Pennsylvania Leads the Way in Promoting Agriculture.

[Josh]

Wineries are generally playthings for the wealthy and usually end up becoming entertainment or wedding event type of venues.

I don’t blame farmers at all for not wanting one to move in.

[Ken]

Wineries are generally playthings for the wealthy and usually end up becoming entertainment or wedding event type of venues.

I don’t blame farmers at all for not wanting one to move in.

That attitude is why places like Belleville are in decline and young people are mostly leaving as the population ages.

This is also why efforts such as described by the OP to get young people into agriculture (who don’t already have roots in it) aren’t going to have much effect in insular rural places that don’t want to see any change. They might do better in places closer to bigger cities where at least there are markets.

This country wasn’t always like that. There was a time when we valued innovation and invention. And the freedom to do your own thing.

[ken_sylvania]

Not spite, and not necessarily to get the son a start. I’ve been around these conversations. It is more like the community rallying to keep the land out of the hands of “outsiders” which might well be some 5th generation Lutheran farm family from the next valley over. Because, one never knows what those sorts of people might do. They might subdivide and put in houses. Or worse yet…[whisper] put in something really inappropriate like a winery that might attract the wrong crowd.

At least that was how things used to be a generation ago. My family has bought up neighboring farms, not to put a son to work, but just to control the land which they just then turned around and rented to nearby Amish farmers. I doubt much has changed. If it was Somali or Guatemalan immigrants the conversation probably wouldn’t be any different but there might be more urgency.

I can certainly understand why they might prefer to have an Amish family farm next door rather than a winery.

Yep, when these folks bought up this farm in Belleville and put in this winery and destination event venue a few decades ago it took my family at least a generation to stop being scandalized and get over it: https://brookmerewine.com/ Can’t let that happen again can we?

Point being, and relating back to the subject of this thread. Despite all the efforts of PA to promote agriculture to young people, I doubt much of it will “take” in Belleville since the locals will have none of it.

It sounds like the locals in Belleville are doing just fine in promoting agriculture without the state’s assistance.

[Ernie]

That attitude is why places like Belleville are in decline and young people are mostly leaving as the population ages.

Where in Belleville is this happening?

[Ken]

It sounds like the locals in Belleville are doing just fine in promoting agriculture without the state’s assistance.

Perhaps not so much if your name isn't Yoder, Stoltzfus, or Zook and your ancestors didn't settle in that area from the Palatinate in the 1750s.

My question was whether such a community would rally around to welcome a Somali or Guatemalan immigrant family who wanted to make a start in farming in that area. Or even a young black couple from Philadelphia who wanted to try farming such as the sort profiled in the article that generated this thread. Would they be welcomed like William Penn welcomed their forefathers? Or would the community close ranks behind the scenes and make sure that didn't happen. I expect the latter but would be happy to be proven wrong.

[ken_sylvania]

It sounds like the locals in Belleville are doing just fine in promoting agriculture without the state’s assistance.

Perhaps not so much if your name isn't Yoder, Stoltzfus, or Zook and your ancestors didn't settle in that area from the Palatinate in the 1750s.

My question was whether such a community would rally around to welcome a Somali or Guatemalan immigrant family who wanted to make a start in farming in that area. Or even a young black couple from Philadelphia who wanted to try farming such as the sort profiled in the article that generated this thread. Would they be welcomed like William Penn welcomed their forefathers? Or would the community close ranks behind the scenes and make sure that didn't happen. I expect the latter but would be happy to be proven wrong.

Don’t you think it’s actually a good thing that these area farmers are free to do their thing and maintain the ethnic culture of the community the way they like it.

[ken_sylvania]

It sounds like the locals in Belleville are doing just fine in promoting agriculture without the state’s assistance.

Perhaps not so much if your name isn't Yoder, Stoltzfus, or Zook and your ancestors didn't settle in that area from the Palatinate in the 1750s.

My question was whether such a community would rally around to welcome a Somali or Guatemalan immigrant family who wanted to make a start in farming in that area. Or even a young black couple from Philadelphia who wanted to try farming such as the sort profiled in the article that generated this thread. Would they be welcomed like William Penn welcomed their forefathers? Or would the community close ranks behind the scenes and make sure that didn't happen. I expect the latter but would be happy to be proven wrong.

Oh. I thought you said the subject of the thread was tha state effort to promote agriculture. Are they attempting to displace local farmers with immigrant farmers? Also you know you would consider it in bad taste if I would suggest that the Somalian community in Minnesota should welcome Mennonites to live among them to add more variety to the “insular” Somalian culture. Why is it OK to talk about Mennonite culture that way?

[Ken]

That attitude is why places like Belleville are in decline and young people are mostly leaving as the population ages.

Where in Belleville is this happening?

Here are the current census estimates. The median age is 60 and there are 4x more people over 80 than in their 20s.

[ken_sylvania]

That attitude is why places like Belleville are in decline and young people are mostly leaving as the population ages.

Where in Belleville is this happening?

Here are the current census estimates. The median age is 60 and there are 4x more people over 80 than in their 20s.

Mennonite farmers buying farms within the boundaries of the census area almost certainly has nothing to do with this census trend.
And 80 percent of the population moved in since 2000. Hardly matches your description.

[Judas Maccabeus]

That attitude is why places like Belleville are in decline and young people are mostly leaving as the population ages.

Where in Belleville is this happening?

Here are the current census estimates. The median age is 60 and there are 4x more people over 80 than in their 20s.

2 square miles? That is far too small a sample size to be significant.