It was an ordinary day. Reading an article titled "Saving the Lancaster We Love." 300,000 acres of farmland are at risk! To visitors, Lancaster County is a place to see life as it used to be. A picturesque land where traditions are strong....and nothing much ever changes (hopefully!). But, if you live here, you know there's more to the story.....
You know we're not as old-fashioned as the good people of New York would like to believe, In fact, our quaint little farms can be deceptively cutting edge. When it comes to topics like organic methods, silvopasture, and stream restoration, researchers and conservationists around the world look here for inspiration. You know good food here! Really good food!! You know free-range, pasture-raised, and regeneratively grown. You know where to find the biggest rhubarb, the tiniest patty pans, the coldest root beer, and the sweetest sweet corn. And you know that behind all that incredible food, there's a farm. And a family who has made it their life's work to keep it all growing. Unfortunately, you also know that for every postcard-perfect view, there's another that's no longer there. That across the county, farmland is being replaced by warehouses, parking lots, and urban sprawl. But, what you might not realize is how quickly it's happening. 3,000 acres of Lancaster's farmland are lost each year---an area twice the size of Lititz Borough. We're running out of time to protect what makes this place so special: our open spaces, fresh food, family businesses, and cherished traditions. Lancaster is a dining destination, with restaurants offering everything from simple home cooking to upscale farm-to-table experiences. Leean Mason, co-proprietor of LUCA, recalls how she and her husband, Taylor Mason, came to Lancaster as the spot for their restaurant: "We always said if we ever wanted to do something in the food world, it had to be in an area that had farms and that really valued the land." LUCA is a gem of the Lancaster dining scene, highlighting the produce of each season direct from local farms. "While a lot of people have this heritage of growing up with these ingredients, I don't think enough know them intimately," says Taylor, LUCA's chef and co-prorietor. "So it's really amazing to be able to just share on the plate what a snapshot of late July should take like." The success of LUCA-and many other local restaurants- is deeply rooted in Lancaster's farmland. Lancaster Farmland Trust exists to protect Lancaster's farmland. Founded in 1988, the nonprofit helps farmers take legal steps to ensure their farm stays farmland forever - regardless of who holds the deed. At first, many farmers were uncertain about the program. These days, there's a waitlist of farmers who would like to preserve their land, but need more funding to finalize their preservation dreams. "This farm is actually a part of William Penn's original personal estate," says Roman Stoltzfoos, farmer and owner of Spring Wood Farm. "My father farmed it for 38 years, and we've been on it for 35. We had some really good years, and we decided we should preserve this farmland. Preservation not only preserves the land, it preserves the culture, and it preserves families, and it preserves a way of life that you really can't put a value on." To date, Lancaster Farmland Trust has preserved more than 35,000 acres of Lancaster County's farmland. That's 35,000 acres of fields, woodlands, and pastures that will keep feeding this community, generation after generation. No matter who owns that land in the future. Now, Lancaster Farmland Trust is working with community members, local businesses, and motherlike-minded groups to permanently protect another 25,000 acres by 2030. Because....when our community comes together to save farmland, we save more than farmland. We save the Lancaster we love! And...I should know it since I have lived in Lancaster all my life! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. LDub!
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