Things are somewhat more equitable between Bucks and Montgomery, though Bucks County is still paying more. While taxpayers seem willing, even eager, to spend this kind of money to save farms, if they are doing so in the belief that it will help stop suburban sprawl they are mistaken. Much of that loss was to housing as Bucks' population has headed steadily higher, from 308,570 in 1960 to about 600,000 now. But organizers of farmland preservation efforts concede these programs will not stop sprawl and, in fact, were never designed to do so. It was intended to preserve farms and agricultural economy.
Some farmers do see the agricultural preservation program as a way to fight growth.
Tom Haldeman, for example, thinks he'll be seeing fewer homes. It saves the taxpayer. They don't have to worry about adding two more schools, or adding more police or the congestion. These farms will stay just as they are right now. Robert Gundlach Jr., a Doylestown attorney with an extensive background in development issues, said no farmland preservation program is going to stop the intense growth in Bucks County.