VOL 34 No. 13 lowa Congressman Featured At York Ag Dinner BY JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent YORK Farmers can expect a little more and a little less in the future from the government, according to lowa congressman Fred Grandy. Rep. Grandy was the featured speaker at the second Agriculture Recognition Banquet, hosted at Wisehaven Hall by the York Area Chamber of Commerce. Best known to the American public as “Gopher” on the popular televi- Penn-Jersey Expo Puts Excitement Back Into Farming BY PAT PURCELL ALLENTOWN (Lehigh) The Penn-Jersey Exposition deliv ered the enthusiasm of a hot July revival meeting at their annual event held in Allentown on Wed nesday. All that waft i&issing was the tent for the 150 dairy farmers and agbusiness people. And will all the fervor of a traveling revival preacher, each speaker made sure no one was dozing off in the back pew. Managment was the day’s ser mon. And if the spirited delivery did not ignite a spark enthusiasm in each farmer, well, maybe they shouldn’t be in farming. The key word for the day was opportunity. Opportunity. The definition of an opportunity according to the dictionary is a favorable or advantageous combi- Deer eat crops In the fields in summer and ransack com cribs In winter. igiSfiasi®. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 4,1989 sion show “Love Boat,” he is serv ing his second term as a republi can congressman representing 23 lowa counties. A member of the House Agri culture Committee, Rep. Grandy predicted that farmers will see less of government subsidies and sup ports, and more governmental and legislative involvement of farmers in environmental issues. He sug gested that recent agriculture “pocketbook” programs have focused too heavily on commodity nation of circumstances. And according to the speakers at Penn- farmers have plenty of opptwtwjlles. heifers weighing instead of 1,200 .pounds at breeding time. That’s an <ipportunity. Heifers freshening at 29 months. That’s an opportunity. Milk production of 4S-head of Holsteins levels off at 18,000 pounds. That’s an opportunity. Leveling off at 16,000 pounds, now that’s a real opportunity. If you are like most farmers you shake your head to adjust your hearing because they sound like problems and not a favorable set of circumstances. And yes, you have a lot of them. Gordon Conklin, editor of American Agriculturalist, made several valuble points during his speech but none as important as his Deer Cause Major Crop Damage In Western PA prices and not enough on common sense stewardship of the soils. The lowa ag leader cited sever al reasons why Congress may hedge on writing a new Farm Bill for 1990, when the five-year 1985 legislation runs out “Exports are up, the ag eco nomy is turning up, and ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it’” said Grandy of the Farm Bill issue. Budget auster ity. improved trade oudook, and eight members of the Senate Ag (Turn to Pag* A 32) closing one. He showed farmers a sign which read' OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE And most fanners chuckled and shook their heads in agreement “This is the way most of you feel about fanning," said Conklin. “But (Turn to Pago A 26) Lancaster Farmland Trust Releases Trustee List LANCASTER Daniel C. Herr, President of the Lancaster Farmland Trust, a non-profit, pri vate sector farmland preservation organization this week released the organization’s 1989 Board of Trustees list. The 22 member Board includes as officers: Daniel BEDFORD Each year, hundreds of acres of Bedford County farmland are being destroyed, not by insects or drought, but by the Pennsylvania Whitetailed deer. ‘They run in pockets all through the county,” says W. Clair Koontz, a Morrison’s Cove farmer. “They follow the ridges along the mountain ranges. And, each year, the deer popu lation seems to be increasing.” Koontz who farms more than 300 acres of ground in the Texas Comer area of Bedford County lost nearly $lO,OOO in crops last year due to the deer. “We lost a lot raofe from deer damage than we did from the drought,” Koontz continues. ‘There are fanners in this direction who are just giving up,” Koontz says. In order to help the situation, Koontz put up a sign this year welcoming doe hunters. “We had a good many responses,” he says. “And, we didn’t have one problem with any of the hunters... we never have. We have never posted our land.” Direj tly across the Snake Spring Valley Mountain from Koontz is Dutch Comer. There, Landy Henry farms a total of 850 acres on 14 different farms. “Certain farms are worse than others,” Henry points out. “Some of our land is near the state game lands or posted land and deer aren’t dumb, they know this a good place to stay.” Henry and his three sons have had permission from the Game Commission to shoot deer for a number of years. "But, it doesn’t seem to do much good,” he admits. “When you shoot one, a dozen more come to the funeral.” Henry says he sometimes counts as high as 40 deer in one field before dark. “It’s a.well known fact,” Henry says, “that a single rat can eat $25 worth of grain per year. Considering the difference in size, 1 wonder how much one deer can eat?” Henry plants ISO acres of soybeans and the last four or ftfe years, the deer have eaten most of them. He’s been mowing hay and watching deer eating con out of the field while it is still in tassle. “The drought this year didn’t help,” Henry adds. “There was less in the woods for (Turn to Pago A4O) Pve Sections The Earl Brown family of Loganvllle was named Farm Family of the Year by the York Chamber of Commerce. Sea ted Is Margaret Brown, and standing from left are her hus band Earl, son Stan and his wife Nona and grandson Scott. Fed CHUtt Prices To Remain Strong BY LISA RISSER LANCASTER—“The price for fed cattle will remain strong C. Herr, President, an attorney with the firm of Herr and Low; Marilyn W. Lewis, Vice Presi dent, Chairman of the Board of American Water Works Company Inc. and a member of the Advisory Board of the Shelter for Abused (Turn to Pago A 36) BY LINDA WILLIAMS Bedford Co. Correspondent 504 Per Copy throughout the year because the numbers aren’t there,” predicted H. Louis Moore, ag economist for Penn State. Addressing cattlemen at the Cattle Feeders Day here, Moore added ‘There will be $.BO cattle later this spring for some week, but it may cost you $.Bl to feed. I think prices in the Pennsyl vania market will be $.73 to $.79 for the year.” Moore projected that beef pro duction will be down S percent in 1989, however, carcass weights will be up. ‘The weight per steer is (Turn to Pan* ASI) $lO.OO Per Year
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