lines to the proposed site of a new Lancaster General Health medical facility in West Earl Township. That is incorrect. The Ephrata Townshi......

Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday approved the preservation of two farms, with assistance from supervisors in Warwick and Penn townships. The commissioners authorized the preservation of a 79.4-acre crop and livestock farm owned by Raymond H. and Dorothy E. Good in Warwick and Penn......

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......

Dan Sweigart is not opposed to growth in Lancaster County. He's just opposed to what he considers to be bad growth.A member of the Lancaster Farmland Trust, Sweigart, 54, believes the way to maintain Lancaster County's farming tradition is to channel growth where it belongs, and aw......

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:• ......

A $1.1 million program will try to get more Amish and Mennonite farmers in Lancaster and Chester counties involved in conservation measures to reduce pollution in local streams and the Chesapeake Bay. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Chesapeake Bay F......

In what lawyers say is a precedent-setting case, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that 12 farmers in East Lampeter Township can include their farms in an agricultural-security area. But the more than decade-long fight between the farmers — most of whom are Old Order Amis......

Then there were three. In what's being called a win for farmers and preservationists, Upper Leacock Township Supervisors Thursday night created a 388-acre agricultural security area. That leaves just three townships in Lancaster County without the designation designed to protect farmin......

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......

Four townships in Lancaster County do not have an agricultural security area. Soon, it could be three, or even fewer. Leacock Township supervisors tonight will receive a petition from five farmers requesting that a 369-acre ag security area be formed in the largely rural township. Fra......

Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday committed just more than $7 million to the county's farmland-preservation program for this year.That's down from the $8 million dedicated last year — the most by any county in Pennsylvania.Despite the $1 million reduction, of......

Lancaster County Commissioners were scheduled to add three farms to the county's preservation rolls today. Agricultural conservation easements for the farms, which total 206.84 acres, are being bought by the state Bureau of Farmland Preservation. A meeting to discuss and approved the e......

In 2003, the Lancaster Farmland Trust held easements on 160 farms and 10,000 acres and embarked on an ambitious five-year strategic plan that called for doubling its number of preserved acres in the county. "I think we all felt it was unrealistic at that point," Jeff Swinehart, of the trust, sa......

While West Nile virus continues to decline across Pennsylvania, the state will again support monitoring for the mosquito-born virus in Lancaster County next year. This morning, Lancaster County Commissioners approved a $108,235 state grant application to fund the county's West Nile Control Prog......

Lancaster County residents of the past felt there was something special about this place. Modern residents can feel that, too, thanks in part to the work of Lancaster County Planning Commission.The commission was formed 50 years ago. Because of its work since that time, "this is one o......

The Lancaster County Conservancy and the Lancaster Farmland Trust are seeking accreditation through a national credentialing organization. Both groups have submitted applications to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the nonprofit Land Trust Alliance in Washingto......

For years, the owners of Nissley Vineyards in Conoy Township have fought nearby development projects in the name of preserving the bucolic atmosphere surrounding their farm.On Wednesday, Lancaster County commissioners voted to forever protect the vineyards from development.The Nissl......

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......

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......

Lancaster County Commissioners today added 253.69 acres of farmland on three farms to its preservation tally, bringing to 78,437 the number of agricultural acres preserved here. Through its Agricultural Preserve Board, the county buys preservation easements from farmers, essentially paying them......

Correction — A Manheim Township resident who spoke against an ordinance approved by township commissioners on Monday allowing apartment buildings up to 50 feet in height was misidentified in the story below, posted on LancasterOnline Tuesday......

East Lampeter Township supervisors don't want to create an agricultural security zone, and they are taking their fight to Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.By a 3-1 vote, the supervisors decided Monday to appeal a decision rendered last month in Lancaster County Court.The controve......

After supper last Friday evening, East Lampeter Township Supervisor Glenn Eberly and an Amish friend drove to the farm of two of the Amish petitioners for an agricultural security area in the township. The four men stood close together in the large asphalted space between house and barn....

In 2005, a special commission on agriculture in Lancaster County concluded that educating Plain Sect farmers about environmental and other issues should be a priority. Last August, the former Lancaster County Board of Commissioners responded by allocating $50,000 to hire someone to oversee such......

The court decision early this month favoring Amish farmers who want to establish an agricultural security area in East Lampeter Township will reverberate across the county and state, local preservation advocates said today. Two judges from the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas on July 11 r......

A developed portion of Weaverland Mennonite Reception Center's property in Earl and Ephrata townships will be tax exempt in the future.The county's board of assessment appeals approved the exemption last month because the center is used for religious purposes.But requests by......

Those who enjoy "dinner and a movie" may soon be able to have both in one easy stop.Penn Ketchum, owner of Penn Cinema, is proposing to build a family-style restaurant next to his 10-screen theater on Airport Road."Dinner and a movie is sort of the world's most na......

Friday's farmland preservation hearing before two Lancaster County Court judges was about nothing less than the future of eating. So said attorney James Tupitza on behalf of farmers petitioning East Lampeter Township to establish an agricultural security district. Tupitza, of West Chester,......

An East Hempfield Township resident who opposed Independence, the high-density, 3,000-home development blocked by supervisors early this year, posed a question. "Where's the tradeoff?" she asked. "Where's the farmland being preserved?" Promoters of "smar......

The hotly contested race to win the GOP nomination for the state Senate seat in the 13th District got hotter Friday as accusations flew regarding the candidates' latest financial disclosures.Of specific interest to many was the report of West Lampeter Township supervisor Lloyd K. Smuck......

Without transferable development rights, or TDRs, the whole of Manheim Township "would resemble Fruitville Pike" in terms of development and traffic, says Nelson Rohrer.Rohrer, a farmer, was president of the Manheim Township board of commissioners when the municipality's TDR ......

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......

Strasburg Township residents Monday night demanded to know why their elected officials did not tell them in advance about its plans to buy a 129-acre farm along Beaver Valley Pike (Route 222) to be used for parkland.The township offered $2.15 million for the High Farm, and officials said t......

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......

The difference between profit and loss for a cattle farmer can be measured in pounds.And that leads to uncertainties for the future of farming and coming generations of farmers.More than 170 people gathered at Lancaster Farm & Home Center Tuesday afternoon for the annual Cattle ......

In a democracy, the will of the people is sometimes going to frustrate common sense.I think that's what we saw happen Wednesday night in East Hempfield Township.The supervisors voted 5-0 to pull the plug on a forward-looking development concept known as traditional neighborhood desi......

Shortly before concluding their first public meeting Wednesday morning, the three new Lancaster County commissioners talked about their priorities for the next four years.And Republicans Dennis Stuckey and Scott Martin and Democrat Craig Lehman all agreed: Priority No. 1 is the budget.......

Despite all the controversy surrounding their four years in office, Lancaster County commissioners Dick Shellenberger and Molly Henderson are proud of their service records and of what they believe they accomplished.They discussed those accomplishments during and after a tearful public mee......

With the recent preservation of three farms in West Lampeter Township totaling 150 acres, Lancaster Farmland Trust has wrapped up the most successful of its 19 years. The trust closes out 2007 with 35 farms and 2,252 acres preserved, exceeding its 2007 goal by 252 acres. "This year th......

Conservationists are applauding a state Supreme Court ruling Thursday that said county officials have the right to a voice in the use of preserved farmland. In its opinion, the justices overturned an earlier, lower-court decision that gave the Ephrata School District permission to build a 50-fo......

Lancaster Farmland Trust announced Thursday that 2007 has been its most successful year to date, thanks to the recent preservation of three farms in West Lampeter Township.In total, the trust managed to preserve 35 farms and 2,252 acres in 2007 — exceeding its goal by 252 acres....

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......

In East Hempfield Township this week, the pessimists got their say.Resident after resident after resident stood before the township supervisors Monday and said they don't believe it's possible to build a future in which opportunities for growth in Lancaster County are balanced with preserv......

Plans for a $100 million ethanol plant in western Lancaster County don't include the right trees and shrubs, a landscaping expert testified Wednesday.Conoy Township supervisors are considering a conditional-use application by Lancaster Biofuels to build a corn-to-ethanol distillery on ......

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......

Lancaster County is a national role model in farmland preservation and a leader in agriculture. That lofty praise was delivered to more than 150 county residents and civic leaders by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff on Tuesday, during an address sponsored by Lancast......

Rob Bowman clicks a remote, and the flat-screen television hanging on the wall of the conference room flickers. "Three thousand homes can look like this," he says; the image depicts a small town called "Independence." Built upon a 309-acre tract bordered by Route 283, State ......

An imposing chandelier supplied the lights. Ron Harper Jr., of Stevens, brought the camera. And a number of fathers, angry at the county's judicial system, brought the action to the county's public presentation of the 2008 budget Tuesday night at the Duke Street courthouse. Th......

People who attended the county commissioners' proposed budget hearing Tuesday took issue with the county's judicial system, saying Lancaster County court spends money wildly, is not accountable for that spending and has biased judges on the bench.•••...

The forklift didn't impress them much, but the thought of having their own locker did. On Wednesday, a small group of fourth- and fifth-graders from the Ephrata School District toured the construction site of their new school. "I think that's going to be really cool," ......

A day after Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray proposed a 4 percent tax increase for city residents next year, Lancaster County commissioners Wednesday unveiled a 2008 budget that calls for a 7.3 percent increase in county taxes.If adopted as proposed, the county's $284 million spending plan calls ......

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 ......

For the third time, East Lampeter Township supervisors Wednesday voted against establishing an agricultural security area in the township. Supporters of the idea today vowed to continue a fight for the area, which would permit farmers to apply for farmland preservation, discourage nuisance laws......

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......

Great art is original. But art programs can sometimes be copied. Pennsylvania College of Art & Design hopes to duplicate its achievements with helping plan and create murals in the city of Lancaster by launching a similar program to facilitate other forms of public art.......

Martic Township supervisors are spending $15,000 to study a reoccurring storm-water management problem that area residents say has caused flooding on their properties.The study will be performed by township engineer Wilson Consulting Group PC.Residents of the affected areas on Bridg......

Whoopie pies expand waistlines. Rain turns the Conestoga brown. Republicans rule the courthouse.Some things are just inevitable, so let's look past the election to what we might expect from the GOP's choices for county commissioner: Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey.First, exp......

Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles examining issues in the Lancaster County commissioners' race.•••The two Republican candidates for Lancaster County commissioner think the current board may have been too free wi......

The five candidates for three Lancaster County commissioner seats hit the home stretch Tuesday, appearing in Lancaster city for their final debate before Tuesday's election.The event was sponsored by Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry and held before dozens of people in South......

Editor's note: This is the first of a series of articles examining issues in the Lancaster County commissioners' race.•••Preserving farmland ranks among the most important issues in this year's Lancaster County commissioners......

Here's a scoop: Ice cream is helping to save a 63-acre Amish farm in Fulton Township. Turkey Hill Dairy in 2005 began giving a portion of the proceeds from sales of its All Natural Recipe ice cream to the nonprofit farmland preserver, Lancaster Farmland Trust. Through the end of 2006, that......

Some farmers in East Lampeter are hoping the third time's the charm. Thirteen farmers recently petitioned the township to create its first-ever agricultural security area. Township supervisors will hold a hearing on the proposal Tuesday. It's the third time in 11 years a group......

With the election just 12 days away, the five candidates for Lancaster County commissioner got another chance to air their positions Thursday at a debate in Franklin & Marshall College's Stahr Auditorium.Incumbent Molly Henderson and hopefuls Craig Lehman, Scott Martin, Dennis Stuc......

Lance Albright's homework was to write an article about Monday's county commissioner candidates debate. His lead materialized before the first speaker uttered the words "farmland preservation." Republican nominees Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey didn't show up, he ......

The Republican nominees for Lancaster County commissioner didn't attend a candidates' debate Monday, but they still made their views known.Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey called on the current board to avoid creating any new programs or incurring new debt when putting together the ......

A complicating factor presents itself in evaluating Molly Henderson's performance as county commissioner, and it can be summed up in one word: Pete.In countless ways, Republican Pete Shaub's erratic, ham-handed, vituperative tenure as a commissioner undermined the public's trust in county ......

Efforts to boost train ridership through Lancaster have succeeded, but long-sought work to modernize the train station has lagged. County planners hope that situation is about to change.•••Efforts to renovate Lancaster city's Amtrak sta......

An attorney representing the family of a Lancaster County commissioner asked East Donegal Township planners Oct. 4 to reconsider a recommendation from county officials to rezone a tract of farmland.Attorney Jim Thomas, of Blakinger Byler and Thomas of Lancaster, said he represented the leg......

She was a Main Street, Ephrata, kid with city stars in her eyes. "I had to move to Philly immediately after graduating from high school" in the late 1980s, recounts Carol Parrish McCoy. Next on her list was Washington, D.C. Today, she lives in a bustling city still: Lancaster....

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 ......

Donald Risser of Bainbridge borrowed millions to expand his 120-cow dairy so he could milk 750. Carlton Groff of Kirkwood sold three-quarters of his produce farm and switched to garden plants. Amish farmer Aaron M. King of Paradise started a grass-seed business that sells to customers from......

Ads in Philadelphia newspapers boast about new Lancaster County homes "35 minutes from King of Prussia." Four of every 10 employees at the Great Valley Corporate Center in Malvern live in Lancaster County or Berks. One developer plans to build a 12,000-home town a mile from Lanca......

The price of farmland in Lancaster County, after skyrocketing for years, seems to be leveling off. Far fewer farms have been sold lately, too. "It's good news for Lancaster County that our heritage is not disappearing as quickly as we thought," said Concord House Real Estate&......

Lawmakers once again are hotly debating the national farm bill, set to expire this month. No matter what emerges when the dust clears, local farmers likely will continue to get only a small fraction of the farm-bill funds. About two-thirds of the money in the bill typically goes toward ......

Computers automatically read cow-collar transponders to track health, milk production and breeding. Holstein cows — 750 of them — relax at their favorite spots on the "beach," or munch on special feed. There's plenty for everyone: 14 silos hold shelled corn, soybe......

Despite preservation efforts and attempts to steer development away from farmland, Lancaster County continues to lose farms. In 1997, according to state statistics, the county had 5,695 farms, totaling 428,439 acres. Last year, it had 5,305 farms, with 407,000 acres. That's a loss of 4......

"One little tractor with work to do helps the animals all day through. Two little horses stop their play until little tractor brings them hay. "Three little cows... "…Four little pigs…" Idyllic descriptions of farm life like this one in Brimax's &......

Tom Denlinger always wanted to do one thing: farm. He wasn't raised on a farm, but in his high school days he worked as a hired hand in the early 1970s. He earned the FFA's highest honor, the prestigious American Farmers Degree. In 1979, Denlinger bought cows and rented a 70-acre d......

Carlton Groff grew up selling peaches and apples from a 19th-century springhouse on a Kirkwood farm. The 63-year-old and his wife, Carol, still make a living from fertile land. But like many in Lancaster County and across the country the last few decades, they've had to make some darin......

Francine Campagnini of Aston now buys her produce, eggs and lunch meat directly from farmers. There are two farmers markets within five miles of her suburban-Philadelphia home. Many of the standholders are from Lancaster County. Before she retired, Campagnini bought her groceries at a stor......

"The great county of Lancaster, in all its glory, . . . is without a doubt, the garden of this glorious Union. "The whole of the country is in the highest state of cultivation; ... there is probably not a more prolific region in the United States."

— Eli......

Aaron M. King is busy. The Amish farmer/business owner is meeting with a customer. King sells truckloads of forage seed, including organic varieties, to farmers from New England to Virginia. King's AgriSeeds, started in a corner of his barn in 1993, now fills a new warehouse on hi......

How many Amish farms are in Lancaster County? Depends whom you ask. Kathy Heil of the local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency office estimates that half the county's 5,000 farms are Amish. One Amish spokesman estimated that there are 12 to 15 farmers per church di......

Strasburg Township supervisors Sept. 4 approved a conditional use for the subdivision of three lots off a 96.9-acre farm.In the process of settling an estate, the John Fisher family requested the conditional use for three 2-acre lots on which to build homes. The parent tract has an address......

East Donegal Township has taken a step closer to adopting a new comprehensive plan that would limit development to the township's current urban growth area for at least 20 years. The township supervisors on Thursday night agreed to advertise a public hearing on a draft comprehensive plan th......

Marietta Restoration Associates has received grants of $75,000 to put toward repairs to a proposed visitors' center and development of a business plan for the historic Marietta Theatre.Margie Landis, MRA historian and board member, said Tuesday the money was received from Lancaster Cou......

At first glance, it might seem like a bad idea to situate a huge shopping plaza almost next door to Park City Center and all its surrounding stores, along a road already grossly overburdened.But the developers of the 646,000-square-foot Crossings At Conestoga Creek, planned for 90 acres on......

Manor Township Supervisors will begin to look tonight at a developer's Plan B for 133 acres of farmland east of Donnerville Road and south of Route 999. Supervisors are starting a conditional use hearing on Wheatfield Developers' proposal for a 499-home trailer park on the tract south o......

The county commissioners are considering enacting a state tax benefit for preserved farms, one that would permanently freeze the rate at which those properties are taxed. They would need the consent of municipalities and school districts in order to institute the program. But first, the......

Strasburg Borough Council president Joe Coleman, during a July 10 meeting, said a Sunday News editorial about the borough and the right-to-know act offended him.Coleman and fellow council members shared their feelings after resident Chad Harnish of 310 Miller St. expressed concern about th......

Taking $4.2 million from the state Department of Agriculture prompted several county Republican lawmakers to vote against the state budget this week."A cut this size is going to be a wake-up call for the whole ag community," said state Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Narvon, a member of......

Draw a line no one should cross and someone will cross it.A case in point: a wiggly line through West Earl Township, south of Akron, separating housing from farms.The line runs through the western part of the bucolic township and marks the boundaries of one of Lancaster County's 13 ......

The Lancaster County Commissioners Wednesday approved preservation easements on four county farms totaling 265 acres. The farms are: The Harnish Brothers' 61-acre crop farm in Manor Township. The easement was purchased for $214,445 in state funds. The 52-acre dairy farm of Jame......

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......

Several Manheim Township residents brought their grievances against a development plan to the township commissioners Monday night. Artz Development Co. is proposing a 33-home project on 16 acres of farmland off Fruitville Pike and Buch Avenue. The plan is under review by the township, and ......

A member of the county's Agricultural Preserve Board — which works to prevent farmland from being developed — wants to rezone 26 acres of a West Earl farm so he can build 156 new homes there. But Richard Hurst's Hurst Brothers Development Co. of Ephrata should first show more res......

Fearing a tight-fisted future, farmland preservationists are preparing to tell county officials that a retreat on funding "would have devastating consequences to the future of Lancaster County." And they are putting their plea for county money in writing before the next budget is writ......

A plan to rezone 26 acres of farmland to pave the way for 156 new homes in West Earl Township is gaining momentum. Upper Leacock Township Supervisors on Thursday night voted 3-0 to recommend that West Earl leaders approve the proposal, which includes expanding the designated urban growth area t......

The 80 acres of farmland owned by the Ephrata School District feels tranquil with its seemingly endless green fields and seemingly endless possibilities. There's a new greenhouse on the property. Inside is relatively bare, but burgundy begonias and purple alyssums planted by students rise f......

An Ephrata developer wants to build 156 homes on 25 acres of farmland outside Brownstown in West Earl Township. But some township and Conestoga Valley school officials say the development would encroach upon farmland and hurt the school district. The site of the project is part of Greyston......

Landis Homes will celebrate its heritage and that of the surrounding community when it hosts Spring Farm Day on Saturday. Events will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the campus of the retirement community, 1001 E. Oregon Road, Lititz. "It's like a mini-farm show," commun......

White milk is a legal gray area for Levi Miller. The state cited him last year for selling the beverage unpasteurized and unlicensed from his Leacock Township dairy. Other Amish farmers are in the same boat. The controversy over so-called raw milk has long weighed on them. And the bur......

The corn that will be the Amazing Maize Maze is only beginning to break ground at Cherry-Crest Farms in Strasburg. Nevertheless, the award-winning agritainment facility will open its gates to the public on Saturday. Obviously, the five-acre maze won't be ready. (It opens July 7.) ......

Republicans Dennis Stuckey and Scott Martin, standing on a house porch looking out on bright green farmland in western Lancaster County Sunday, addressed what has become a perennial issue for county government: How should the county commissioners pay to preserve farmland?"It would beh......

U.S. farmers may plant more corn this spring than in any year since the 1940s, in part to help fuel the growing ethanol industry. But those involved in the industry say local farmers won't plant much more corn this year. "I've not seen a big bump in sales," said Earl Rohrer of P.L. Rohrer ......

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......

An 85-acre Clay Township farm selling at public auction Friday could bring the highest price in recent history. Auctioneer Aaron E. Martin said the Hackman family's residential-zoned property at 140 Hackman Road is a developer's dream. "You can never tell for sure, but I think it's going t......

A slate of proposed changes to Pennsylvania's dog kennel laws is going back to the drawing board.The Independent Regulatory Review Commission released comments and recommendations Monday after examining the proposed changes and more than 16,000 public comments submitted to the state De......

They talked about money. They talked about preserving farmland. They talked a little about each other.The four Republicans and two Democrats running for Lancaster County commissioner appeared together Monday night for the first time, pitching themselves as the best candidates for the job....

Scenic isn't the word that leaps to mind in describing East Lampeter Township.I associate East Lampeter with the Route 30 strip — wall-to-wall outlets, motels, chain restaurants, Dutch Wonderland. Or I picture suburbia, the Greenfield Corporate Center and homes and businesses alo......

Four of the seven candidates for Lancaster County commissioner kicked off the debate season Tuesday night with dire predictions for the downtown hotel/convention center.The event — sponsored by the animal-rights group League of Humane Voters — was the first debate before the Ma......

Lancaster city planners voted Wednesday to recommend that City Council join nine — possibly 10 — county municipalities in adopting a comprehensive growth plan.•••The plan is called Growing Together, and Lancaster city's planning commissi......

Lancaster County is eagerly awaiting a $1.3 million trash-to-cash windfall to use for "green" initiatives such as farmland preservation.The money had been held in two trust funds set up in case the Creswell Landfill or the Frey Farm Landfill ever failed.A change in state l......

There may be no "I" in team, but there's one on Jere Swarr's voter registration card.Swarr, a Rapho Township supervisor running for Lancaster County commissioner, said he visited the county Board of Elections Wednesday to change his party affiliation from Republican to in......

Three Old Order Amish farmers in Paradise Township were hesitant. Last year, each individually expressed interest in selling their farms' permanent land development rights to the Lancaster Farmland Trust. But none liked the idea of being the first or only one among their immediate neighbor......

And they're off! Seven candidates for county commissioner. Seven!Pay attention to this race. The quality of leadership coming from the commissioners' office matters.The commissioners set the tone for the county in a way no other elected officials do.When the commissio......

A scenic view is more than just something to appreciate."Scenic landscapes are economic assets — not just in the way you and I think of them, but because other people are willing to pay to come and see them," Ed McMahon, a land-use planner and senior resident fellow at Urban Land Ins......

East Hempfield residents are balking at Norfolk Southern's plan to move its rail yard to a tract just off Harrisburg Pike, saying it could increase noise and fumes and lower their property values and quality of life.•••East Hempfield Township reside......

"Our donors really appreciate the fact that when they put a dollar into farmland preservation, they know it will go twice as far and will preserve twice as much farmland," she said.

"It's really helped us and has furthered the cause of farmland preservation, which, as we all know, is if not t...

The concept is European, according to Pennsylvania Restaurant CEO Pat Conway, who said it started up in this region with sidewalk cafes in Center City Philadelphia.

In downtown Lancaster, the deck at Marion Court Room got going in 1992, according to co-owner Mike Geesey.

With Memor...

The district is not required to ask permission from the county to acquire land designated for preservation by David and Erma Lauver, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled Nov. 17.

"We're very appreciative of the ruling and are ready to move forward," Dennis Oberholtzer, school board presid...

Turkey Hill Dairy has agreed to contribute a portion of the proceeds from its new “All Natural Recipe Philadelphia Style” line of ice cream — about $50,000 a year — to the Lancaster Farmland Trust. The trust will leverage the money with other funding sources, including a dollar-for-dollar grant f......

Standing against a backdrop of open farmlands and blue skies in the parking lot of Groffdale Mennonite Church, he scanned the children stepping out of the three buses for Devon Davis, 9, and Evan Davis, 10, of Brooklyn. The brothers were returning to the Rohlands for their second summer in the count...

As part of the campaign to “Preserve the Pennsylvania Farmer,” a proposal has been developed to create a more stable and consistent revenue source for farmland preservation by utilizing the existing realty transfer tax. This two percent tax, which is levied on each land transaction recorded with a c...

But they did tell him where babies came from. They said babies came from the reservoir in Reservoir Park. “I knew they were right because I climbed up there and found a doll,’’ says Harnish. “They told us that’s where babies came from and I found one.’’ Harnish and more than a dozen other L......

But they did tell him where babies came from. They said babies came from the reservoir in Reservoir Park. “I knew they were right because I climbed up there and found a doll,’’ says Harnish. “They told us that’s where babies came from and I found one.’’ Harnish and more than a dozen other L......

"What we've got is something unique," one man said. "We must protect what we've got, or we'll become another Exton."

About 90 people turned out at Netherlands Inn and Spa in Strasburg for the first of nine public meetings scheduled as part of the planning commission's update of th......

In July, a group of farmers gave supervisors a petition to create an ag security area that would encompass about 1,700 acres and include 27 farms throughout the township.

Land placed in an ag security area is protected from a variety of regulations, including eminent domain......

Funk, 93, accepted the American Land Conservation Award at a luncheon ceremony Saturday in Providence, R.I. The award, established in 1996 by the Catto Charitable Foundation, recognizes an American who dedicates time and resources to preserving and protecting natural and historic ......

Following a three-and-a-half-hour hearing on Wednesday, the commissioners told the school district to return on Friday, Sept. 19, with evidence that students will be endangered by all other alternate routes to the proposed school.

At issue is 1.2 acres of farmland on which the commissione...