"That's Mifflinville over there. And that little town over there is Mainville, and there's Catawissa," he says.
From here you can also see the Shuman's family dairy and fields of corn that make up only a part of their sprawling row-crop operation. (You can see the family place on page 41, top photo, at the beginning of this section.) It's quite a view. Shuman stretches out his arms. "Look at this. See where I get to work?"
Shuman, 35, wants to offer his 10-year-old son Steven the same opportunity.
Families all over Columbia County share Shuman's connection with the land. The Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Association helps families who want to preserve farmland for future generations by helping purchase conservation easements and create agricultural security areas.
These ag security areas place limitations on local governments who might seek to pass nuisance ordinances or use the land for public development such as schools or highways. It's important for landowners to reach these kinds of agreements with municipalities, since township governments are very strong in Pennsylvania and each township can have its own zoning laws.
Being only a couple of hours from the Philadelphia-New York-New Jersey megalopolis on the Eastern Seaboard, the county has its fair share of development pressure, particularly from newcomers who want a 15-acre slice of the good life. Ron Rohrbach and his wife, Cathy—who run a family orchard and row-crop business outside Catawissa—see it happening here, and it's putting pressure on land prices.
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"I don't envy someone like my son Mark, who wants to farm but faces high prices when he's ready to purchase land," says Ron.
There's hope for Mark Rohrbach and Steven Shuman, though, in a place where agriculture is still very much the heart of the county. That's evident in Bloomsburg—the county seat—where each year the Bloomsburg Fair draws a half-million people to 250 acres of attractions. "All 250 of those acres are dedicated to the promotion of agriculture here," says Fred Trump, who's in his 25th year as president. "That's our mission." The fair and other events at the grounds pump as much as $40 million into the local economy, along with arranging scholarships for farm kids in the fair's livestock program.
Marie Giger Williams has been involved with the fair for more than 50 years, and has spent the past six years running the livestock program. She watches as the county grows, in good ways and bad. The economy is well-balanced, aided by factory jobs at Wise Snacks—the potato chip pioneer—and a nearby power plant.
Schools are excellent and have low student-teacher ratios, and Bloomsburg University boasts an enrollment of 8,000 students. The world-class Geisinger Medical Center, a staple on national lists of best hospitals, is one county over. And there are two hospitals within Columbia County borders.
Williams sees all this, and knows that might attract more people to Columbia County. Strip malls now stand on an old horse farm near Interstate 80; Williams remembers when it was sold. "It broke my heart. And some people still think about selling farms," she says. "When you're getting a dollar a gallon for milk and some developer offers you a million dollars, what would you do?"
Still, she says those who leave the farm and move on to other jobs aren't thinking ahead. "You're cooped up all day. Your boss is telling you every minute what to do. When you're farming, you're working for God, and you can kind of get along with him." A survey of the landscape in Columbia County proves there are an awful lot of people here who agree with her.
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FEATURED PROPERTIES IN THIS COUNTY FROM THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER REAL ESTATE DATABASE>> |
More info on the web:
Cooperative Extension, Columbia County
columbia.extension.psu.edu
The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce
www.bloomsburg.com
General County Information
www.columbiapa.org
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