De-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 7, 1994 ALBANY, N.Y. When it comes to commodity issues, the American Farm Bureau Federa tion’s (AFBF) board of directors receives advice from a number of farmer committees. Several New York farmers serve on these special national committees. They recently met in St. Louis. • Greenhouse/nursery Bill Chase, Monroe County, serves on this committee. This committee spent the bulk of its time delving into the impact of environmental issues and labor concerns impact ing greenhouse/nursery owners. According to Chase, the soon-to be-implemented Workers’ Protec tion Standard (WPS) will have “an enormous impact on everybody.” Ultimately, WPS will go against agriculture’s effort to cut pesti cides because of re-entry sche dules, etc. The committee also talked about workers’ compensa tion including the rebates that farmers in several other states are getting. • On the environmental side, the Endangered Species Act took center stage. Chase summed up this killer law this way: “If it com es between you and a snail, the snail wins.” The farmers also expressed their dismay with the call to list every piece of land mapped out for species on proper ty. Lastly, the group touched on water problems around the nation, including the lowering of the water table in Florida, nonpoint source pollution, and the metering of water in California. The com mittee believes these two points and other water quality issues would eventually hit every Ameri can farmer. • Dairy New York is repre sented on this committee by Jon Greenwood, a member of the NYFB state board and its execu tive committee, and a dairy farmer from St. Lawrence County. This committee dealt with the BST A LESSON WELL LEARNED... LANCASTER FARMING'S CLASSIFIED ADS GET RESULTS! N.Y. Farmers issue. Since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Admi nistration, the group saw BST as FB policy a management tool. Regarding BST, the committee reviewed the situation by state. The farmers also examined the proposed consolidation of beef cow groups (Beef Council, National Cattlemen’s Association, Meat Export Board, etc.). The committee also discussed the impact on dairy by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the GATT. At this point, the impact of NAFTA on dairy in the U.S. is favorable, while the impact resulting from the GATT is unclear. In addition, the Dairy Committee heard a report on the National Certification Task Force on Johnnes Disease, and the impact of the Clean Water Act as it relates to manure and nutrient management. • Eggs The New York rep resentative on this committee is Kurt Kreher, poultry fanner from Erie County. According to Kurt, the most pressing issues discussed at the AFBF Egg Committee meeting included nutrient man agement, the Clean Water Act, salmonella enteriditis, and the American Egg Board referendum. Regarding the referendum, pro ducers will have a chance to vote on raising the mandatory checkoff for egg promotion, nutrition research, and consumer education. On the issue of nutrient manage ment, John Bell, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Counsel, told the committee that it’s necessary for farmers to be involved in working with the process which will deve lop the regulations thus work ing to mitigate the impact on agri culture. On the crucial topic of sal monella, Kreher discussed FB’s efforts to find an acceptable pro active approach to this critical problem. • Vegetable/potato committee New York is represented on and get higher production with lower cost and less maintenance . C-2 feeder for broilers nipples bins and swine FLEX-AUGER* feeding g Attention all Chore-Time customers. Chore-Time systems, Chore-Time repair parts and service are available ■ to you from Northeast Agri Systems, Inc., Pennsylvania’s authorized Chore-Time master distnbutor. I C 55 agr! systems L lorthi Report On AFBF Activity this committee by Pete Call, a cash crop fanner from- Genesee County. As with other commit tees, this group discussed the Worker Protection Standards (WPS), Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. Regard ing WPS, Pete noted that a lot of states are not prepared to handle grower training and enforcement. Their advice was solidly behind pushing for a delay of enforce ment of the law. When discussing the Endangered Species Act, this committee said that farmers should be listed as an “endangered species.” The committee also exa mined NAFTA, labor regulations, and the protection of private prop erty rights. • Honeybees James Doan, a Monroe County beekeeper with about 2,000 hives, is die New York representative on this COLLEGE PARK. Md. Youth involved in the 4-H forestry project and conservation related projects will test their knowledge of forestry July 31 to August 4 at the National 4-H Forestry Invita tional, sponsored by the Interna tional Paper Company Foundation through the National 4-H Council. This annual event is held at Jackson's Mill State 4-H Camp in West Virginia. One four-person team from each state is invited to compete. Since 1979, more than 800 4-H members from 23 states have competed in events that include tree identification; compass orien teering; forest insect and disease identification; tree measurement; forest evaluation; and the Forestry Bowl, modeled after television’s College Bowl. The National 4-H Forestry Invi- Insist on Chore-Time H-2 feeder for broilers **£■ ■» Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. Flyway Business Park 139 A West Airport Road Lititz. PA 17543 4-H Forestry Teams Prepare For National Invitation jL iS 4 JHBL H-2 feeder for turkeys STORE HOURS Mon -Fri 7 30 to 430 Sat 8 00 to Noon 24 Hr. 7 Day Repair Service national advisory committee. Of prime concern to this committee were the loss of the honey prog ram, the impact of the Varroa Mite, and the overall shortage of bees (a situation being especially felt in southern states, though we could see some impact here). As with other committees, this group also reviewed pressing environ mental issues, such as the Endan gered Species Act. • Wheat committee New York is represented on this nation al committee by Jim Vincent, a wheat grower from Genesee County. The Wheat Committee tackled a number of concerns, including the 1995 Farm Bill, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), USD A reorganization, federal crop insurance vs. revenue assurance disaster payments, grain tational offers participants the op portunity to become more aware of the natural resource needs of our nation. The contest stresses the importance of conserving for est land and develops an apprecia tion for the significant role forests play in providing products, bene fits and services for quality living. Also, it focuses on challenges fac ing resource professionals who strive to sustain our nation’s for ests through wise management The Maryland 4-H Wildlife and Forestry Invitational Judging Event was held on May 1 at the Nature Community on Meyer Sta tion Road near Crofton in Anne Amndel County. adult turkey feeder with plastic pan cage systems quality, Canadian wheat imports, and environmental concerns. Vincent reported that expiration of CRP contracts will hit the dominant wheat growing areas of the state hard up to 20 percent of gross farm income comes from CRP. We need to look beyond soil erosion (such as water quality issues), all the time saying the real beneficiary is the general public. Challenges faced by dominant wheat growing areas are the same challenges for New York growers, such as trade, conservation com pliance, and revitalizing rural eco nomies. On the topic of grain quality, the committee heard from Dave Shipman, Federal Grains Inspection Service. He discussed grain quality issues affecting wheat, as well as using near infrared technology to protein-test wheat. The top four contestants in the state forestry judging event go on to represent Maryland in the na tional contest in West Virginia. Winners in the state wildlife judg ing event will represent Maryland this summer at the National 4-H Wildlife Evaluation Invitational Contest, August 6 - 10, at Brian Head, near Cedar City, Utah. For more information on how 4-H members can become involv ed in forestry and wildlife educa tional programs, contact your county cooperative extension ser vice office. Look for the telephone number under county government listings in the blue pages of your telephone directory. m ULTRAFLO® for layers, pullets & breeders authorized master distributor 3E t—3 1-800-673-2580 wmm as MB Ph: (717) 569-2702 |jpB|
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