By Ryan Robinson
Lancaster New Era
Oct 29, 2007

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Here’s a scoop: Ice Cream is helping to save a 63-acre Amish farm in Fulton Township.

Turkey Hill Dairy in 2005 began giving a portion of the proceeds from sales of its All Natural Recipe ice cream to the nonprofit farmland preserver, Lancaster Farmland Trust.

Through the end of 2006, that effort amassed $51,000, which will pay for most of the $60,000 cost of preserving a dairy farm at 115 Arcadia Trace Road, Peach Bottom.

Turkey Hill and trust officials planned to be at the farm today when the farmer signs the conservation agreement, which prohibits future development of the farm.

“Look what one locally based business has done to help save farmland in Lancaster County,” Karen Martynick, executive director of the trust, said in a press release. “Turkey Hill wisely understands the importance of farmland preservation to the success of their products, and so they’ve made this wonderful commitment.”

“Lancaster County farmland is truly a national treasure,” Quintin Frey, president of Turkey Hill Dairy, said in the release. “We believe it’s critical to preserve this irreplaceable resource and to preserve what is so special about Lancaster County.”

Previously, Turkey Hill donated funds to support the trust in general, not to preserve a specific farm.
Turkey Hill also gives considerable in-kind gifts to the trust such as products and sponsorship of events including the Turkey Hill Classic bike race.

In a similar partnership, Strasburg Rail Road in 2005 began giving five cents from each ticket it sells — excluding Thomas the Tank Engine events — to the trust to help preserve farms in the railroad’s viewshed.

That was thought to be the first arrangement of its kind between a business and a private farmland preserver in Pennsylvania, and perhaps in the country.

The Strasburg Rail Road has given the trust a total of $30,516 in 2005 and 2006.

The trust is still pursuing other such arrangements with area companies in an effort to raise more money for preserving farms.

More than 15,000 acres of farmland have been preserved by the trust, which receives more than 85 percent of its funding from private donations.

Mississippi Students Visit Friends in L-S
By Rebecca C. Carroll
Lancaster New Era

It’s been hot the past few days. But what we consider hot and humid is a breath of fresh air for students and teachers from Long Beach, Miss. Tuesday, 10 students and two student council advisors from Long Beach, a town severely affected by Hurricane Katrina, arrived in Pennsylvania for the first time.

“The country’s beautiful. The trees are standing up straight, and there’s no humidity,” Peggy Lassabe said. “It feels like springtime!”

Lassabe and Becky Cullifer, student council advisers for Long Beach High School, brought eight students to Pennsylvania for a national student council convention that will be held in Lansdale Saturday through Monday. On their way to Lansdale, they made a detour to Lampeter-Strasburg, where they have some special friends.

In November, 40 L-S students and 18 chaperones traveled to Long Beach to put on a homecoming dance for the students of Long Beach and Pass Christian high schools, both located in towns that suffered severe destruction from Hurricane Katrina. Now, some of the Mississippi students are finally getting a chance to see how their L-S counterparts live.

“I’m not used to seeing farms or corn,” said Lauren Lassabe, 16, who will be a senior at Long Beach High. “It’s so nice to see everything green, and not gray trash piles.

“There’s even hills. I think the highest part in Mississippi is 800 feet,” she said.

“When I got here, I didn’t have the expectation of seeing anything like this,” said Martin McCoy, 17, who will be a senior at Long Beach.

The students at L-S raised $2,500 for plane tickets for the students from Long Beach, so that they could go to the convention and also stay in Lancaster for a few days. Matt Cooper, a science teacher at Lampeter-Strasburg, has been active in helping the storm victims in Long Beach. The 10 visitors will stay on his Strasburg farm while they are in Lancaster County.

“It’ll be a nice time for them to escape,” he said of their trip up North. “This will be the first time most of them are getting away from the destruction.”

Lassabe couldn’t have agreed more. “It’s wonderful to get away,” she said with tears in her eyes. “My only sanity is a vacation.”

Cullifer said that it was not a coincidence that the convention was being held in Pennsylvania, just a couple of hours from Cooper’s home. “It had to be divine intervention. It couldn’t have been planned,” she said.

While in Lancaster County, the students will visit the Strasburg Rail Road and Hersheypark, and even sit in the Kegel’s luxury box at a Lancaster Barnstomers Game. The tickets have been donated. Cooper decided to invite his Mississippi friends to his home after he found out the student council convention would be held just under two hours away.

“I can’t even fathom they’re coming to Pennsylvania,” Abbey Fulmer, 16, who will be a junior at L-S, said before the bus arrived.

“I’ve been counting down the days and the hours,” added Marisa Groff, 16, who will also be a junior at L-S. “They said they were going to come up, but I can’t believe they’ll actually be here.”

Both Fulmer and Groff went to Mississippi in November, and still talk online to the friends they made there. Two of their friends will be staying for an extra week, so they can spend time with Fulmer and Groff. One of those two friends, McCoy, said he is excited to participate in the planned activities, but is more excited about seeing his friends.

“I’m easily amused. I want to hang out with everyone, and just see my friends,” he said of the L-S students.

To read the entire article, please visit Lancaser Online.

A Commitment To Community: Strasburg Rail Road Helps Enrich Local Schools
Strasburg Rail Road Media Release

Math, science and music. Not exactly what comes to mind when you visit the Strasburg Rail Road. That is, unless you play in the strings program at Martin Meylin or just calculated your way through the PSSA test at Salisbury Middle School.

Best known for whistles, steam and the history of railroading, America’s oldest short-line railroad is going the extra mile to enhance education for students at two local school districts by pitching in to make sure enrichment programs and school supplies are not left out.

Over the years Lampeter-Strasburg has used donations to provide students with a well-rounded education. For Superintendent Robert Frick the support is music to his ears … literally. “We had dreamed about starting a strings program for 30 years but never had the money to do it,” said Frick. “With the generous donation from the Strasburg Rail Road we were able to plant the seed for the program and watch it grow.” Now in its fourth year, the program has grown to nearly 200 students between grades four to eight.

Most recently the money is being used to upgrade the television broadcast system for Martin Meylin Middle School. The school district has also used its yearly donation to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for students participating in Science Fair competitions.

At Pequea Valley School District the donations from the Strasburg Rail Road are typically used as an incentive for teachers to create imaginative educational programs. Ideas like reading and writing programs are submitted to a panel of faculty and administrators. The most innovative ideas are awarded funding.

This year, budget cuts caused Pequea Valley Schools to devote the money to supplement its core studies. The fourth and fifth grade teachers at Salisbury Middle School are now using new calculators to prepare students for the Math PSSA test and help them understand mathematical logic. The Learning Support program at the elementary and middle schools are getting literature books to help improve reading proficiency and confidence in learning.

Eric Dreibelbis, Director of Curriculum & Instruction at Pequea Valley School District, expresses his gratitude by stating, “We absolutely appreciate Strasburg Rail Road’s donations. There is no one else who has an ongoing relationship with us as they do, and we hope to use their donations to show the community that we are striving to create strong academics and skill development.”

The Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832 as a line to haul freight and passengers from Strasburg to the main line. Known as America’s oldest short-line railroad, Strasburg is a real working railroad. The Rail Road is home to museum quality, working, turn-of the century steam locomotives, freight cars, dining cars, private cars and one of the largest fleets of historic wooden passenger cars in the world.

Strasburg Rail Road’s Preservation Effort Recognized
Strasburg Rail Road
Media Release

Strasburg, PA (November 2005) - The Strasburg Rail Road is named as the 2005 Corporate Sponsor of the Year for the Lancaster Farmland Trust. Linn Moedinger, President of the Strasburg Rail Road, accepted the award at the Trust’s Annual Dinner on November 15, 2005.

The award, created in 1999, acknowledges businesses that demonstrate outstanding commitment to the Trust’s mission and goals. The Strasburg Railroad was chosen as a result of their financial support and worthy efforts in helping to preserve Lancaster County’s cherished farmland.

In June, the Strasburg Rail Road launched its preservation plan to donate 5 cents of every regular ticket purchased to the Lancaster Farmland Trust. The money is used to help preserve the farmland along the railroad line. The train travels past more than 20 farms and more than one thousand acres of land - providing one of the best views Pennsylvania Dutch Country has to offer. In September, the Trust announced the preservation of its first farm along the Strasburg Rail Road corridor.

Lancaster Farmland Trust is a private, non-profit organization working to preserve the rich and productive farmland of Lancaster County by purchasing the development rights from Lancaster County’s farm families. Since 1988, the Trust has preserved almost 13,000 acres of productive farmland for future generations.

Media Contact – Hope Banner (717) 569-8274

Tourist Attraction and Farmland Trust
Quickly Preserve Land Near Railroad
By Ryan Robinson
Lancaster New Era

Lancaster County, PA - Four days before a Ronks farm was sold at public auction, it became the first to be permanently saved from development under a landmark initiative between the Strasburg Rail Road and Lancaster Farmland Trust. Charles and Janet Leaman’s 90-acre crop farm is believed to be the first in Pennsylvania — and perhaps the nation — to be preserved partially by funds from a private business’s daily ticket sales. “The Strasburg Rail Road runs through farmland that looks very much as it has for a century or more,” said railroad president Linn Moedinger. “This is really exciting.”

But it almost didn’t happen. When the trust learned on Sept. 9 that a farm along Route 741 near the railroad was for sale, the trust’s Caroline Novak made a house call the same day. She convinced the Leamans to sell the permanent land development rights for their 180 Cherry Hill Road farm before the public auction Monday. But there was still a problem; it generally takes about six months for the trust to complete all the necessary steps to preserve a farm. The record was three weeks but this time, the trust had less than two weeks to complete the process.

“All hell broke loose” the Monday after Novak’s visit, executive director Karen Martynick said. Trust staff worked quickly to conduct a title search, negotiate a payment with the Leamans, take photographs of the farm and plot its buildings for baseline documentation. A survey necessary for the Leamans’ tax purposes could wait until after the deal. The trust’s board approved the farm’s preservation Sept. 15 and a week later the deal became official.

On Monday, the Leaman property sold for $1,425,000. “This farm was the most important in the Strasburg Rail Road corridor because it was our first,” Martynick said. Losing the farm to houses “would have been a tragedy.”

The Paradise Township farm is zoned agricultural, which allows one house to be built on every two acres. “We were concerned that probably a developer may buy it,” Mrs. Leaman said. “We couldn’t see how good farmland should be put into houses.”

In June, the Strasburg Rail Road agreed to give five cents from every ticket it sells, excluding Thomas the Tank Engine events, to the trust to save farmland along the railroad. It amounts to about $15,000 a year. Martynick said the railroad will pay about $5,500 to cover the transaction costs with the Leaman deal. The final costs for the property have not been determined, she said. They are in line with the trust’s average spending of between $500 and $600 an acre for development rights. Up to half of those funds will come from matching funds from the county, Martynick added.

Martynick said the trust is working on various outreach programs in the Strasburg Rail Road corridor, so preserving the next farm does not have to be an 11th-hour race. The trust wants to preserve as many of the 20 farms in the immediate view of the railroad line as possible. The farms comprise 1,100 acres. Martynick said she knows of no other similar business/farmland preservation partnership in the nation.

The trust’s executive director said a second “major business” will likely announce in November its intention to follow the railroad’s lead and commit a steady stream of funding to saving farmland. A press conference announcing the Leaman farm preservation was held today at the farm and a picnic is set for Friday at the railroad. The farm has significant road frontage along both Route 741 and Cherry Hill Road and is close to both urban growth and village growth areas.

But adjoining farm owner Jack Coleman, who bought the Leaman property for over $15,000 an acre, said he plans to continue to farm it. He has rented the acreage for crops since 2000. “It is a perfect connection to my farm,” he said today. “I will double-crop it.” Coleman’s Cherry-Crest Farm is well known for its Amazing Maize Maze.

Coleman said he needs acreage for the spreading of manure from a nearby hog operation. Also, his daughter may move into the historic house on the Leamans’ property, he said. The stone house, which has 22-inch-thick walls, was built in 1747. “We’re glad the farm went into the trust,” he said. “I don’t think anybody in this neighborhood wanted to see houses built.” Charles Leaman grew up on the farm, which his grandparents purchased in 1895. In the past, the Leaman family kept cattle, laying hens and brood sows on the farm, and grew corn, soybeans and some hay.

Charles and Janet Leaman bought the farm in 1960 and opened a bed and breakfast visited by thousands through the years. Their three children were not interested in farming, so the Leamans sold their farm animals in 1988. They are moving to Willow Street. Mrs. Leaman said she always enjoyed the railroad as a neighbor. “You can see the track from my kitchen,” she said. “We’re going to miss hearing the whistle every half hour.”

Whistle Blows For Farm Preservation
Lancaster New Era

The more than 300,000 people who annually visit the Strasburg Rail Road not only see a marvelous collection of historic steam engines, they also are treated to a seven mile train ride through picturesque Lancaster County farmland.

The owners of the popular tourist attraction have long understood the fundamental relationship between the tourists who ride their trains and the farmland those riders view as engines chug through the countryside.

Visitors would not descend by the hundreds every day on the tiny rail line, if they saw swing sets and the backs of houses, rather than cows and corn fields.

Now, in a unique move, the Strasburg rail executives have decided to put their money on preserving that vital relationship.

In partnership with the Lancaster Farmland Trust, the Strasburg Rail Road is committing a portion of its ticket receipts to buying conservation easements on farmland alongside its tracks.

This year, 5 cents from every ticket sold (except Thomas the Tank Engine) could add as much as $15,000 to the trust’s farmland-preservation efforts.

Since the trust spends roughly $500 for each preserved acre, that amount translates into 30 acres. And with a matching grant from the county already in place, the preserved acreage could double.

“As Lancaster County grows, we must take steps to protect our signature farmland or we will lose it,” said Linn Moedinger, Strasburg Rail Road president.

“Without the farmland, we’re out of business,” he said. “Who wants to ride through suburbia and Wal-Mart parking lots?”

On the rail line through Strasburg and Paradise townships alone, there are 20 working farms and more than a thousand acres.

In the past 17 years, the privately funded trust has preserved 207 farms totaling 12,904 acres. The county’s tax-supported preservation program has preserved another 557 farms with 48,558 acres.

But with nearly 6,000 farms and 421,000 acres of farmland — 99 percent family owned — in the county, much remains to be done.

County population continues to grow rapidly, and the pressure to convert farmland to housing, stores and businesses grows with it.

Local tourist industry businesses, acting in enlightened self-interest, can add a powerful third base of support to those provided by taxpayers and charitable givers.The formal partnership between the Strasburg Rail Road and the nonprofit trust should serve as a model for others to emulate.

Restaurants, hotels, craft shops, private museums and other Pennsylvania Dutch educational or cultural sites, even tour companies, very well might consider the benefit of protecting the agricultural community from which they indirectly profit.

For that matter, other local businesses that depend on agriculture for their survival might consider more active participation in preservation efforts.

Of course, many business owners already support farmland preservation through their taxes and some in private donations. But for those who do not, or those who see the value in more aggressive preservation efforts, the Farmland Trust’s partnership program is worthy of their consideration.

The leadership of the Lancaster Farmland Trust and the Strasburg Rail Road deserve this community’s appreciation for their innovative and yet practical effort to protect the farmland and the farm-based economy that we here value so highly. The formal partnership between the Strasburg Rail Road and the nonprofit trust should serve as a model for others to emulate.

A Ticket To Ride And Save Farms
By Ryan Robinson
Lancaster New Era

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Wide-eyed, their hair blowing in the wind, four children excitedly turn wheels to propel their individual trains around a track. Just beyond them, steam hisses from the No. 475 locomotive. A loud whistle pierces the afternoon humidity. Passengers are boarding. A man shovels coal nine feet high atop a railcar.

Beyond the train, green and gold fields of corn, alfalfa hay and soybeans spiral to the horizon, interrupted only by farmhouses, barns and silos. The farmsteads are as important to Strasburg Rail Road as its historic trains, according to president Linn Moedinger. “Without the farmland, we’re out of business,” he said. “Who wants to ride through suburbia and Wal-Mart parking lots?”
In a move believed to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania — and perhaps the nation — Strasburg Rail Road will use a portion of its ticket proceeds to prevent new houses or businesses from marring its idyllic farm landscape.

Farm preservationists hope other Lancaster County businesses will follow the railroad’s example and pump more dollars into saving local farms. For every ticket it sells in 2005, excluding special Thomas the Tank Engine events, the popular tourist destination will give 5 cents to the Lancaster Farmland Trust.

The non-profit farmland preservation organization will leverage the money with other funding to preserve as many of the 20 farms, totaling about 1,100 acres, in the railroad line’s corridor as quickly as it can. Once the farms are preserved, the trust wants to target more farms within sight of the railroad. “We have not seen or heard of any kind of similar project in the country,” said the trust’s executive director, Karen Martynick.

Businesses have long supported the trust with funds and sponsorships of events like “Pedal to Preserve” and the trust’s annual dinner. But this is the first time a private business has agreed to donate a portion of each ticket it sells to the trust. Martynick said talks are already underway with other businesses, and she hopes they will follow the railroad’s example.

Moedinger said Strasburg Rail Road sells 300,000 regular tickets a year, so the trust can expect about $15,000 annually. The trust spends an average of about $500 for the permanent development rights of each acre that it preserves. But Martynick said that doesn’t mean just 30 acres a year will be preserved as a result of the initiative. Thanks to a challenge grant from the county, the trust will match the railroad’s annual donation dollar for dollar, she said. Other funding also can be combined with the new source to preserve farms faster.

Also, the trust is hoping the railroad’s marketing of the trust’s mission to protect farmland from development will lead to even more funding for the area. “We should be able to act immediately when one of these farms wants to be preserved,” Martynick said. She added, however, that no time frame exists for preservation of the corridor.

Moedinger said he talked with some of the railroad’s farming neighbors, and they showed some interest in preserving their farms. Strasburg Rail Road set its funding level by what it could afford, not by any preservation goals, Moedinger said. It has committed to three years of funding, he said. The total given per ticket will be reevaluated every year. Martynick said the Strasburg Rail Road initiative will not derail the trust’s efforts to preserve farms elsewhere in the county. It could prompt businesses who would like to see certain farms in their area to be preserved to pursue talks with the trust about helping to fund such efforts, she said.

Strasburg Rail Road patrons take a 45-minute train ride through the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country in Paradise and Strasburg townships. Moedinger said the farm scenery along the 7-mile round trip provides at least half of the riders’ enjoyment. “It’s the only thing that separates us from the rest of the world and makes us unique,” he said. “We don’t have mountains or beaches. You can go anywhere to see trains or an amusement park. Our unique landscape is one of the most beautiful in the country.”

Moedinger stressed that the loss of farmland could one day seriously hurt the entire county’s economy and way of life. “If Lancaster County doesn’t have farmland, it doesn’t have tourism,” he said bluntly.

In talks with companies, the trust is presenting the case that supporting the preservation of farmland is not just an act of generosity, but also is beneficial to the businesses’ long-term plans. Since 1988, the trust has preserved 207 farms totaling 12,904 acres of farmland.

The Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832 as a line to haul freight and passengers from Strasburg to the main line. America’s oldest short-line railroad, it is home to museum-quality, working, turn-of-the century steam locomotives, freight cars, dining cars, private cars and one of the largest fleets of historic wooden passenger cars in the world.

Strasburg Rail Road Unveils a First For PA Land Preservation
Strasburg Rail Road
Media Release

Strasburg, PA (June 30, 2005) - In what is being hailed as a groundbreaking initiative, the Strasburg Rail Road, one of Pennsylvania’s top tourist destinations, announced a plan to preserve one of Lancaster County’s most precious and recognized treasures.

In partnership with the Lancaster Farmland Trust, a local, non-profit farmland preservation organization, the Strasburg Rail Road has committed to taking a lead role in helping to raise funds to enable Lancaster County to maintain its crucial farming community and its revered farmland surrounding the Strasburg Rail Road.

In this effort, the Strasburg Rail Road has committed 5 cents from every ticket (excluding Thomas™ events) sold during 2005 to the Lancaster Farmland Trust. The funds are designated specifically to support the Farmland Trust in its effort to protect the rich and productive farmland in the Strasburg Rail Road corridor.

Located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, the Strasburg Rail Road is one of the region’s most successful tourist destinations with more than 300,000 visitors each year. Traveling past 20 working farms and more then one thousand acres, the Strasburg Rail Road offers one of the best ways to view Lancaster County’s breathtaking countryside.

Strasburg Rail Road President, Linn Moedinger, says his decision to support the preservation efforts not only impacts Lancaster County’s economy, but the County’s way of life. “As Lancaster County grows, we must take steps to protect our signature farmland or we will lose it,” says Moedinger. “This partnership will benefit our county, the Strasburg Rail Road and the millions of visitors who travel to our area each year.”

Lancaster Farmland Trust calls Strasburg Rail Road’s commitment a model for other business leaders in Pennsylvania. “This partnership demonstrates how important Lancaster County’s beautiful farmland is to the tourist industry,” says Karen Martynick, Executive Director of Lancaster Farmland Trust. “We’ve always believed that visitors come specifically to see our scenic farmland in Lancaster County and as a result, generate billions of dollars for our local economy.” “We applaud the Strasburg Rail Road for acknowledging the importance of this link and creating this precedent setting program to save our rich and productive farmland.”

Lancaster Farmland Trust is a private, non-profit organization working to preserve the rich and productive farmland of Lancaster County by purchasing the development rights from Lancaster’s farm families. By participating in the program, farm families own, operate and pass down the property to future generations with the assurance that no one will develop it for commercial or residential development. Since 1988, the Trust has preserved almost 13,000 acres of productive farmland for future generations. Preserving farmland means saving the freshest, local food, retaining our clean air and water, and safeguarding a cultural heritage in Pennsylvania.

“The Trust is thrilled to be a part of this joint effort to save what we cherish here in Lancaster: the beautiful landscape, farming as a livelihood, and a quiet way of life,” Martynick added. “These special characteristics enrich our own lives as well as the lives of people who visit our county.”

The Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832 as a line to haul freight and passengers from Strasburg to the main line. Known as America’s oldest short-line railroad, Strasburg is a real working railroad. The Rail Road is home to museum quality, working, turn-of-the century steam locomotives, freight cars, dining cars, private cars and one of the largest fleets of historic wooden passenger cars in the world.

To learn more about the Strasburg Rail Road, visit www.Strasburgrailroad.com. To support the Lancaster Farmland Trust visit www.savelancasterfarms.org.