Conservation Programs on the Farm

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) at the farm is a USDA/PA Game Commission program to protect water quality, provide erosion control, and attract wildlife. During spring of 2006 about 2000 native trees and almost 1000 native shrubs were planted in one day, on over 18 acres, as riparian buffer. The following trees were planted (information on some species can be found at the links provided):

Hardwood Trees
American crab apple
Black gum- Nyssa sylvatica
Green ash
Pin oak- Quercus palustris
Shagbark hickory- Carya ovata
Sugar maple- Acer saccharum
Sycamore- Platanus occidentalis
White oak- Quercus alba
Yellow poplar- Liriodendron tulipifera

Shrubs
American cranberry
Blueberry
Hazelnut
Maple leaf viburnum
Serviceberry- Amelanchier species
Silky dogwood
Speckled alder
Spicebush


Under the state/county Agricultural Land Preservation (ALP) Program, the development rights of the farm were purchased several years ago. The farm will always be maintained as farmland. Sweet Meriam's met the eligibility criteria for this program because it has a conservation plan to prevent erosion and runoff, and because it's part of an Agricultural Security Area with neighboring farms. The ALP program was created because agricultural lands are being lost too rapidly to development; to help keep family farms together; and to help farms economically since most food prices have remained too low.