Conservancy Groups Successful WYOMISSING (Berks Co.) The Berks County Conservancy sent three representatives to the National Land Trust Conference held recently in Chattanooga, Tenn. Nearly 1,100 local and regional conservation groups are rapidly protecting land in communities across the country, according to a new survey by the Land Trust Alliance. The survey shows that in the last four years alone, the amount of land the Berks County Conservancy and the nation’s other land trusts helped protect grew by more than one million acres. The Berks County Conservan cy has concentrated its efforts on the preservation of open space and agricultural land in Berks County. The Conservancy has protected over 1,000 acres in the last two years through acquisition or enact ment of conservation easements. The Land Trust Alliance sur veyed local and regional land trusts with these results: • Land trusts have helped pro tect 4.04 million acres —an area larger than the state of Connecti cut —protecting over 1,300,000 acres since 1990. • Land permanently protected through conservation easements voluntary agreements with landowners that permanently con serve their land has grown from 450,000 acres to 737,000 acres. • The number of land trusts is increasing at a rate of close to one per week. Half of all land trusts now in existence have, been formed in the last ten years. • In the Mid-Atlantic states. protected land increased 39%. The numbers of land trusts in New Jer sey and Pennsylvania doubled. Survey figures were released at the nation’s largest land conserva tion conference, the seventh National Land Trust Rally. The Berks County Conservancy was represented by Phoebe Hopkins, executive director, Ann Orth, director of land projects; and Joe Hoffman, director of environmen- tal management, at this gathering of more than 700 land trust profes sionals and volunteers, govern ment agency personnel, and other conservationists. Topics included the latest in the innovative and often highly technical conserva tion techniques land trusts use. “People are forming land mists like The Berks County Conservan cy because they want to safeguard the open spaces that make their communities and neighborhoods livable,” said Jean Hocker, Land Trust Alliance president. “They refuse to let shortsight edness cheat them out of their her itage, and that of their children. And they are not waiting for some one else to take action; they’re doing it themselves. Land trusts give people a choice. And they are choosing conservation.” Government agencies and the business world have recognized the potential of land trusts’ brand of conservation. “The future of successful natur al resource conservation rests with private citizens working in associ ation with each other and with government agencies, conserva tion groups, corporations, and other landowners,” said Mollie Beattie, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a National Pennfield Makes $500,000 Investment In Dairy Feed Manufacturing Equipment MT JOY (Lancaster Co.)—To increase mill capacity and palata bility and digestability of their In the lower left of this construction photo the two new half-million dollar "super flakes” machines are shown In place before the outside walls were Installed. The Installation work has been completed and produc tion of the new higher quality dairy feed has come on line. Lancastar Farming, Saturday, December 10, 1994-A35 Rally speaker. “The growth of land trusts is a sure sign this spirit of partnership is taking root in America.” Hocker calls land trusts’ phi losophy of voluntary, common sense land conservation a key to their success. Typically, land trusts work closely with willing landowners to help them develop a voluntary plan for conserving their land. Land trusts often buy land or accept it as a donation; however, of particular significance is their dairy cow rations, Pennfield Corp. has installed two new large state of-the-art crimpers at their produc- flowing use of conservation ease ments. A conservation easement is an agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency in which the landowner permanently restricts develop ment and use of his land. Conservation easements allow landowners to protect their land while continuing to own and use it, and to sell it or pass it along to their children. don headquarters to produce what they call “super flakes," This type of equipment is used in the western feedlots and California and Arizo na dairy facilities to increase milk production, along with protein in the milk. According to Don Mahlandt, Pennficld dairy feed sales mana ger, milk pounds and milk protein pounds may be increased by as much as 10 percent with steam flaking versus steam rolling in tests reported by the Journal of Dairy Science. In addition, steam flaking produces a flatter, more digestible com flake with a 28 IbsTbu density while the present system produces com at 38 IbsTbu. density. In early production runs at the Pennfield mill, barley has also produced beautiful results. Randy Adams, vice president feed operations, said the old crim per was installed when the mill was opened in 1987. Because the production needs for dairy feeds have doubled since that time, this machinery is inadequate to meet their needs, thus the present half million dollor investment in new equipment “We could have just installed another crimper and increased our capacity for a lot less money,” Mahlandt said. “But we were look ing to the future as we help dairy farmers feed their high producing cows to their genetic capability. This is an investment in the future.” When considering the nutrition al value of the new flaked feeds, Dr. Tim Snyder, manager of lab and nutritional services, said the process improves ruminal diges tion of starches that can increase microbial growth. As a result of this digestion, the production of milk protein can irfcreasc. At present, the new equipmnet is on line and customers have started to see the new feed on their farms.