Title: Why Preserve Farmland? : ConservationTools
Headings: Why Preserve Farmland?
Why Preserve Farmland?
Introduction
Farmland Preservation Anchors the Farm Economy
Protects Our National Security
Supports Our Economy
Creates Jobs
Keeps Money in Local Communities
Provides Tax Revenue; Requires Little Government Service
Supports Agritourism
Delivers Ecosystem Goods and Services
Sustains a Tradition
Farmland Preservation Tools

Content: One study concluded that agricultural exports generate $1.70 of community income for every dollar of sales, while local sales can generate over $3.00.[13] Farmers markets, especially when located in a downtown area, can also have a spillover effect, boosting the sales of surrounding businesses. Pennsylvania is a national leader in direct-to-consumer sales, trailing only California and New York, and preserving farmland ensures the continued viability of local food suppliers in communities throughout the state. [ 14] Markets for locally produced food help sustain local economies, while enhancing opportunities for farmers to make a living and for consumers to buy fresh food directly from the people who produce it. Provides Tax Revenue; Requires Little Government Service
Only by considering both the local tax revenues generated by a land use and the local government expenditures necessitated by that land use can you identify the use’s overall impact on local government finances. Farms and other open lands unambiguously provide a net fiscal benefit. Owners of agricultural lands pay more in local taxes than government spends in support of those lands and the people who live and work on them. [ 15]
Although agricultural land generates less tax revenue per acre than residential, commercial, or industrial property, it requires fewer public services such as schooling, road maintenance, and policing. The difference means that non-agricultural lands receive more services and pay less in taxes than they could in the absence of agricultural land. According to Cost of Community Service Studies by American Farmland Trust, agricultural lands on average receive only $0.37 in public services for every dollar they contribute;