State Farmland Significance

On Monday, a door was opened for a new non-profit organization that focuses on farmland preservation in Pennsylvania.  Adopt An Acre Inc. officially cut the ribbon at its office space located on the campus of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare’s state hospital at Wernersville, Berks County.  The three county commissioners were on hand to join in the ceremony with many of the Adopt An Acre Inc. board members.  It was a milestone day in advancing efforts to save farms and the families that operate them in Berks County and in counties beyond its borders.

As a founding member of this organization, I was pleased to have several representatives of the media cover this important event, including Lou Ann Good from Lancaster Farming.  One of the questions asked of me was: “Why did Adopt An Acre Inc. open an office on state hospital property?”  Wernersville State Hospital is located in my old legislative district at the base of the South Mountain and is fortunate to be surrounded by hundreds of acres of state-owned farmland.  It was a blessing to be able to help secure affordable office space for our new organization at this facility, utilizing some office space not needed by the DPW operation.  It is a perfect setting for the goals of our farmland preservation group.

Most of our guests noticed this beautiful farmland surrounding the campus as they arrived at the site where mental health and helping consumers with their mental illnesses is the primary focus.  But, they missed the message these farm fields were sharing about their significance to the hospital and the Commonwealth.  The question gave me a chance to reflect on some of the things I learned as a legislator and former Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee executive director, and why I pursued this location during my final term in office for the organization.

These fertile fields played an important role for the residents of Wernersville State Hospital, and other state facilities across the Commonwealth, throughout their history which spans more than a century in some cases.  The fertile land grew the food that was served at every meal, nourishing the bodies of the patients.  Some of them also received sustenance for their minds through actual field and barn work as they helped raise and harvest the crops and livestock.  Unfortunately, rules and laws were changed over the years and this type of physical therapy is no longer permitted.  Today, most of the farms are leased to private individuals who cultivate the land and compensate the Commonwealth for the privilege of renting the fields and buildings.

After years of service to the Commonwealth, it is sad to watch as the conditions of some of the historic farm buildings on these state-owned properties are deteriorating.  They keep a lonely vigil on land where they used to be the center of attention.  Now they stand empty and unused.

In recent years, rent payments that should have been earmarked for building upkeep were siphoned off to finance renovations and cost overruns at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.  I am hopeful that some of these rent revenues can once again be earmarked for maintenance and repairs on state farms before their agricultural buildings are lost, along with their history.  Putting them back into use for education or agricultural purposes will also ensure their future.  Many of these buildings are quite unique and historic and they should be saved.

I was pleased the barn at Harrisburg State Hospital was put back into use last year and is once again home to a productive dairy herd.  The opportunity to help a young farm family get started was part of a law passed by the legislature in 1982, when the General Assembly also permanently protected the farmland surrounding many of the state hospitals.  This preservation effort pre-dated the state’s program for protecting privately owned farmland by seven years.  My farm hat goes off to my former boss and former chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Edward Helfrick, who had the courage and vision to ensure this land would remain in agricultural production or be used for agricultural education or open space.  Plaudits also go to Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff who understands the importance of utilizing these facilities for the intent of the law.

Like other farmland, there are continual pressures to attempt to convert these state farms into other uses.  Removing the easement on these farms thankfully requires a change in law, which is not easy to accomplish.  Much of the state farmland is on a surplus disposition plan which means it could be sold by the Commonwealth at some point in the future.  But, any land conveyance would have to continue the agricultural land preservation policy unless the law would be deliberately modified and its original intent ignored.

Vigilance is needed to ensure any changes in state law do not chip away at the agricultural land preservation policy that has been signed by every governor since Dick Thornburgh.  Act 159 of 1982 protects only certain farms, and not all state-owned farmland.  That is why the farmland surrounding Warren State Hospital was the target of development and has been lost to agricultural production for the construction of a super store.  This loss remains a sad memory for me as I reflect on my tenure in the legislature.  While I opposed this land transaction by a former House colleague, I could not overcome a well-financed campaign by developers in convincing the majority of legislators that they knew what was best for Warren County’s future.

I am hopeful that the presence of Adopt An Acre Inc. on the campus of Wernersville State Hospital will remind the administration, from the Governor to the cabinet secretaries for Agriculture and Public Welfare to the local hospital administrators, that the state farmland needs to be preserved, as well as lands owned by private farmers.  Our Commonwealth leads the nation in preserving farms.  Four of the top twelve counties in the nation in protecting farmland come from Pennsylvania.  Lancaster County is first, Berks County is third, Chester County is fourth, and York County is eleventh.  It is a record we can all be proud of, and we can point to our Act 159 state farms as the first example of this success story.

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