J’JUW *■ ~ r .. c oivl^io^ 4 L iSr U >.iv» SUV VOL 29 No. 23 Group issues goal as PRY cases increase BY DICK ANGLESTEIN LANCASTER As new cases of pseudorabies continue to be confirmed, a producer-industry group in the heart of the disease area has issued a statement of policy directed toward attaining indemnification for operations where depopulation is mandated by the state. The number of currently con firmed cases now stands at 23 - 13 breeding Jierds and 10 finishing operations - according to Dr. John Cable, of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Pennsylvania Depart ment of Agriculture. This marks a significant recent increase in the number of quarantined herds. A couple of months ago, the number of quarantined breeding herds was down to five and only three finishing operations were listed as still positive. In addition to the increase in the number of PRV cases, some of the more recent confirmations have involved rather large breeding operations composed of some 600 and 350 sows. Parallel with the continuing PRV pattern - primarily in the Manheim-Ephrata area of ILan caster County - a special com mittee of producers and industry Displaying an aerial photo of their farm are the Lancaster County Outstanding Cooperator winners, from left, Scott and Vickie Kreider, Allen and Betty Kreider, Sam and Jean Kreider, and Herb and Darlene Kreider. Lancaster honors conservation leaders BY LAURA ENGLAND INTERCOURSE - Over 200 county, state and federal con servation employees and guests gathered Thursday nignt at the Harvest Drive Restaurant, In tercourse, to pay tribute to Lan caster County’s outstanding conservationists. With the theme “Conservation is Everyone’s Concern,” the 33rd annual meeting sponsored by the Lancaster County Conservation District was held to honor those Six Sections personnel has been meeting to form a concensus of the direction in which eradication efforts should proceed. Included in the recent meetings of the Special PRV Committee of the Lancaster-Chester County Swine Producers Association has been a session this week with representatives of the Bureau of Animal Industry, which is directing the eradication and depopulation program that does not include provision for in demnification. Members of the committee, who have issued the following statement, include Bill Fisher, president of the association, producers John Henkel, Strasburg, and Mark Nestleroth, Manheim; industry representatives Ray Lehr, Pennfield Feeds, and John Chapman, White Oak Mills; and Chet Hughes, Lancaster County livestock agent. Their statement: “The PRV Committee of the DsflOliterChester County Swine Assn, supports the PWflClJJle .of PRV eradication providing that there is an adequate indemnification program and adequate funds to continue support of the present program. (Turn to Page A 27) who have participated in con servation sponsored programs. Named were the outstanding cooperator and service winners, the storm water management recipient and the conservation service award winner. The outstanding cooperator award was presented to S. & A. Kreider & Sons Inc., R 1 Quarryville. The Kreiders, since 1950, have partcipated in on-farm conservation practices with the conservation district. They have Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 7,1984 Potpourri of spring dairy events held The spring dairy show, sale and meeting season was in full swing last weekend. The above photo collage shows Sam Yoder, Berks County, judging a-class of Red and Whites at Harrisburg. One of the highlights of the Pa. Jersey Cattle Club annual meeting at Bedford was the crowning of a new queen, which saw older sister Patty Dreisbach, R 3 Hamburg, pass the crown to younger sister, Carol. And, top seller in the Pa. Holstein State Calf Sale was a Valiant daughter at $6lOO. installed sod waterways, terraces, pipe outlet terraces, contour strips and an earthen ag waste pit. Brothers Sam and Allen Kreider and their sons Herb and Scott, respectively, are members of the corporation. They own and operate a 200-cow dairy farm on 435 acres of land. (Please see related story “Conservation practices control soil erosion, water” which appears in Section A) As the outstanding cooperators, (Turn to Page A3b) Jersey Coronation A 20 Red & White Show A 22 Pa. State Calf Sale A 31 Avian flu devestates family hatcheries (Editor’s Note: Family-operated specialty hatcheries are one example of an allied industry that has been caught up in the devestating aftermath of the Avian flu outbreak. Even though they have not contracted the disease, their business has been brought to a standstill by the quarantine restrictions. The following story and editorial comments on AlO take a look at this phase of the outbreak.) BY JOYCE BUPP Staff Correspondent BRODBECKS - “We’d be better off if we had the Avian flu,” sighs Emma Case, frustration edging her voice. Emma Case, her husband Allan, and their six children own and operate Case Farm Hatchery at R 1 Brodbecks. Nestled in the hills of south western York County, the Case farm is home year-round for several thousand breeding chickens, ducks, geese and small flocks of exotics like peafowl and guineas. For the past 15 years, March through June at the Case household has meant a rush of weekly hatches, packing, selling and shipping out truckloads of tiny peeping chicks, destined to fill orders placed by customers from up and down the East Coast. $7.50 per Year Mondays are especially hectic. That’s when the usually-quiet incubators come alive with the sound of tiny bodies pecking their way from the silent safety of an eggshell home. Throughout the sprawling hatcher building, Mondays come alive with boxes of fluffy, bright eyed chicks, ducklings, goslings m shades of yellow, tan, buff, black. Baskets and baskets of brown and white fertile eggs wait to fill the incubator shelves to continue the spring cycle. But most of these peeping chicks, this year, are meeting with death just a few brief days after pecking their way to life, victims of the Avian flu epidemic that con tinues to shadow the southcentral Pennsylvania poultry industry. For the Case family, Avian flu is a disaster, even though not a single one of their birds has shown any signs of contracting the devastating disease. Since November, when the quarantine already then in place over Lancaster County was ex panded to include several counties west of the Susquehanna River, the hatchery has been limited lO selling only within the quarantine area. "In the past, we’ve just pleased to have customs (Turn to Page A3B)