Li’bro.ry o c' Agriculture 1 S JjJj
VOL 18 No. 16
Farmers Face Fines, Jail. ..
’77 Is Conservation Deadline
Chapter 102 of the Pennsylvania Clean
Streams Act says that by July 1, 1977,
every farmer m the state must have a
conservation plan available at his farm. He
must furthermore show that plan to
anyone who asks to see it.
If that plan calls for diversion terraces,
waterways, silt ponds or other erosion
control practices, and if those practices are
not installed, then the farmer could be
prosecuted. If the Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Environmental Resources(DEß)
finds a farmer guilty, after July 1,1977, of
permitting accelerated erosion on his
property, the farmer can be fined up to
$lO,OOO. He may also be required to pay
Herd management for high production
was the theme for a panel discussion held
Tuesday during Lancaster County Dairy
Day at the Farm and Home Center. Panel
Standing Room Only Crowd
Greets Dairy Day Speakers
Close to 400 dairymen turned
out for the annual Lancaster
County Dairy Day held Tuesday
at the Farm and Home Center.
The crowd was so much larger
than expected that lunch tickets
were sold out soon after the doors
opened at 9:00 a.in.
Dairy Day is conducted every
year by the county agricultural
extension service in cooperation
with milk distributors, milk
marketing cooperatives and
dairy breed associations in the
area. Assistant county agent N.
Alan Bair was chairman of the
Dairy Day committee.
William F. Johnstone, an
agricultural economics extension
specialist from Penn State, was
one of the guest speakers. He
covered milk marketing bases
and the outlook for milk sales in
the months ahead.
He explained that marketing
plans such as the Louisville and
the base excess plan are desinged
to even out the flow of milk
production, to keep it more in line
with milk consumption, which is
fairly steady throughout the
year.
Either plan, he said, can be
effective in reducing violent
swings in the milk supply-price
situation.
Another speaker was Donald L.
Ace, a dairy extensionist from
Penn State. He talked about dairy
herd management, focusing on
individual attention to the cow,
and designing the dairy operation
around the personal likes and
needs of the dairyman.
A panel discussion on herd
management for high production,
was very well received by the
audience Topics covered were
feeding programs,, housing and
milking procedures. On the panel
were John S. Yost, Kinzers;
Raymond Witmer, Lancaster; J.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10,1973
fines for every day after conviction that he
doesn’t have conservation practices. And
he may be sent to jail
The implications for Chapter 102 are
massive, not just for farmers, but for all
land users Builders of homes, highways,
commercial buildings and sewers will all be
required to adhere to stringent controls to
eliminate accelerated erosion from any
earthmoving project.
“Accelerated erosion” is defined in
Chapter 102 thus: “The removal of the
surface of the land through the combined
action of man’s activities and the natural
processes at a rate greater than would
occur because of the natural process
members were, left to right: James Horton,
Raymond Witmer, Rohrer Witmer and John
Yost.
Rohrer Witmer, Lancaster, and
James Horton, Masonic Homes
Farm in Elizabethtown. Each
panel member had the high
production record for his breed m
the county last year. Yost had the
high county Holstein herd,
Raymond Witmer had the high
Guernsey herd, J. Rohrer Wit
mer, Raymond’s brother, had the
(Continued On Page 24)
Saturday, March 10
Annual Duroc Show and Sale,
Martin’s Sale Barn, 2 miles
East of Intercourse; Show,
11:30 a.m ; Sale, 1:30 p.m
Monday, March 12
7 30 pm - Ayrshire-Jersey-
Brown Swiss 4-H
Organizational meeting, home
of Milton Brubaker, 660
Brunnefville Rd , Lititz.
7 - 45 pm - Chester County Soils
Zucutet T»rmlnf Photo
Farm Calendar
(Continued On Page 15)
alone ”
Chapter 102 was adopted to stem the
flow of silt into the Commonwealth's
streams It is generally agreed that this is a
laudable motive, but many observers are
having serious doubts about the state’s
ability to implement and enforce the act,
particularly with respect to farmers
Several problems are seen with any
attempts to implement the law. First is the
problem of getting erosion control plans
prepared for each farm in the state Second
is the problem of getting the necessary
conservation practices installed Third is
the problem of paying for installation.
Farm Tax Meet
Set Wed. Night
A public educational meeting
on the Land Use Tax Assessment
Referendum has been scheduled
for Wednesday evening, March
14 The meeting will start at 7 30
pm in the auditorium of the
Farm and Home Center, 1383
Arcadia Road, Lancaster.
The referendum will be held on
the May 15 primary election
ballot throughout Pennsylvania
If the referendum vote is
favorable, the state constitution
will be amended to permit the
legislature to make laws for the
assessing and taxing of farm land
based on its use value.
Audience participation will be
a part of the meeting, and an
exchange of ideas will be en
couraged. Speakers from the
Penn State College of Agriculture
will be there to explain the
technical aspects of the vote,
William M. Carroll, a public
affairs specialist at the college,
will introduce the subject. Leland
H. Bull, former state secretary of
agriculture and presently
assistant to the dean at the
A reorganization meeting ot tne board of directors of the
Lancaster County Agricultural and Home Economics Ex
tension Assoication was held last Friday at the Willow Valley
Restaurant. Newly elected officers for the group are, left to
right: Melvin G. Rohrer, treasurer, Lititz R 3; Ellis R.
Denlinger, Gordonville, Rl, vice-president; Mrs. Roy Book,
Ronks Rl, secretary, and J. Mark Bushong, Columbia R 2,
president.
(Continued on Page 9)
college, will talk about the
historical background of the issue
and the experiences of other
states. Farmland assessment
research will be explained by Dr
Donald J Epp, of the department
of agricultural economics Peter
B Norton, a research develop
ment specialist, will discuss
alterative considerations. The
panel moderator will be Marion
R Deppen, assistant director for
the Penn State extension service
Lancaster County Agricultural
Agent Max Smith said one of the
questions the meeting will try to
answer will be whether or not this
action might tend to promote
better patterns of land
development and population
distribution The effect on farm
income will also be discussed
quite extensively.
Smith pointed out that the
extension service and the Farm
and Home Foundation have not
taken positions either for or
against the referendum issue
The meeting is planned simply as
a vehicle for information.
$2.00 Per Year