Summary
Two young farm couples got county-backed low-cost loans totaling about $1.36 million to buy their first farms — keeping farmland in production and in local hands.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 16
- Last 30 days
- 3
Rising — discussed at 3 meetings since Oct 7, 2026, up from 2 in the two months before.
Impact analysis
$1.362 million in tax-exempt IDA financing; no county credit pledge.
Two young farm families buying land in Ephrata and Brecknock Townships.
Mentions & discussions (16)
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Oct 28, 2026
Two young farm couples got county-backed low-cost loans totaling about $1.36 million to buy their first farms — keeping farmland in production and in local hands.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Oct 27, 2026
Two young farm families are getting low-cost county-assisted financing: the Esches are buying a $5.165M, 66-acre poultry farm in Ephrata, and the Schnaders a $1.86M, 48-acre preserved farm in Reinholds. The county's role is approving tax-exempt financing; the county isn't on the hook for repayment.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Oct 7, 2026
Two young farm families got county-approved financing to buy their parents' farms — $535,000 for a preserved dairy farm in Drumore and $612,000 for a beef farm in Strasburg.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Jul 29, 2026
Four young farm families got county-backed financing to buy farms in West Lampeter, Colerain, Martic, and Pequea townships. The program helps keep farmland in farming families rather than letting it fall to outside investors, which officials said is a growing threat as land prices soar.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Jul 28, 2026
Four farming families are getting county-backed low-cost financing to buy farms, keeping land in agricultural use. Two of the four farms are already preserved, and family-to-family sales keep prices below market.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - May 27, 2026
Two young farm families got county-backed loan approvals to buy their parents' dairy farms — $612,000 in Leola and $682,000 in Willow Street — keeping working farms in the family.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Apr 29, 2026
Three resolutions help the next generation take over family farms — a dairy farm in Bart Township, a hog farm in Willow Street, and a restructured dairy operation in Lititz. The loans don't cost county taxpayers anything; the county just approves the tax-exempt financing.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Apr 28, 2026
Three low-cost financing packages help the next generation take over family farms — a dairy in Bart Township, a preserved hog farm in Willow Street, and a dairy in Lititz now held through a new LLC. These keep working farms in production and out of development.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Mar 25, 2026
Six young farming families got tax-exempt financing to buy family farms, keeping agricultural land in production and in local hands. It's a record number of farm loans approved in a single meeting.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Mar 24, 2026
Six young farm families are getting low-interest financing to buy family farms, and officials think the program could break last year's record. It keeps Lancaster County farmland working and in local hands.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Feb 25, 2026
Three young farm families got tax-exempt loan financing to buy local farms — a dairy in Salisbury Township, a preserved dairy in Ephrata Township, and a preserved crop farm in East Lampeter Township. The program helps keep farmland in production and in family hands.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Feb 24, 2026
Three young farm families are getting low-cost financing to buy local farms in Narvon, Lititz, and East Lampeter — keeping farmland in production and in family hands.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Feb 4, 2026
Two young farm families are getting help buying family dairy farms through the county's Next Generation Farm Loan program. The financing is tax-exempt IDA debt — county taxpayers aren't on the hook.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Feb 3, 2026
Two young farm families are using the county's Next Generation Farm Loan Program to buy their parents' dairy farms in the Christiana area. The program keeps farmland in family hands and supports the local dairy economy.
County Commissioners Public Meetings - Jan 14, 2026
Two young farming families are getting $667,000 each in tax-exempt financing to buy their family farms — one dairy operation in Christiana, one in Quarryville. It's a program aimed at keeping farmland in production and in family hands.
County Commissioners Work Sessions - Jan 13, 2026
Two young farm families are getting help buying their parents' farms through the county-backed Next Generation Farm Loan program — $667,000 each for a Christiana dairy farm and a Quarryville dairy farm. The county's approval doesn't pledge county money or tax dollars.
Related development
Esch Farm Purchase – Next Generation Farm Loan
Keeps a large farm in agricultural production with a new chicken operation; farm is not preserved.
Next Generation Farm Loan — Travis L. and Amber L. Schnader
The land stays a preserved farm and passes to the next generation of the same family.
Next Generation Farm Loan – Samuel S. and Barbie Ann Miller (Resolution No. 20 of 2026)
Continues a dairy and tobacco operation in production.
Next Generation Farm Loan — Justin L. and Angela F. Oberholtzer
Preserves a working dairy farm already under conservation protection.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Lancaster County
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.