PRESERVING THE LANDFOR AGRICULTURE

摘要

Black and white cows grazing in a lush green meadow, bright red cherries hanging in clusters on trees, a fifty-six unit housing development across the street Long vines of hops strung up like clothes on wash day, hundreds of farm workers, like a colony of ants, expertly harvesting delicious strawberries, a shopping mall next door. These scenes ask the question: "Are we giving away the farm? Perhaps in some cases it is not better to give than to receive--or at least it seems so in the case of farmlandpreservation. The image of "the farm" holds great power in the American imagination. It harkens back to the country's roots, to its ability to provide food for its citizens, to economic security, to agricultural values imbued in cultural life, to ideasof a "simpler" life than commonly seen in "developed" areas. The ability of the farm to maintain its existence in the face of non-agricultural development has been a hot topic for decades.