Lancaster Farmland Trust Celebrates 20 Years

Sara Miller
Staff

LANCASTER, Pa. — The success of Lancaster Farmland Trust celebrated at its recent annual banquet was two-fold. The trust helped preserve nearly about 20,000 acres of farmland in 20 years. The 20th anniversary also marked the preservation of the 300th farm.

The banquet was at the Eden Resort Inn in Lancaster, Pa. Social hour, which included hors d’oeuvres and the opportunity to bid on items at the silent auction, kicked off the evening. Food and table decorations were harvested from local Lancaster farms.

Board of Trustees Chair Larry Shirk began by recognizing retiring board members Michelle Atwater, Alan Bair, John Cox and Brendon Landis.

Executive Director Karen Martynick recapped the trust’s history. Marilyn Ware and Amos Funk founded Lancaster Farmland Trust in 1988. Three acres were preserved that year — three more acres were preserved the following year and eight more the third. By the middle of 1995, 50 acres were preserved, and by 2000, the number was up to 107.

By 2003, 10,000 acres had been preserved through the trust. The goal became to double that figure within the following five years. By November, Lancaster Farmland Trust has all but reached that mark, with 19,413 acres preserved. An additional 56 acres were preserved by the end of the evening through the annual Acres for Auction.

“That’s only 587 acres short of doubling the numbers,” said Martynick.

Special guest speaker was Doug Wolfgang, director of Bureau of Farmland Preservation. He attributed the success of Lancaster Farmland Trust to the willing participation of the farmers and that farming is the state’s leading industry. According to Wolfgang, 107,000 jobs in Pennsylvania are related to agriculture, and the state ranks third in direct farm sales.

Deputy Director Jeff Swinehart recognized the local land benefactors. Swinehart said that 1,000 farms have been preserved in Lancaster County alone. Thirty-five of those farms — that’s 2,100 acres — have been preserved within the last year.

The awards presentation was next. West Lampeter Township received the Amos H. Funk Spirit of Cooperation Award. Honorary Trustee and senior advisory council member Eugene Garber received the Darvin Boyd Service to Agriculture Award. Volunteer of the Year honors went to Garden Spot Village.

Melvin Nissley was presented the Distinguished Benefactor Award.

Following the awards ceremony was the annual Acres for Auction. Lancaster Farmland Trust staff marched into the room to “Seventy Six Trombones” in top hats and feather boas. Martynick and Caroline Novak charmed the crowd into placing bids for the preservation of 56 acres of Amish farmland. Bids were placed by the quarter, half or full acre. The auction continued until all 56 acres were sold and the 301st farm was preserved by the trust.

The evening ended with a commemorative video of highlights throughout the years. “There are many acres of farms out there that are waiting to be preserved. So we still have a lot of work to do,” said Martynick.