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VOL. 36 No. 3
Family Farm , Protection Program Persevere
The Schlegels stand proudly In front of their farm sign after selling the
development rights to the land and insuring the continued use of the rich
soil for growing crops and animals. From the left are Kermit, Minnie and
Kenneth.
DRY RUN, MD. In an era
when the average American family
moves once every four years, it
may be difficult for urban dwellers
to imagine a family that’s lived on
the same western Maryland farm
CAMP HILL (Cumberland
Co. —A two-way satellite TV tele
conference exchange with agricul
tural economists from Ohio State
University will highlight this
year’s Mid-Atlantic Conservation
Tillage Conference.
Traditional speakers from four
other land-grant universities and
the Soil Conservation Service will
help carry out the conference
theme, “Sharpening Skills for the
Next Decade.”
The 17th annual, day-long
event is scheduled for Wednes
day, Dec. 12, at the Penn Harris
Convention Center in Camp Hill.
Nearly 800 crop fanners from
Four Sections
Schnebly Inducted Into Maryland Hall Of Fame
for 145 years.
Meet the Schneblys who operate
Crown Stone Farm at Dry Run, a
small village in Washington Coun
ty near the Mason-Dixon Line,
about equal distance from the great
Six-State Crop Farmer Meeting Scheduled
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West
Virginia are expected to attend.
Activities are to run from 8:30
Pork Producers To Sponsor Christmas TV Special
DES MOINES, IA Ameri
ca’s pork producers will be a
major sponsor of an hour-long
“Christmas in Washington” tele
vision special which is scheduled
to air on NBC at 9 p.m. central
standard time Wednesday,
December 19. Check your local
television guide for exact date and
time.
The new 1991 Pork-The Other
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 1, 1990
Civil War battlefields of Antietam
and Gettysburg.
Seth K. Schnebly presides as the
fifth generation family patriarch at
Crown Stone Farm. Now semi
retired, Seth and his wife, Gene
a.m. to 3:40 p.m.
As in past years, the conference
is sponsored by the Cooperative
Extension Service at land-grant
White Meat® commercials will
premier during the program which
is expected to reach approximate
ly 20 million people. The new
nutritional information about pork
contained in the recently
announced Market Basket study is
an integral part of the new TV
commercials.
The “Christmas in Washing
FLEETWOOD (Berks Co.) Another 200 acres of prime Pennsylvania farmland
has been set aside for future generations causing neigbors and acquaintances of the land
owners to say “thanks.”
Late last week, the development rights for two farms owned by fourth generation fami
ly farmers Kermit and Minnie Schlegel and their son Kenneth were sold jointly to Berks
County and the state for a total of $488,650.
It is the second and third parcel of Berks County farmland to have development case
ments purchased by the county within the past two months. Last month the first Berks
County farm to sell development rights came from a 103-acre farm owned by Robert
Kopfer.
Other than Lancaster County, only state-administered farmland preservation prog
rams in Chester and Berks counties have resulted in the settlement of money for the
easements.
Several other properties in the state, including two properties in Bucks County, have
sales agreements approved and are awaiting settlement.
There are other farmland preservation programs especially in Lancaster County
where a number of farms have been set aside through donations however, these prog
rams work outside the purview of the state Department of Agriculture, which helps admi
nister the state matching funds program.
Of the recently preserved farmland, the Schlegel farms and the Kopfer farm are located
in the northern area of Berks County in a limestone soil region. The Schlcgcls do not have
large housing developments located adjacent to their property, but the Kopfer farm docs.
With these properties being put into perpetual protection as agricultural land, it’s not
only farmers, but non-farmers who are expressing thanks to the farm-owning families for
participating in the program.
For the Berks County program, funds used for the easement purchases were appro
priated in 1989, according to Bernard Riley, county land preservation specialist.
Riley said that, although no other settlements arc to be made this year on development
easements for Berks County farmland, a number are in the wing.
“Since we started taking applications a little over a year ago, we have applications (to
preserve) about 5,000 acres in the county,” Riley said. That number includes the 300
acres on which building restrictions now apply.
“We have had appraisals done on eight properties,” he said, adding that getting apprai
sals performed is the beginning of the negotiations to purchase the easements.
He said there are 21 farms with applications in the process stage just prior to getting
casements. He said that it looks like a number of farms could be preserved next year.
Statewide, under the farmland preservation program, 14 properties sold development
rights to date. Six other properties have sales agreements and are awaiting settlement.
Settlement is expected within the next two weeks on two properties in Chester County,
according to Fred Wertz, slate director of farmland protection.
Lancaster County by far has the most amount of farmland with deed restrictions pur
chased under the farmland protection law.
Chester County was the second county to have farmland preserved when settlement
was made on 37 acres on Oct. 24 for $282,687. The Oct. 26 settlement on the 103-acrc
Kopfer farm for $193,000 made Berks County the third county in the state to have a pre
servation program bear fruit.
While a growing number of landowners seem willing to sell development rights to the
state or local government, there arc a number of those who have said that they will not
participate either because of the location of their farm land or fra not wanting to give up
the option to sell the land for development.
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vieve, do a lot of traveling. "
Nowadays, when Seth attends
board meetings at the Sire Power
bull stud north of Frederick, he can
see his portrait hanging in the
Maryland Dairy Shrine Hall of
universities in the six participating
states, with assistance from inter
ested agribusiness representatives.
More than 30 commercial exhibits
ton” telecast is a traditional
family-type program hosted this
year by John Denver. President
and Mrs. Bush will be the guests
of-honor of the show. The prog
ram will include performances by
country music singer, Reba Mcln
tyre, rhythms and blues singer,
Aretha Franklin; and opera singer,
Barbara Hendricks.
50c Per Copy
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
$15.00 Per Year
Fame. He was inducted during the
annual bull stud open house on
Oct. 13.
As a young man, Seth was an
active 4-H member with purebred
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are expected.
Dr. Ronald L. Ritter, agronomy
weed control specialist for the
University of Maryland Coopera
tive Extension Service, will lead
off the morning program with a
presentation on “The Latest in
Chemical Weed Control.”
Then, conference participants
will have their choice of attending
one of three concurrent breakout
sessions on up-to-date topics.
Topic areas and speakers are as
follows:
Production Agriculture
• “Ridge Tillage: Is It for the
Mid-Allantic Region?” Dr.
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