Your View by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission: How to support farms so we don’t lose more open space

Remember the feeling you had driving past a field of wheat swaying in the wind in Heidelberg Township, or maybe corn growing in Upper Mount Bethel Township, or even horses grazing in Plainfield Township?The idea that in the Lehigh Valley you can be in one of our many downtowns and just a few miles later driving, or pedaling, past an incredibly diverse array of farms, brings a sense of pride for the beauty and industry of our region.Now, for just a moment, forget about how pleasing those fields look because our farms are a lot more than just pretty places. Farming is manufacturing. These are businesses that are an important part of our regional economy. They’re run by hard-charging owners who, just like any Wall Street trader, banker or developer, weigh the market, manage risk and constantly strive for efficiency.There’s little question that Valley residents value farming, but I’m not convinced that they value farms enough as businesses.Becky Bradley (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/)Our region benefits from a wide mix of farm types — from corn to soy to dairy to alpaca — that add more than $115 million a year to our local economy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.But the latest Census of Agriculture, released April 11, shows how quickly we are losing our farms. Between 2012 and 2017, the Lehigh Valley lost more than 140 farms, totaling nearly 8,400 acres.That’s because farming is tough work. It’s always been tough work, says David Jaindl, whose Orefield-based operation is nationally known.Aerial photo of warehouses in Upper Macungie. (THE MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO/)Op-ed: We are running out of land for development in the Lehigh Valley“Farmers work 12 to 16 hours a day during planting and harvest season, they have to sell their goods wholesale, while buying all their equipment and supplies retail, and the margin they make is very small,” Jaindl said. “Then after all that, they’re at the mercy of the weather. It’s a little easier for bigger farms like us, but it’s especially tough for the small farms.”That’s most everyone in this region outside Jaindl. Most of our farms are not the multimillion-dollar operations covering 1,000 acres that are common in the Midwest. They’re small family operations run by second- and even sixth-generation farmers. The median size of a farm in the Lehigh Valley is roughly 30 acres. Earning a living has become so difficult that many farms use second jobs or businesses to balance the ledger sheet.Kathleen Fields was running her own side hustle long before Uber or Lyft hit the streets. Her 26-acre Flint Hill Farms in Coopersburg, with dozens of cows, goats, steer and horses, produces dairy products. But half her revenue comes from the nonprofit education center that serves 3,000 children, parents and teachers a year for summer camps, tours and “be a farmer for a day” experiences.Fields just wants to cobble together enough grants, tax credits and revenue sources to pay the mortgage on her farm and maintenance bills for her 2001 Ford Explorer.“If we didn’t have agritourism, we’d have had to close years ago. We’ve been blessed,” Fields said. “But if people don’t begin appreciating what this region has, we’re going to end up with blacktop everywhere. If you think we have food deserts now, wait a few years.”Teena Bailey is able to live without a side hustle at Red Cat Farms, but the 73-year-old works 12 to 15 hours a day growing starter tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and herbs. She leaves the plants for sale at The Mill in Germansville, where people buy on the honor system by leaving the payment in a barrel. People rarely short her.“It allows me to stay in the field; 99.9% of people are fantastic,” Bailey said. “Farming is risky, hard work, but if it’s in your blood you can’t help yourself. There’s something so satisfying about growing food for people to eat.”So how do we try to preserve the farms we have before we lose them, and thus a piece of our regional identity? We need to make it just a little easier to be a farmer.Lehigh and Northampton counties can continue their commitment to preserve farmland, so farmers have a financial incentive to continue. We can strike more multi-municipal agreements that give municipal leaders greater control over development. We can urge our state and federal legislators to support laws and programs that incentivize farming as an industry — these are often up for debate at budget time.You can support local agriculture by shopping at local farmers markets. (AMY SHORTELL/THE MORNING/)Our 2019 guide to Lehigh Valley farmers marketsWe can support more diversified farming operations, including urban farms, suburban cooperatives and you-pick operations. We can support food processing operations in which farmers turn their crops into products — like hops into beer, grapes into wine and peaches into jam.As residents, we can all buy fresh and buy local at farmers markets, farms and local shops, and support restaurants — such as Bolete, Switchback Pizza & Catering and Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn — that use local ingredients.Mostly, society needs to value these farms for the important role they play in this region. They’re not only a huge asset to our regional economy, but they raise the quality of life for everyone.As long as it’s easier — and more profitable — to just sell off the land for development, we’re going to continue to lose our farms. Unless we’re going to be OK with that, the farming community needs our support.Becky Bradley is executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
Source: Morningcall