DIS-Lancaster Fanning Saturday, July 1,1989 Swine BY DR. RICHARD BARCZEWSKI Extension Agent University of Delaware The other day, I was reading through a copy of the National Hog Farmer and discovered an article regarding nuisance suits. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for both sides. No, I’m not turning into an anti-hog person. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that hog producers are threatened with law suits and in some cases are actually shut down because of odor problems. On the other hand the people who are subjected to the odors and file the suits really don’t know any thing about agriculture and can't be totally blamed for their ignor ance of rural life. I can’t help but bonder what is going to happen to Delmarva. Recently, in traveling around the peninsula, I’ve been amazed with the large amount of development that is ongoing. Unfortunately, many of the individuals who are s'# -A • Express Wagons • High Pressure Washers • Hydraulic Units • Trailers Machine Work Hydraulic Parts We Stock Ceiling Fans, Portable & Circulating Fans 717-786-9494 PAUL’S WELDING SHOP ———————— Paul Zook 1248 Georgetown Rd., Christiana, PA Between Greentree and Bart on Rt. 896 Beautify and protect your deck! Restore the natural look Wolman' Deck Brlghtener Regular Everyday Qr%95 Low Price Protect against moisture damage Wolmaif RalnCoat Water Repellent Regular Everyday 1 A 95 Low Price X Tt From the WolmaiP Wood Protection People. Management News doing the building, or will eventu ally purchase the homes are unfa miliar with agriculture. They don’t bother to check out the area prior to purchasing a home in the country and become surprised when they get their first whiff of hog odor. Now you and IJiave become accustomed to the smell of pig and, due to regular acclimation, have become desensitized to jt Newcomers don’t get used to agri cultural odors and for that reason must be warned prior to purchas ing their homes. Real estate agents may not bother to tell prospective buyers that the home thay are considering is located within nose-shot of a hog or other livestock operation. Then when the first load of man ure is spread upon the ground, tempers flair and phones ring. How can you protect youself? While there is no absolute way of avoiding a nuisance complaint, there are several things you can do to help avoid a major problem. E - - --- 3 I Wolman* jl'Oeck Brlghtener* ' Paapn per 6.4 oz. package makes one gallon per gal First and foremost, avoid spread ing manure during the evenings or weekends and especially on holi days. Why purposely cause a problem by spreading manure when your neighbors will be out doors to smell the process? Second, try at all costs to avoid selling road frontage lots that will only put possible complainers within reach of your operation. It really disturbs me to find out that some farmers who are having problems with nuisance com plaints actually caused the prob lems themselves by selling lots near their operations or, worse yet, by locating their operations near their neighbors homes. Remem ber, even your fellow farmers might not like to be on the receiv ing end of hog odors. Third, when it comes to con trolling odors and manure man agement and storage, follow the guidelines that are recommended by your state Department of Natural Resources and Coopera tive Extension System. Th, Wtolmn- We may tend u, think that just because we were in a location first, we aie protected from law suits. But, if we stretch the laws and try to get away with not fol lowing state regulations, it may come back to haunt us. It seems to me that it would be a good idea if city folk who decide to move to the country were told of .any animal production units that are in the area of their pros pective home. As an additional precaution, they might even want to drive up to the farm and get a close inspectioiM)f how the unit smells so that they know what to expect. If they still decide to purchase the home and move into the country, then they had fair warning of real country living. The same should hold true with pesticide use. Since many homes arc located along the road frontage of farmland, those home owners should be aware that pesticides are routinely sprayed on agricultural STEEL CULVERT PIPE Used carbon steel storage tanks wmcn we have removed the end (heads). Lifting lugs "• attached. No coating. These tank shells make an inexpensive, quick and strong bridge. Tank shells buried with 3 feed of ground cover can support 80,000 lbs. Diameter Weight/ Thickness Lengths Price, F. 0.8. Inches Lbs. Inches In Stock Quarryville (Approx.) (Approx.) 64 1615 .167 (7 ga.) 12’- 0” $lOO to 150 64 2312 .167 (7 ga.) 17’-11” $l5O to 250 64 3010 .167 (7 ga.) 23’-10” $250 to 350 96 4723 .2*o (% ”) 16’- 0” $2OO 96 6075 .240 (Vi ”) 21’- 4” $3OO 96 7425 .240 (Vi ”) 26’- 8” $4OO 120 7700 .240 (V« ”) 20’- 3” $5OO 120 .240 (% ”) 24’- 8" $6OO 126 .240 (% ”) 20’- 4” $5OO An Additional 1 % DISCOUNT it offered if paid by Cash Money or Certified Check HOWARD E. GROFF CO. Over Forty, Years of Reliable Service Fuel Oil, Gasoline, and Coal 111 E. State Street, Quarryville, PA 17566 Phone; 717-786*2166 land to combat weeds, insects and disease organisms. The end result of all this would be that farmland would be deve loped in tracts of whole farms instead of roadside lots hapha zardly located throughout the countryside. The farmland on Delmarva is not inexhaustible. Plans need to be made to insure that if the suburban sprawl is to continue, it be done in a way to minimize conflict between the existing farmers and the newcomers. Most farmers don’t want to lose their right to sell their property to developers. Many are actually counting on that as their source of retirement income. We must however, see to it that the future of those farmers remaining on Delmarva be pro tected against uninformed, sensi tive city folk who may find that country living ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. <mag» Mon.-Fri.: 8 AM - 4 PM
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers