Agriculture
The Lehigh County Conservation District provides technical assistance to farmers and rural landowners in an effort to improve and protect soil and water quality.
According to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Statistics for 2007, Lehigh County remains a leader in agriculture with 615 farms totaling 90,000 acres. The Lehigh County Conservation District is committed to assisting the operators of these farms in improving farm profitability and protecting the natural resources on the farms.
Lehigh County’s farms not only contribute to the production of food and fiber, but they also help to support the area’s agriculture infrastructure, provide aesthetic, cultural, and historic value to the region, and provide a solid foundation for the conservation of our natural resources. Lehigh County’s farms provide open space and wildlife habitat, two features that greatly contribute to the appeal of the county.
The farmers of the Lehigh Valley recognize how important they are to the conservation of our natural resources, and many of them do as much as they can to further improve the environmental impacts of their farming operations. It is not uncommon to see Lehigh County farmers planting crops using no-till methods, installing stream bank fencing, applying manure according to Nutrient Balance Sheets, using recycled wastewater residuals as a soil amendment and fertilizer, or enrolling their farms in the Agricultural Land Preservation Program. The Lehigh County Conservation District is proud to work with a variety of agricultural programs to help support and protect our county’s farmland and the natural resources located on these farms.
