VOL. 25 No. W Legislation, labor concerns dominate ag town meeting BY CURT HAULER MANHEIM - Deputy Secretary of Agriculture E. Chester Heim outlined State Ag Department policy views and fielded questions from the audience in ,an agricultural town meeting held here Thursday. The meeting was one of' eight such meetings held around'the state. A similar sessipn ran- Friday' in Allentown. Heim predicted a milk security proposal in writing would be presented to the state legislature within the next month. He sgid the Department advocates a security fund and said he felt all parties agree there should be a fund although not all pgr|p t>n the specifics. The Departmentpropfasal, presented in Lancaster in December, calls for a fund to be built by dealers only-at the rate of one cent per hundredweight until the fund reaches $4 million. Heim said the proposal 1 would be sent to the General Assembly. “That great melting pot of ideas should go to work.on the proposal/’he said.' ' Heim said the Department was backing HB 725, a measure to clarify-TVording in Act 319. Act 319 provides tax relief for farmers who keep their land—in agriculture. Courts in Bucks County ln this issue ; « SECTION A: Editorials, 10; Yorfe"Agri-business seminar, 16; Manure generator, 38. SECTION B: Fighting acid ram, 2; Bradford’s big pines, 6; PCB report, 7. SECTION C: Homestead notes, 2; Home on the Range, 8; Joyce Bupp, 10; Free ethanol book, 18; Farm Talk, 26; State apple queen, 30. SECTION D: USDA Sire'Summary, 2; Sires, not- Holstein, 6; Cumberland DHIA, 10; York DHIA, 11; s Schuylkill DHIA, 14; Ask the VMD, 16. Hallowell takes stock after a year in office Frediet»ps»Mige < ' ' v * ~ ( - ' »“ Eiqj^T j&jitWp*', V •. , -L > FiO bePfo l ;- t /•*■* As V V ruled that rollback payments required by Act 319 would have to be paid when land changed hands, even if it remained in far ming. The legislators’ mtent y?as to assess a rollback only if t!he land changed use. , Heim, also said the Department supports "right to farm” laws. Such laws woujd restrict local governments from passing nuisance laws which restrict agricultural operations. Another priority of the Administration, Heim said, ' is enactment of enabling legislation to allow creation of ag districts. , “We will work to secure the passage of such a bill, ■ providing -for the voluntary creation of ag districts,” he , -said. , - , His. statement indicated the districts could be ad ministered by county governments which have the staff, funds, and facilities lacking m local govern ments. Heim spoke highly of the state’s new ag theme: “Pennsylvania Agricultu re—we’regrowmg better.” Processors and retailers alike seem to like what we’re doing,” he said. He said the Department' plans to go ahead wjith step by-step renovation of the Farm Show Complex. He said a new Complex is “a pipe dream right now.”. HARRISBURG— Penrose Hallowell, in an exclusive interview with Lancaster Farming, reviewed his first year’s work as Secretary 6f He pointed out severatcost saving moves taken department under his direction, noted legislative accomplishments, and talked about personnel changes made this past_ year. „ His predictions for the second year of his' ad ministration included the hint of using pressure from Lancaster farming, Saturday, February 2,1950 The first step m such a plan would be construction of a new livestock barn. Heim spoke highly of the potential for gasohol. “I came to this meeting m a car run on gasohol,’ ’ he said. “It beautifully. I think everyone ought to try it.’L Heim then threw the meeting open to questions from the floor. About three dozen people, including farmers, - two state senators, and many representatives of the (Turn to Page A2l) Electricity from manure is reality BY DICK WANNER GETTYSBURG-J3ome2&o - government officials-" and news reporters "flocked to Mason Dixon Farms, Inc. near here on Wednesday to witness a working methane digester supplying methane gas to run a generator big enough to supply Mason- Dixon’s electrical needs'. One of the TV com mentators present noted this was his seventh methane digester story, but, he said, “...this one seems to work.” , In a big shed, Richard Waybnght, one of the farm’s owners and managers, squinted into the glare of TV lights and told his audience just how well his system had been working since last fall, and how the farm has ended an eight-year search for energy self-sufficiency and pollution control. Energy self-sufficiency is important to Mason-Dixon because it’s big- 2700 acres and more than 1600 cows, nearly 700 of them milking. The farm has been in the' Waybnght family for eight generations, but Richard and bis son, Burt, were the first Waybnghts to host the the Governor's office to pass a milk security fund and the goal of > “making Penn sylvania Agriculture “Number' 1 in ’5l” by ‘growing better.' ’ Throughout the interview, -his close' ties to the Republican Governorship of Richard Thornburgh were empahsized. "I look at the past year - from three points of view,” said. He said he tried to follow priorities laid out by the Governor. Thornburgh called for Chester Heim, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, fielded questions from far mers and farm leaders at the ag town meeting held Thursday in Manheim. With, Heim at the speakers table are, from right. Senator Richard Snyder, Manheim farmer Don Hershey, Ag Department Regiohaf Director Eugene Wingert, and Senator Clarence Manbeck. kind of crowd that gathered Wednesday. It included Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant governor, Secretary of Agriculture, at least one Congressman and newsmen from all over. ■ - After they’d heard Waybright explain what.was going on at the farm, the guests walked a short distance down a farm lane to hear something else the clattering roar- of a 120 kilowatt generator that is now supplying Tialf the electrical energy needed to run the Waybright farm and dairy. Last year, the Waybrights spent $30,000 on electricity. This year, they expect to spend only half that, and tire looking forward to the day when they’ll be supplying not only their own electrical needs, but a surplus for sale to Met Ed, the power company that gained fame in the Three Mile Island incident. Richard Waybnght told the gathering Mason-Dixon also expects to begin con struction soon of a still to produce alcohol for fuel. The electrical generator elimination of duplication, coordination of efforts and opening of lines con> munications, ' / plus elimination ofbad politics. “I did fire a few people. We had some alleged im proper activities going on,” Hallowell said. One of the regional directors who was ter minated is charged with macing employees. Macing is requiring em ployees to .contribute to the political party in control. The former director is being prosecuted. roars away inside a red metal building insulated heavily to cut down on the 24- hour-a-day noise. The engine is fueled by a mixture that includes 10-percent diesel fuel and 90-percentbiogas.; Biogas xS a mixture of methane and other gases produced by the fer mentation of liquid manure Tax topics highlight legislative week HARRISBURG - Believe, it or not, both the federal and the state governments are trying to do something about the farmer’s tax burden. At the state level, the Governor’s Commission on Tax Reform met in Erie on Wednesday with one of their specific objectives being to take testimony from far mers. Both tile Grange and Pennsylvania Farmers’ Association were there to tell the commission members about the impact of property taxes on farm operations. And in Washington, Congress was getting close “We are working with 25 fewer employees,” Hallowell noted. • - The reduction in -rural affdirs, random egg sam pling and dog law personnel was made to favor economic development of the state’s agricultual base. Two new employees were hired for the marketing division. “We are bragging that agriculture is soon to be the first most important in dustry in the state,” he said, referring to the slogan Number 1 in’Bl. $7.00 PerYeai from a 700-cow bam in the long red building next to the generator house. „ / The building covers a black rubber bag 95-feet long and 20-feet wide. Below the bag is a manure pit, as wide as long as the bag, and 15- feet deep. (Turn to Page A3B) to repealing a universally unpopular inheritance tax measure passed m 1976. Congress is also about ready to change a provision of the Social Security law that was seen hurting retiring far mers' and some other businessmen. In Erie, Nick Mobilia, Jr., vice-president of the Erie County Farmers Association, told the tax commission that farmers pay twice as much as non farmers do to support the pubhc school system. He {Turn to Pag€A2o) He said the promotion for Pennsylvania goods un veiled at Farm Show was well received by hath the publicand the food industry. - “Pennsylvania: We’re growing better” logos are already appearing in state newspaper ads. The slogan will con centrate on milk, potatoes and eggs. The Department has, with help from the state Poultry Federation, hired a person to work on egg promotion. (Turn to Pace A 36)
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