The last time I heard any real numbers, the Lehigh Valley was losing farmland at a rate of about 3 square miles a year. I’m sure the current recession has put a little hitch in that giddyap, but it’s still a concern. One of the attractions of the region is the rural, open nature that has long surrounded the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton and their immediate suburbs.

But take a Sunday drive in the Valley these days and it seems the biggest cash crop over the past two decades is new homes and shopping centers. That’s why it may surprise some people to know that agriculture is alive and, well, if not healthy at least surviving across eastern Pennsylvania. Back in my newspaper days I enjoyed interviewing the farmers who worked the still-open acres and I always came away grateful that they are still willing to wake up before the sun to milk the cows, harvest the eggs and work the fields so that I can go to the supermarket for my groceries.

Seriously. We too often take these people for granted and forget where those food products come from when we hit the supermarket for our weekly pantry refills.

Well, this weekend we get a chance to refresh our memories. The annual Lehigh County Open Gate Farm tour will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 17. Twenty different working farms, all locally owned and operated, will open their barn doors for visitors and try to remind us why farming is still an important and integral part of the Lehigh Valley.

The Open Gate Farm Tour is sponsored by the Penn State Cooperative Extension program in Lehigh County and admission is free. To learn more about the farms on the tour and find an interactive map of each location, go to http://lehigh.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/open_gate_2010.html

My advice is to carefully read the descriptions and pick three or four farms that sound like the best fit for your road trip. There is no way to hit them all on one day.

If You Go: The Open Gate Farm Tour features working farms in all sections of Lehigh County and they offer a variety of attractions and activities. There are corn mazes, hayrides and camp fires for the kids and wineries, educational presentations and shopping for adults.

What To Know: As mentioned above, the best way to make the most of your tour is to review the map and pick out your personal favorites, then hit them first. Remember that Sunday traffic even in the rural sections of the county can cause delays in moving from one farm to another.

Facts: Some of these farms have been in the same family for more than six generations and there are still local farmers working land that was given to their family by William Penn or his sons.