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By RALPH GROSSI
Long-time residents of Lancaster County, Pa., take pride in their soil. Storied home of Amish farmers, Lancaster County yields more food than any other non-irrigated county in the country . Lancaster’s agricultural diversity adds to the legend; farmers produce everything from dairy products to a wide assortment of vegetables.
But Lancaster farmers are not immune to the development boom sweeping eastern Pennsylvania and, for that matter, most of the suburban United States. Its farmland is in danger of being paved over as nearby cities and suburbs continue their relentless expansion.
Nationally, 1 million acres of farmland disappear each year, some two acres every minute. The problem is as far-flung as the nation’s agricultural resources themselves.
In California, for example, Tom Ielmorini wants to save his family’s 650-acre cattle ranch and carry on the ranching tradition of his father and grandfather. But his sisters, who have long since left country for town, want to sell their share of the ranch and capitalize on its lush rural setting just north of San Francisco.
Walter Johnson’s family farms 460 acres in Peninsula Township, Mich. The township, a spectacular set of hills and valleys that juts into Lake Michigan, was discovered by wealthy Chicagoans wanting vacation homes decades ago. Ever since, housing developers have coveted the marrow peninsula’s farmland and scenic views for high-priced subdivisions.
Walter Augsbufger, a Lancaster
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