Paula Kaufman Urges West Virginia to Protect $5 Billion Farm Economy Amid Farmland Loss
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 29
Paula Kaufman Urges West Virginia to Protect $5 Billion Farm Economy Amid Farmland Loss
1 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 29
Summary
Kaufman argues West Virginia should steer data centers and other large projects away from productive farmland, warning short-term development can permanently damage land that supports future agriculture.
Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt reinforced that case, saying developers should use land less suitable for farming because agriculture contributes $5 billion annually to the state economy.
The commentary contrasts that warning with past extraction booms, citing roughly 30 billion board feet of timber cut in the late 1800s and saying mountaintop-removal damage is often impossible to truly reclaim.
West Virginia still shows signs of recovery: it is now the third most forested state with more than 12 million acres of trees, while red spruce restoration projects are replanting hundreds of seedlings in key high-elevation habitats.