Zoning changes dont mean a property tax hike. Any farm over 10 acres is going to be in clean and green so its tax burden is minimal. The issue is their children aren’t interested in farming so there is no one to hand the land down to. That means when they are ready to retire the land will go up for sale to the highest bidder. In many municipalities (mine included) the local zoning/planning commission -muni not county, zoned this land industrial as way to comply with the MPC and also block industrial development within the township. Its going to be a farm forever right? The proliferation of warehouses, which meet the industrial zoning definition, has meant that land can be bought and developed for that purpose. It can also be used for industrial farming, but those companies prefer to work with farmers to minimize liability not own the land themselves. Right now warehouses have the money to buy the land. 10 years from now it could be some other industry competing for it, for better or worse.