Calculating the Amount of Prime Farmland in a project
Jennifer Setty-Botkin’s letter to the editor describes an area bounded by Tuckahoe and Valley Pike covering 2,750 acres.
Dr. Grosser’s November 25 letter to the editor used a mathematical sleight of hand when he described a data center he claimed would occupy 23% of Mason County’s prime farmland. His error was dividing the project’s total area by the county’s prime farmland; in doing so, he mixed apples and oranges. To determine the percentage of prime farmland a project will consume, we must divide the project’s prime farmland by the county’s prime farmland.
Lets consider the project Ms. Jennifer Setty-Botkin describes.
USDA provides a way to see the soil in any area of interest Steps to use this USDA website
If we tabulate the results we see
While Dr. Grosser’s method claims that building a campus there would consume 7.7% of Mason County’s prime farmland, USDA soil maps show that only 645 acres of that land is prime farmland. In reality, the campus would occupy just 1.8% of Mason County’s 37,580 acres of prime farmland.
We’ve all seen what happens when counties ignore change: fewer jobs, weak services, land sold off as hunting camps, and no future for young people. That is not the Mason County we want.
Our history shows a better way. Mason County’s past was built on progress. Our future depends on our ability to exploit current opportunities. Generations before us welcomed innovation. They built farms, industries, and invested their profits in schools and culture. Decades spent ignoring the changes going on around us have led to declining income, population, and employment. Mason County must again pursue new opportunities. As previous generations did, we can and must welcome innovation in our community to spur economic growth.
Remember, the anti-data center folks clearly state their opposition to any data center, BEFORE they even know its details. Consider their fear of change as you evaluate their attempts to use zoning to avoid. We must reject zoning rules crafted primarily by the beneficiaries of yesterday’s growth. Their attempts to resist change, with regulations designed to drive up cost for innovative land uses, kill our area’s opportunities.