VOL. 32 NO. 48
PA Administration Asks Voters
To Support Farmland Referendum
BY
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
HARRISBURG “Let me say
very directly and specifically that
Secretary of Agriculture Boyd
Wolff and the Casey/Singel admi
nistration are asking the voters of
this great commonwealth to vote
yes for farmland on November 3,
1987, referendum.”
This direct quote came from
Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel
as he addressed the annual meeting
of the Pennsylvania Association of
Farm Cooperatives in Harrisburg
Tuesday evening. “We feel very
strongly that a successful referen
dum where the voters give us the
authority to raise $lOO million for
the farmland preservation program
will insure the integrity of the agri
cultural industry for years to
come,” Singel said. “I want, to
impress upon you that the agricul-
Jersey enthusiast came in all sizes and ages to th is year’s
Pa. State Jersey Sale. Here Nichole* Losch, age 4, and
Joshua Kenny, age 18 months, visit with a consignment
that’s just their size. See the full story by Ginger Secrist
Myers, Adams County correspondent, in Section D Page 30.
It “Wonders” Us
BY
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
LANCASTER COUNTY Well, there should be no question in the
minds of Penn Dot officials and their engineers that Lancaster farmers
have an interest in what they plan to do with our community.
An estimated 2,000 persons attended the meeting at Pequea Valley
High School last week to hear about the proposed new Route 23/30
bypass east of Lancaster. The size of the crowd was amazing. Many of
our Amish neighbors who have most to lose from the breakup of their
communal districts were there. Not saying much. Just there to let their
sdcnl presence do their talking.
What “Wonders” us in this whole discussion is why, at this late date,
there still exists these proposed roadways right through the middle of
our choice farm heartland. We talk about ag land preservation, and
everybody should know by now that our Amish families preserve farm
land from generation to generation without depending on federal or slate
handout subsidies to do it. They just never let the land they acquire get
back out of their farm community again.
These good farmers have voted yes for farmland by their acuons for
quite some time now. And their methods fordoing this don’t make them
very dependent on the state. Maybe a road through their community will
break up their church districts and break their strong Dutch wills at the
same time. Their leaders say they may need to move from the area if
tural industry remains our number
one industry and the governor has
set aside a special session of the
legislature to deal with the difficult
issue of tax reform and municipal
finance.”
It would seem one of the best
things we could do for Pennsylva
nia farms would be to ease the tax
burden somewhat with a more
equitable system of property taxa
tion. “We feel there are very few
industries that exemplifly family
life in Pennsylvania like the family
farm does. And for the sheer value
of that wholesomeness in this kind
of industry we want to do all we
can to preserve our farms,” Singel
said. Singel said that 47 of the 67
counties in Pennsylvania are rural
and that 3".6 million people live in
the rural area to give the stale the
largest rural population in the
country.
In me awards ceremonies, Russ
(Turn to Page A 10)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 3, 1987
Redding received the 1987 PAFC
Master Educator Award. Redding
serves as coordinator of vocational
student organizations. In this roll
he works with seven student
groups including FFA dealing with
regional, state and nauonal activi
ties. The PAFC Distinguished Ser
vice Award went to Robert Pardoe.
Pardoe currently serves as treasur
er of PAFC and farms 290 acres
with his son Bob Jr. They have 60
milk cows. He is known for his
dedication to the dairy industry
and the dairy marketing coopera
tive Dairylea. The dinner meeting
was held in the Sheraton West.
To Challenge Farm Pj&Hcy Makers
BY PAT PURCELL
HARRISBURG Due to radi
cal changes in the agricultural
industry and the federal budget,
the financing of agriculture into
the next century will pose new and
difficult challenges to farmers,
bankers and legislators. Meeting
these challenges will demand a
wisdom in policy making not pre
viously shown, according to Jim
Webster, speaker at the Pennsylva
nia Association of Farmer
Cooperatives ’ annual meeting held
in Harrisburg on Tuesday.
This was the consensus of all the
speakers assembled at the, annual
PAFC gathering to discuss the
future of the Farm Credit Corpora
tion, federal farm programs and
agricultural financing.
‘The policy challenges facing
elected representatives will
demand a degree of wisdom which
has not been evident in the past,”
said Webster.
“Looking down the road what is
the scenario for agriculture in the
United States?” asked Webster.
“In 1987 we must realize that not
everyone in agriculture will sur
vive into the 21st century.”
Webster founded Webster Com-
Wolff Speaks
To Farmers
BY MAJORIE KEEN
Chester Co. Correspondent
ATGLEN “Saving farmland
is good for all Pennsylvanians. We
will all benefit eventually,” Boyd
Wolff, Pennsylvania Secretary of
Agriculture, told nearly 200 mem
bers and guests of the Chestcr-
Delaware County Farmers Associ
ation last Saturday evening. Wolff
was featured speaker at the associ
ation’s fall banquet held at Octora
ra High School.
Urging the audience to vote
(Turn to Pag* ASS)
Financing Of Agriculture
Five Sections
Bob Reich (right) last year’s winner presents the PAFC
Distinguished Service Award to Robert and Gertrude
Pardoe.
municatieits Corp « Washington,
D.C. in 1981 to provide anjbfor
mation source about Wasl^Hon
for the food and agricultural
try. One of the
publishes is ‘The Agricultural Cre
dit Letter’ . He also writes for Agri-
Finance atnoung other publica
tions. He has appeared on the
‘McNeil-Lehrcr News Hour’ and
is a regular commentator on
‘Market to Market’. His articles
have appeared in newspapers such
as the New York Times, The
Washington Post, the Los Angeles
Times and the international news
letter, Agd Europe.
The Future of Farming
Radical changes in American
farm policy will dictate the future
of agriculture in the United Stales.
Six years ago when Reagan
assumed office, his goal was to
remove the influence of govem
Writer Joins LF Staff
LITITZ Lisa Hamm has
joined Lancaster Fanning as its
newest staff writer. She brings
with her a solid background in
journalism having worked most
recently as associate editor for two
national building industry maga
zines based in Chicago. Her duties
there included writing feature arti
cles and day-to-day production
tasks.
Lisa is a graduate of Northern
Illinois University in Dekalb, 111.,
with a journalism degree and farm
ing has become an integral part of
her life.
She will soon marry Philip Riss
cr, a local farmer and agricultural
engineer and son of Lancaster
Farming’s well-known columnist,
Ida Risser. Lisa has been receiving
an orientation to farming this sum
mer by attending dairy cow auc
tions and helping to bed and feed
the farm’s Holsteins.
$8.50 Per Year
ment fh\ agriculture. Reagan
Wtted to phase out farm programs
JHtping money into developing
■U export markets. In the four
PRrs prior to that under the Carter
administration, $l6 billion was
spent on all the farm programs
over the four-year span. But now
the USDA would be relieved to
hold the agricultural budget t 0,546-
billion a year. Accordtflg'to Web
ster, the cost hr the last two years
was $43.5 billion.
“It is inevitable that government
farm programs will be decreased
and that is already laid out in the
farm bill itself, largely due to the
plans to reduce the federal deficit.
By 1987 $1.2 billion will be cut
from the farm program, by 1988
$ 1.9 billion will be cut and by 1990
$2.7 billion will be cut,” said
Webster.
(Turn to Pag* A 37)
Lisa Hamm
Lisa spends her leisure hours
sewing, creating crafts, and
cooking.