Monroe County’s mission to preserve farmland
Local farm owner Phil Poliskiewicz invites me into his cramped office and makes a phone call as I sit. In a mellow voice, he asks the receiver if they have a specific type of screw in stock. He says thank you, hangs up, and leaves the room. A minute later, he returns drinking a Wild Cherry Pepsi and asks, “So, how can I help you?”
Throughout the United States, the amount of farmland continues to decrease year by year. According to the USDA, Pennsylvania, however, has maintained its same percentage of agricultural land area since 1997. Locally, the Monroe County Planning Commission (MCPC) does its part in this conservation through its Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP). The program, founded in 1991, has already preserved over 85 farms and roughly 6,600 acres of farmland in Monroe County.
Poliskiewicz’s the type of guy you’d expect to be a farmer. He wears Wrangler jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a denim baseball cap. His walls don’t sport typical motivational office posters, but rather a poster of the water cycle and an empty bag of seed held up with thumbtacks—a farmer’s centerfold. “At one time,” Poliskiewicz tells me, “there must have been a good 200 farms in my area. Now I’m one of three.”
One of the main reasons that the United Sates, especially the Northeast, sees agricultural land decrease is because of the selling of it to those who intend to neglect or altogether remove its agricultural aspect. The owner of the land has the right to sell it to whomever they choose.
However, through the Agricultural Land Preservation Program, the land owner rescinds his or her rights of development, while the other typical rights to the land remain, including the ability to sell. The contract declares that the agricultural land must remain as such. For example, after entering this program, a developer can not build condominiums, but can only develop the land in a way that maintains or improves the agricultural value of the land. Monroe County has valuable agricultural resources, and ALPP intends to keep it that way.
“I remember when I was a kid working on my family’s farm,” Poliskiewicz discloses. “We had a ’55 flatbed Chevy we used to deliver milk to the other farms. There were seven working farms then. Only one is left today. Some sold to developers. Others couldn’t afford the upkeep and let the earth reclaim them. It’s a shame. A real shame.”
The MCPC mission reads as follows: The citizens of Monroe County will continue working together to sustain and improve our quality of life by ensuring that the county’s environmental, economic, and cultural assets are within reach of all its people. The idea is simple enough, but this is much easier said than done. Though the commission continues to pursue this mission, the amount of plans that the board receives continues to decrease, seemingly with the economic struggles the nation faces.
“It’s not cheap running a farm,” Poliskiewicz continues. “There’s equipment, vehicle, building, and livestock maintenance. Things break or get old, and sometimes it’s easier to cut your losses. Farming’s a long term investment.”
However, MCPC still maintains a positive outlook for the future in adapting to current situations in order to see that Monroe County improves. One can see evidence of this in the Agricultural Land Preservation’s 2009 annual report. According to the report, “due to funding constraints, the board was able to make offers and submit only one application to the State Agricultural Land Preservation…The remaining applications will be considered in 2010." Though facing obvious external issues, ALPP still saves farmland annually.
In order for a farm owner to apply to this program, he or she can find the five-page application on the Agricultural Land Preservation’s website. However, the board must take many different aspects into account when approving the preservation, as they carry minimum eligibility criteria pertaining to size and agricultural use of the land. Even with these stipulations, applications which do in fact meet the requirements cannot all be approved in a year. Because of this, ALPP must choose the land which is most efficient and essential to maintaining the set goals.
The Monroe County Planning Commission recognizes the trials that the Pocono region faces. The area has no doubt witnessed a tremendous change over the past few decades, but from now on, they only wish to see positive changes in this beautiful region through programs such as the Agricultural Land Preservation Program.
The MCPC and ALPP office in Stroudsburg can be easily contacted via telephone (570-517-3100) or email jwoodling@co.monroe.pa.us. Pennsylvania agriculture links: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania AgMap
Tim Sheehan, junior English major and philosophy minor at ESU, is from East Stroudsburg, Pa.. With a concentration in writing, Tim plans on later attending grad school in pursuit of a master’s degree in creative writing. After graduating ESU, he intends to volunteer for the Peace Corps. In addition to writing, Tim plays a wide variety of instruments, his favorite being guitar.
