Lancaster County, Penn., located in the southeastern corner of the state and within hours of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., is an area destined for growth.

Today many parts of Lancaster County are becoming theaters of conflict between large, new residential developments and centuries-old farms. Often, money trumps such intangibles as history, character, and scenery. How can family farms containing dozens of acres coexist with more and more residential development?

With help from nonprofits and municipal planners, Lancaster County's small farms are surviving as wide gaps in the suburban landscape