aa yVifl ii »,„. I N VOL 32 No. 23 Farm Preservation Bill Passes State Senate BY EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor HARRISBURG A major milestone in the preservation of Pennsylvania’s prime farm land was achieved this week when the Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 156. Senator Noah Wenger (R-36) the prime sponsor of the bill said that the bill is important because it will help insure the continued Lancaster County Holstein tour leaders are (left to right): Gordon Hoover, chairman; John Howard and Greg Landis. In the photo they visit with the famous Excellent 97 GMD Ella cow and George Knight 111. Surveillance Program Safeguards State’s Poultry Industry BY JACK HUBLEY Regardless of whatever else might have distinguished the year 1983, Pennsylvania’s agricultural community will always remember it as the year that an avian in fluenza virus named HSN2 struck down the poultry industry. Disease surfaced in the spring of the year, causing only moderate death losses and drops in production. By October, though, the flu had mutated into a lethal strain capable of killing 90 percent PFA Meets With State Lawmakers BY SUZANNE KEENE HARRISBURG - Members of the Pennsylvania Farmers Association met with legislators in Harrisburg Monday to encourage support for legislation beneficial to agriculture. Farmland preservation, an animal health commission, an amendment to the commodity Vintage Hearing Postponed ••• Again The federal court hearing in which Vintage Sales Stables, In tercourse, plans to contest the constitutionality of the |l-per-head beef checkoff program has once again been rescheduled from April 10 to Thursday, April 16, at 2:30 p.m. The hearing will be held at the Lehigh County Courthouse, Allentown. existence of the state’s valuable farm resources for future generations. According to Wenger the bill would allow county governments to offer farm land owners the monetary difference between the actual market value and the development value of the acreage in exchange for development rights to the land for 25 years or more. For example, if the market of an infected flock. On Nov. 4, 1983 the first federal quarantine order went into effect in Lancaster, Berks, Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, and five days later USDA declared an “Ex traordinary Emergency,” com mitting federal funds and per sonnel to bringing the outbreak under control. At its peak in February 1984, the quarantine enveloped more than 8,600 square miles in Penn sylvania, Virginia, Maryland and promotion and marketing act, and a $3 million appropriation for the economic development of rural areas headlined their lobbying efforts. Following a dinner with legislators and PFA members at the Sheraton Harrisburg-West Monday evening, PFA president Keith Eckel praised the state Senate for passing a bill which would provide $25 million a year to purchase development rights on prime farmland and he en couraged the House to endorse the legislation quickly. “It is wise to preserve farmland not just for our generation, but for all future generations,” Eckel said. “The time is right to preserve farmland in a cost effective basis.” The state’s leading farm organization is also seeking passage of legislation that would (Turn to PageA2o) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 11,1987 value of a tract of farm land is worth $lOO,OOO and the develop ment value is $150,000, the farmer could receive up to as much as $50,000 to keep the land agriculturally active. A $25 million state appropriation will be distributed among the counties wishing to participate in the program. “This legislation has received broad support. Not only from many farmers and farm New Jersey. A USDA report labeled the battle “the largest animal or poultry disease eradication effort ever undertaken in the United States. ’' The last of the quarantine in Pennsylvania was lifted on Oct. 4, 1984. Total cost of the eradication program to the federal govern ment came to $63 million, and This beautiful farm scene in Dallastown RO is the family farm of Charles Hess. Not only is it a pretty farm, but the road leading into the buildings and out of the back makes a delightful picture compostion for Editor Newswanger. organizations, but also from the general public because they un derstand the need to protect our prime farm land,” Wenger said. Pennsylvania’s number one in dustry is agriculture employing nearly 1/5 of the population in farming and related businesses. The agricultural industry can only remain strong if we preserve it’s vital foundation the land. Last Friday Senator Wenger Lancaster Meets \ork On Holstein Tour BY EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor LANCASTER/YORK - After the Lancaster County Holstein Breeders got themselves loaded onto two comfortable buses Tuesday morning, it was off to York County for the Lancaster County Holstein Association’s Annual Tour. The first stop in York County was Sinking Springs Holstein Farm off Route 283. Here herd sman Larry Anspacher showed off a strmg of high-producing, high scoring cows that produces 19,902 pounds of milk and 741 pounds of butter fat during the last year. Several excellent, high producing more than 17 million birds were depopulated or died of the disease itself. Out of the ashes arose a wat chdog program unrivaled in scope by any other poultry disease program in the nation. Penn sylvania’s poultry surveillance program began in May 1985 as a cooperative effort between the Pa Sightseeing York County Five Sections along with Representative Samuel Morris (D-Chester County) was in Lancaster County to explain the farm preservation bills in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. At the time, Wenger said he expected passage of his bill in the Senate. But the unanimous vote this week was a great boost to the project as the bill now goes before the House of (Turn to Page A2l) cows stood right inside the door. The farmstead includes historical buildings nestled in a cove with a running stream. Next it was on to the show herd at Sunnybend, Thomasville. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Boyer’s large up standing cows look as good in their working cloths as in the show ring. In the farm office filled with an tiques, show trophies and banners, the Lancaster group was treated to cookies and milk. The Boyers presently average 18,000 pounds of milk and 670 pounds of fat with a BAA of 105.3. At Leroy and Joyce Bupp in Seven Valleys, the group saw a (Turn to Page A 26) Department of Agriculture, Penn State University, the University of Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley College. Two years later the program is still going strong, according to surveillance field coordinator Shirley Pflieger of Manheim “We probably cover 90 percent of the (Turn to Page A 24) $8.50 Per Year
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