Farmland Preservation

Preserved Farmland in Centre County

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Why Preserve Agriculture in Centre County?

The land-extensive nature of farming provides significant community benefits:

  • Farmland gives the community an open, pastoral character. This helps preserve the identity of individual towns and villages by buffering one community from neighboring settlements. Farmland contributes to the scenic views characteristic of Centre County. Farms provide both habitat and corridors for fish and wildlife. Air quality is enhanced by the dynamics of farmland. Farm markets provide quality produce, meat and dairy products. Taken together, these factors are important to the public=s perception of the quality of life in Centre County.
  • Farmland allows for groundwater recharge, assuring stable supplies of drinking water plus water for environmental uses and recreation.
  • Conservation of Centre County's superior quality soils, an outstanding agricultural resource.
  • Tax revenues collected from farmland far exceed the cost of providing return services to that land.
  • Farming has been a part of the economy since Centre County was created; its presence provides a link to the community's history and future.
  • Many Centre County educational and cultural institutions bear ties to our agrarian roots. As farmland is permanently lost, so are many of our traditions, lifestyles and values.
  • Soils in portions of Centre County are highly productive for agricultural purposes. Precipitation is also relatively consistent from year to year, allowing farming to occur without irrigation.
  • And perhaps, most obviously, we all need to eat. As population continues to increase and/or occupy more land, farmland will become more scarce.

When quality of life and economic factors are totaled, it is clear that the preservation of farmland is something that should be of interest to people who live in the built-up areas of Centre County as well as those whose livelihoods are linked to the agricultural economy.

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