VOL 25 No.
Who’s passing the dollar buck?
BY SHEILA MILLER
HARRISBURG - Farm
ers and land owners in
/Pennsylvania missed out on
about $2 million of expected
Federal conservation
money. The funds were
earmarked to improve
Lancaster and Berks County
waterways through erosion
control.
A change in federal
regulations, m-fighting
Kauffmans honored
N
for farm conservation
BYCURTHARLER
SMOKETOWN - The
Lancaster County Con
servation District named
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L.
Kauffman, Jr., R 2'Peach
Bottom, aS its Outstanding
Conservation Cooperator.
The award, along with
several others, was
presented at the district
cooperators annual meeting
and banquet held in
Smoketown Thursday night.
Transplanted Chester
Countians, the Kauffmans
today manage the 155 acre
Sukavin dairy operation in
Drumore Township. While
Bob Kauffman did not grow
up on a farm, the award
cited his willingness to
educate himself on con
Welfare , milk fund
keep Hill busy
BY DICK WANNER
HARRISBURG - The fate
of the Commonwealth’s
institutional farms is still up
in the air, according to state
representative Reno
Thomas (R-Snyder-Union).
Thomas, chairman of the
House .Agriculture Com
mittee said he met Tuesday
with officials from the
Department of Public
Welfare and the Department
of Agriculture to talk about
the disposition of the jobs,
In this issue
SECTION A: Editorials, 10; Manheim FFA, 18;
Atlantic breeders meet, 20; Philly flower show, 28.
SECTION B: Adams-York dairy sale, 2; 2,4,5-T ban
SECTION C: Easter candy, 2; Joyce Bupp, 15;
Manure managment tour, 16; Franklin DHIA, 19; Pork
All-American, 36; Farm talk, 38.
SECTION D: PSU beef conference, 4; How dairymen
have fared, 14; Depreciation tax credits, 28; Manure
management, 30.
SECTION E: Fats and heart disease, 4; Angus
juniors, 6; Sale reports, 8.
between agencies for
control of the money, and
delay by the Governors
office in acting on a state
wide conservation plan
provided enough red tape to
strangle the project.
A whole fistful of state and
federal agencies are placing
the blame at everyone else’s
doorstep.
But on March sth, U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Bob
servation and imphment
good practices.
“He started at the bottom
and worked up,” Robert E.
Wagner. District
saw.
Kauffman also was cited
for having an up-to-date
conservation plan and
sticking to it. Kauffman has
been quite supportive of
conservation activities.
Over half the Kauffman
home farm and the 100 acres
they rent are Class in land
or worse with slopes up to 15
percent.
Despite this, most of the
Sukavin's feed is produced
at home for the 96 cows. The
herd has the County’s third
highest production record
with a rolling average of
the lands, the livestock, and
the equipment on the 10
farms now in the hands of
DPW.
DPW Secretary Helen
O’Bannon decreed two
weeks ago that the farm’s
141 union employees would
be furloughed as of April 30,
and she ordered that
arrangements be started to
dispose pf the livestock and
equipment on the farms
which are associated with
(Turn to Page Al 7)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 22,1980
Pa, loses erosion control funding
Bergland announced 13
project areas picked to
receive funding under a f5O
million rural clean water
program. -
Farmers m the Conestoga
watershed m Lancaster
County, and those in the
Tulpehocken watershed in
Berks County, however,
were not on the list of
ehgibles.
Even though the ap-
19,000 pounds milk and 715
pounds fat.
Since'joining the District
in 1972, Kauffmans haveput
contour strips pn the farm,
constructed 2600 feet of sod
waterways, 4665 feet of
diversion terraces, and
installed a unique manure
management system which
separates solids from
liquids.
Solids are spread twice a
year and liquids are
(Turn to Page A 39)
Interest rates halt farm expansion
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LITITZ Take, a good
look at the agricultural
skyline; it’s probably not
going to change very much
during the coming months.
Or put in another way:
As interest rates continue
to climb, very little else mil
be going up in the way of new
facilities on area farms.
A survey of agricultural
lending institutions this
week showed that operating
loans for seed, fertilizer and
other planting preparations
are being requested and
made as in previous years.
But it’s an entirely dif
ferent picture for loans to
finance farm expansion or
capital improvements, in
cluding new equipment
purchases. Loans of this type
range from rare to non
existent
The volatile and hectic
money markets, which have
sent interest rates soaring
particularly in the past six
weeks, are causing a lot of
retb'jiking among farmers
about what is absolutely
necessary to get through this
year.
Agricultural borrowers
now taking out loans are
facing interest rates four to*
five percent higher than last
spring.
Much of that rapid in-
plications for funding to help
farmers finance the needed
conservation work were in
Washington D.C., there was
one major item missing for
their consideration.
The Commonwealth
neglected to submit the
state-wide water quality
plan to the federal En
vironmental Protection
Agency for EPA’s approval.
Approval was required prior
Outstanding Cooperator Award, and a farm photo, were presented to Robert
and Susan Kauffman. Peach Bottom, by Director Robert Wagner. Kauffmans’
daughters Karen and Beth looked on.
crease has taken place just
since mid-February, too.
But what has happened in
the past isn’t the only con
cern.
Looking to the future, both
agricultural lenders and
borrowers are wondering
just how high the cost of
money will climb. 1
Presently, short-term
interest rates are running
between 13 to 16 percent.
But individual lenders are
hesitant to cite* specific
current interest rates.
Things have been changing
too rapidly. And there’s no
reason to think the situation
Bradford group joins hands
to ‘dump the dump 9
BY JANE BRESEE
Staff Correspondent
RIDGEBURY - “Dump
the Dump” has become the
slogan of a group from
Ridgebury Township,
Bradford County, called
BCAUSE-Bradford Citizens
Against Unsafe En
vironment
The group was formed
when it became known in
February that the Stabatrol
Corporation, a firm in the
to any applications being
considered for funding. Or,
at least, that’s what some
folks are saymg.
Ernest F. Giovannitti,
Chief of the Division of
Nonpoint and Industrial
Sources within the Pa.
Department of En
vironmental Resources’
Water Quality Division,
claimed the regulations
provided by the federal
is going to change in the near
future, either.
The key word concerning
farmers’ outlook for the
coming season’s operations
is “conservative.”
“Everyone is trying to be
more conservative,” Carl
Brown, of Farm Credit
Service, said. v
“They’re (Sitting corners
wherever possible.”
This conservative attitude
applies to not only new
buildings and major im
provements, according to
Brown, but to new equip
ment, as well.
“You’re seeing farmers
commercial landfill
business, had bought 160
acres of land in the hills of
Ridgebury township and had
applied to the Department of
Environmental Resources
for a license to dump toxic
waste there.
A public hearing was
called by the Stabatrol
Corporation to discuss the
landfill at the Ridgebury
Community Hall. Opposition
to the dump was im-
f $7.00 Per Yea»
government were not clear
about whether the state-wide
plan was needed in order to
be considered for funding.
He explained under the
original amendment of the
Federal Clean Water Act’s
Section 208, the agricultural
pollution control program
was to be administered by
the Soil Conservation Ser
vice.
(Turn to Page A 24)
trying to make do with what
they have for another year
or even longer,” he said.
“Also, you’re starting to
see resistance to the real big
machinery. Such things as
the large combines on
today’s *toarket are just not
practical in this area.”
A similar appraisal of the
consideration beL.g given to
new machinery purchases
came from Robert Bucher,
of Commonwealth National
Bank.
“There are no quick
decisions being made as
before,” be said.
(Turn to Page A 29)
mediately organized by
Ridgebury natives. Nearly
600 people attended the
meeting to vocally oppose
what they called the
“hazardous chemical waste
dump.”
The officials of the
Stabatrol Corporation
defended themselves stating
that they have three or four
existing landfills throughout
(Turn to Page ASS)