c dl m VSIGM
VOL 29 No. 21
Ag Day
luncheon
is held
BY KIMBERLY HERR
HARRISBURG As people
across the nation celebrated the
fust day of spring Tuesday, the
people of Pennsylvania were
caught up in a dual celebration.
Yes, it was the first day of spring
in Pennsylvania too, and the balmy
weather was a welcome relief, but
it was also Agriculture Day and
some 300 people gathered at the
Marnot Inn in Harrisburg to dine
on Pennsylvania products and
hear Gov. Dick Thornburgh’s
proclamation, marking March 20
as 1984’s Pa. Ag Day.
Pa Secretary of Agriculture
Penrose Hallowell introduced
Frank Wright, secretary of policy
and planning, who read the
proclamation in Thornburgh’s
absence.
Ag is Pennsylvania’s number
one industry, contributing to the
health and well being of the
Commonwealth,” Wright read
from the proclamation, which also
pointed out that each American
farmer can produce enough food to
fee 76 people and that agriculture
activity generates nearly 900,000
jobs
Wright also announced that the
first 60 checks for Avian influenza
cleanup went out on Tuesday.
We must get Avian influenza
behind us and gel back on the road
to a healthy poultry industry,"
Wright said.
Also speaking at Tuesday’s
program was Noah Wenger, Pa
Slate Senator, who talked of the
competition that exists between
(Turn to Page A3O)
All ages enjoy Philadelphia Flower Show
No one is too young to enjoy the Philadelphia Flower Show proves Catherine Patrick,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Patrick. Ewing, N.J. Catherine celebrated her first
birthday last Wednesday and the flower show was an extra treat. For more photos, turn
to Page 814.
Five Sections
Presenting arguments for purchase of development rights
at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Senate and House
Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee were, (front to back)
Pa. Farmers’ Assoc, president Keith Eckel, American Far
mland Trust president Douglas P. Wheeler, and Maryland
farmer Wayne McGinnis.
"Wholesale vegetable auction to begin
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LEOLA A wholesale vegetable
auction is coming to Lancaster
County.
The auction will begin about the
first of June to coincide with the
strawberry crop. It will be held at
Good’s Auction, Leola.
Scheduled to be held from four to
six days a week, depending on the
crops and their volume, it will
continue through the summer and
fall and include the wide variety of
fresh produce being grown in
Lancaster County as farmers
continue to seek a cash crop to
rrtolace tobacco.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 24,1984
In Lancaster County
To date, more than 75 farmers
and 170 acres of production have
signed up for the auction, ac
cording to David H. Good, of
Good’s Auction.
“By the time we get going we
expect to have more than 200 acres
involved in the auction,” Good
said.
“We’ll begin with the
strawberries and sugar peas and
have radishes and asparagus along
with them to get the auction
started.
“Then, we’ll continue with the
other crops as they become
available.”
At joint meeting
Legislators discuss
farmland preservation
BY JACK HUBLEY
HARRISBURG - How to deal
with the problem of Penn
sylvania’s vanishing farmland was
the topic discussed during a joint
meeting of the Senate and House
Agricultural and Rural Affairs
Committee on Tuesday.
On hand were president of the
American Farmland Trust
Douglas P. Wheeler, president of
the Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association Keith Eckel and
Maryland farmer Wayne
McGinnis, to outline a preser
vation program based on the
purchase of development rights.
Senator Noah Wenger, vice
chairman of the Senate
Agricultural and Rural Affairs
Committee, opened the session
Among the crops will be
tomatoes, potatoes, sweet com,
carrots, onions, string beans,
broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkins,
sweet potatoes and the water
melons and cantaloupes.
When the auction begins with the
strawberries, it will be held on
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday. As the season continues
into the peak of the cantaloupe and
watermelon harvest, it will be
expanded to six days a week.
Selling will begin at 10 a.m.
In addition to signing up farmers
for participation in the auction,
contacts have also been made with
wholesale buyers, both in Lan
caster County and beyond.
The auction will be patterned
after similar wholesale vegetable
(Turn to Page A 36)
Full weekend of dairy shows,
sales and meetings coming up
LANCASTER - A flurry of
activity will abound in the dairy
circles next week as dairymen
prepare for two state spring sales
and one breed association annual
meeting
Kicking-off the three days of
activities will be the Pa. Holstein
Association Annual Spring Show
and Sale at the Farm Show
Building in Harrisburg. The
“Pennsylvania on Parade” event
begins at 8 a.m., March 29, with the
state show featuring over 480 head
of top Holsteins.
Following the show will be a
complimentary buffet dinner at 4
p.m. in the Small Arena. The State
Bred Heifer Sale is scheduled for 6
p.m., and the State Calf Sale for
10:30 a.m. March 30.
Approximately 105 bred heifers
and 208 calves will be sold.
The second item on the agenda is
$7.50 per Year
stating that agriculture and
related enterprises employ 900,000
Pennsylvanians, providing the
commonwealth with a stable
economy. He added that we must
give our farmers enough breathing
room to operate efficiently.
Before turning the program over
to the trio of guest experts,
Representative Samuel Morns,
chairman of the House
Agricultural Committee, outlined
some previous legislation aimed at
preserving open space, and stated
that programs instituted to date
are insufficient to get the job done.
Though Pennsylvania’s
agribusiness accounts for an an
nual income of more than $2O
billion, a look at statistics from
years past reveals an unabated
trend toward pushing fanners into
the corner.
A look at 1945 “ Census of
Agriculture” figures shows that
the state’s 171,761 farmers had
access to over 15 million acres of
land. By 1978 the number of farms
had shrunk to 59,942, with less than
8,800,000 acres of land in use.
Though losses have slowed from
the 1.3 million acres-per-year rate
between 1967 and 1977, the com
monwealth is still losing 16,500
acres of its agricultural land base
annually.
The American Farmland Trust’s
Douglas P. Wheeler expects these
losses to continue if no decisive
action is taken.
"While we recognize that growth
is important,” Wheeler stated, "it
is a fact that some land is best
suited to agriculture, and this land
must be preserved to protect
Pennsylvania’s most important
industry ”
To this end, the Pennsjlvama
Farmland Project was launched in
(Turn to Page A 25)
the 6th International Red and
White Spring Show and Sale
scheduled for March 30 and 31 at
the Farm Show Building The Red
and White Show will follow the
Holstein Show and will conclude
with a buffet-style dinner, spon
sored by the Red and White Dairy
Cattle Association, at 7:30 p.m
The Red and White Sale will
begin at 11 a.m March 31. Seventy
five animals, including cows, bred
and open heifers, calves and bulls,
will be paraded on the sale block
Wrapping-up the week’s dairy
events will be the annual meeting
of the Pa. Jersey Cattle Club, set
for March 30 and 31 at the Quality
Inn, Bedford. Following the board
of directors meeting Friday
morning, the Jersey enthusiasts
will tour three area farms. These
include Ralaine Jerseys, of
(Turn to Page A 34)