Farmland preservation is an important issue to Sugargrove Tree Farm. As the numbers of our society continue to increase and we continue to become more mobile, significant pressure has come to bear upon our open spaces and farmland. While we all need a place to raise our families, we now need to think differently than we have for the last 200 years about how and where we populate our communities.

As a Century Farm applicant, we were asked;

"Why is it important to preserve the heritage of Ohio's farms?"

We gave the following response:

"Preservation of family farm heritage is important to two groups of people. It is of personal significance to those families whose history is closely tied to a particular piece of land. To those families, the family farm is a great source of pride, a physical reminder of the stories about their ancestors. The story of a familys history on the farm binds that family to the land. Additionally, the success or failure of a family farm and thus the family is one important measure by which the local community acknowledges the social contributions of that family. Preservation of the family farm and its heritage enables these families to keep alive their history and maintain the significance of their threads in a local community fabric. Preservation of family farm heritage is also significant to the local community, State of Ohio, and nation at large. Technology has driven massive social and economic changes for all of society, resulting in the loss of local and historical identity for many communities. This is quite evident in small towns in any industrial state. Older citizens of those communities tell of the loss of the community vitality and success that once existed, vitality and success that nourished the community. Family farms are threads in the same community fabric as historic community buildings for which many communities are making significant efforts to keep and restore to their former importance. Family farms remain an important part of a local fabric of vitality. To the community, state, and nation, historic family farms are important touchstones of community history."

The Sugargrove Tree Farm family is committed to remaining active and vital in Ashland County for future generations and pledges to work to help effect new public policy for land use.