D
R Official, Farmers
Penn-National
RED and WHITE
SALE
simm, mu s, 1130 r».
Farm Show Building, Harrisburg, PA
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NUTM-MIITK
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You owe it to yourself to get the full story of how the
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[Continued from P«|i 1| .
farmland than from an acre
of land undergoing
development, but there are a
lot more acres in farming.
We normally lose 4.5 million
tons of topsoil a year in
Pennsylvania. In Agnes, we
lost 6 million tons in five
days.”
The biggest reason for
saving soil, Schadel pointed
out, wasn’t because of a
government mandate. The
biggest reason was the need
@o
SUPPLY CENTER
1027 DILLERVILLE ROAD
Open Friday Evenings til 8 p.m.
for careful soil sterwardship,
to safeguard the tin layer of
topsoil in which all crops
grow. “Conservation
practices can also save
fertilizer, humus and lime,”
Schadel added, "so con
servation doesn’t really cost
you money. It saves money.”
Schadel urged the farmers
to get in touch with the Soil
Conservation Service office
to u ask them for a con
servation plan. “SCS people
will draw up a plan for you
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MADISON SILOS
farm SYSTEMS
CHROMALLOY
DIVISION
Phone 717-397-4761
STORE HOURS:
Mon. thru Thurs. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sat. 8 a.m. to Noon
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 29,1975
and it won’t cost a cent,” he
said. “Or you can do it
yourself It you know what
you’re doing, or you can pay
an engineer $5OO to KSOO to do
it for you. I will say, though,
that if you have a plan from
the SCS, and if you’re
following it, there’s no
chance that the DER will
ever cite you for violating
the Clean Streams Law.”
A farmer in the audience
asked, “Once we have these
plans, who will pay for
building all the terraces?”
“The farmer would,”
Schadel .replied, “but
chances are he wouldn’t
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LANCASTER, PA
even need terraces. SCS
doesn’t tell you want to put
on your farm. They aak you
what your fanning program
is, and then they recommend
ways to keep the soil on your
fields. Conservation prac
tices usually call for more
common sense than money.
You might be able to solve
whatever erosion problems
you have with crop rotations,
contour strips or sod
waterways. These practices
don’t cost that much and
they’re easy to apply.
Terraces are actually a last
resort.”
“Can we go to jail if we
don’t complay with the
law?” another farmer
asked.
“There are sanctions built
inot the program,” Schadel
replied. “But they’re aimed
more at urban developers
than at fanners.”
“What happens if I draw
up my own plan and
somebody thinks it’s not
good enough?” was another
question from the audience.'
“If we get a complaint
about the way your con
servation* practices are
working, the local Con
servation District people will
look at the' plan. If they say
it’s all right, then there’s no
problem. If they recommend
changes in your plan, and if
you accept the changes, then
there’s no problem either.
Actually, there’s going to be
very little pressure at all on
fanners. The Clean Streams
Law might affect that small
minority, less than one
percent, who want to do as
they please no .matter how
much it hurts their neigh
bors.”
Schadel said that the DER
at present has no plans for
any kinds of courses which
would teach farmers how to
draw up their own con
servation plans. He did say
that conservation districts
throughout the state would
be working with local vo-ag
teachers to set up seminars
for farmers who wanted to
leam more about erosion
control.
When Schadel had
finished, .Dr. Robert Herr,
head of Garden Spot’s vo-ag
department, told the group
that the services of Robert
Andersen, a vo-ag teacher in
the district, would be
available at no cost for any
fanner who wants a con
servation plan drawn up.
Before coming to Garden
Spot, Andersen was em
ployed by the SCS as a soil
conservationist in western
Pennsylvania.
Henry Hackman,
executive assistant with the
Lancaster County Con
servation District, ended
that meeting by telling the
farmers that the real issue
was not the money spent on
conservation, but the
stewardship of the soil.
“Once erosion has taken
away more soil than nature
can replace,” Hackman
said, “we’ll be on the rocks.
Because that’s all that’s
under the soil.”
Money Management
Printed as a public service
by the Lancaster Farming
and the Pennsylvania In
stitute of Certified Public
Accountants.
While proposals to make
college expenses tax
deductible remain in the talk
stage, some education costs
can be deducted: those paid
for courses necessary to
maintain or improve skills
used in one’s job. Be sure the
course doesn’t prepare you
for a promotion or a new
position, though; that could
eliminate the tax deduction.
17