The Penn State University extension and Schuylkill County have a partnership that goes back 100 years. Back in 1911, Penn State requested money from the state Legislature to fund a system of agricultural agents, who would share their knowledge to farmers. By 1921, Pennsylvania was one of only six states to have a centralized agricultural cooperative extension program. The extension service employed specialists in economics, forestry, pesticides, soils, agronomy, family life and many other subjects.

Among the first Penn State University extensions to be established was in Schuylkill County, Penn State Cooperative Extension Director Greg Gnatt to the Schuylkill County Commissioners on Wednesday, during the board’s meeting. In fact, Gnatt said, that original partnership between the two entities was used as a funding model throughout the state.

During their meeting Wednesday, the commissioners approved and adopted a memorandum of understanding between the county and the university. The memorandum establishes a framework for funding for the cooperative extension office and the county. Although the framework existed for decades, it hadn’t been documented and formalized.

“The extension plays a vital role, with agriculture being the county’s number one industry,” said Chairman George Halcovage. Commissioner Frank Staudenmeier pointed out that the land for the Penn State Schuylkill Campus was originally county-owned land, donated to the university.

In related business, the commissioners approved contracts for appraisals and surveying work to develop an agricultural easement on two farms on Deibert’s Valley Road, South Manheim Township. The program is designed to preserve the most productive farmland by means of a perpetual agricultural conservation easement, which prevents development on the farmland. Through the program the landowners sell the development rights on the farm to the state and/or county; the landowner would retain all other property rights and is still the owner of the farm.

Brittany Moore, Schuylkill Conservation District, who runs the agricultural easement program, said currently in the county there are 106 farms enrolled in the program. Three more, including the two parcels in South Manheim Township, will be added this year, she said.