A26—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 31,1981
House Ag Committee gives nod to Right to Farm Bill
BY SHEILA MILLER County’s Rep. Noah Wenger on agricultural operations often
HARRIBSURG The House September 22, 1981, HB 1823 is become the subject of nuisance
Agricultural and Rural Affairs designed to protect “agricultural suits and ordinances. As a result,
Committee gave their blessing to operations from nuisance suits and agricultural operations are
another bill that will work towards ordinances.” sometimes forced to cease
preserving farming as a way of life operations. Many others are
for many Pennsylvanians by The relatively short three-page discouraged from making in
voting HB 1823 favorable out of bill states that “when vestments in farm improvements,
committee on Wednesday. nonagricultural land uses extend “It is the purpose of this act to
Introduced by Lancaster into agricultural areas, reduce the loss to the Com-
RALEIGH, N.C. - York
County’s Strawbridge and Mc-
Cleary traveled to the North
Carolina State Fair last week to
exhibit some of Pennsylvania's
finest Hampshire and Yorkshire
swine.
The swine producers returned to
the Keystone State with several
championship ribbons from the
Tar Heel competition.
In the Hampshire snow, their
entries captured senior and grand
champion boar honors, reserve
junior champion boar, junior and
grand champion sow, and reserve
junior and reserve grand cham
pion sow. The champion boar was
sired by Zelos and the champion
sow was sired by Ark 40-6.
Strawbndge and McCleary’s
Hampshire x Yorkshire crossbred
barrow was tagged reserve grand
champion overall on foot.
In individual class, the York
swme breeders took first place
with their Hampshire December
boar, first and third with their
January boars, second and third
with their February boars, first
and second with their March
ROPE 8N
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Lancaster Farming 1 f li/ n
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Strawbridge & McQeary
hogs win in Raleigh
boars, and first and second with class, their entries placed first and
their April boars.
Their Hampshire gilts placed On the rail competition found
hrst and second in the January Strawbndge and McCleary car
class; second in the February casses hanging second and fifth,
class; first and second in the The second place barrow
March class; and first and second measured .9 backfat, 7.70 loin, .6
in the April class. lointat for an estimated 63.63
In the Yorkshire boar February percent muscle.
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monwealth of it agricultural
resources by limiting the cir
cumstances under which
agricultural operation may be
subject matter of nuisance suits
and ordinances.”
The bill spells out that no
nuisance action can be brought
against a farm which has been
operating for at least one year and
where the conditions or cir
cumstances complained of have
existed for the most part un
changed since the operation was
established, and that the farm is
operating normally.
It further notes that if an
operation is expanded and the
expanded facility has been in
operation for one year or more
prior to the complaint, the farmer
is protected, as long as the farmer
is abiding by the rest of the state’s
regulations, such as the Clean
Streams Law.
After four technical amend
ments to the bill, the 22 House
committee members voted 20-2 in
favor of the bill. The two
representatives casting “no” votes
were Rep. Walter F. DeVerter (R-
Mifflin and part of Centre) and Ted
Stuban (D-Parts of Columbia and
Montour).
According to Wenger, the bill
could be voted on within the next
few weeks. He noted a similar bill
easily passed the House last year
before it died in the Senate Com
mittee.
The House Ag Committee also
voted Senate Bills 919 and 920
favorably out of committeewith a
unanimous vote of 22-0. These bills,
which would exempt farm
facilities such as manure storage
tanks from real estate taxes, was
recently passed by the Senate and
now awaits full consideration of
the House. Before leaving the
committee, however, the bills were
amended to also include com
posting facilities for tax exclusion.
The Association of Township
Supervisors is opposing passage of
these bills. t))