Farm Bureau, Farm Link
CAMP HILL (Cumberland
Co.) Want to retire from farm
ing, but hate to see the land that
provides sustenance carved up into
a quick-cash wasteland?
No heirs, or no heirs interested
in working hard to keep the farm
intact or productive?
A special meeting for farmers
seeking to retire who have no
immediate heirs interested in con
tinuing the farm, and who also
would like to see their acreage kept
in farming, can find out about the
legal and personal issues involved
in transferring the farm to another
generation.
And they can find out about a
program that can help them meet
and evaluate young people claim
ing to have a sincere, strong inter
est in farming, but no forseeable
way to get access to farmland.
The meeting is set to be held
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., (Tuesday)
March 28, at the Pennsylvania
Farm Bureau (PFB) headquarters,
located in Camp Hill, near Harris
burg’s west shore.
The meeting is being co
sponsored by the PFB and the Pen
nsylvania Farm-Link Program, an
official program of the Center For
Rural Pennsylvania, a bipartisan
legislative agency of the state’s
General Assembly.
There is a $lO fee for the meet
ing, but that is to be used to offset
the cost of lunch and meeting
materials. Those interested in
attending should call (717)
761-2740 for reservations, by
Wednesday. March 22.
According to Jan Carson, press
spokesperson for the PFB, the joint
Services:
• CCA Certified Crop
Specialists
• Soil Sampling
• Tissue Testing
• Field Scouting
• Field Mapping
• Total Crop Plan
Management
East Berlin 1-800-426-2827
Carlisle 1-800-825-4769
meeting of the two agencies
resulted from interest expressed at
the PFB’s booth at the state Farm
Show, held in January.
She said quite a number of
young people asked about how to
get into farming, and others, with
farms, asked about how to meet up
with people with a sincere interest
in farming.
They were directed to the Center
For Rural Pennsylvania Farm Link
booth.
Farm Link is a program started
last summer with the expressed
mission, “To sustain Pennsylvani
a’s farms and ranches by success
fully linking individuals seeking to
actively farm with farming
opportunities.”
The Center For Rural Pennsyl
vania is the Farm Link agency, and
the goal of the program is to
“establish and operate a database
which provides information on
land and resources available and
individuals seeking farminj
opportunities, as well as providing
support materials and training.”
More to the point, the Farm Link
is a “matchmaker” program it
is set up to allow people of similar
interests to meet.
Farm Link also serves as a catal
yst for services and information to
those interested in developing a
farm-transference relationship.
There are existing programs and
services available, at little or no
cost, that have been designed to
help people get started in fanning.
The Farm Link program brings
knowledge of those programs
together in one agency.
According to information pro-
• Flotation Truck Spreading
and Spraying
• Post Emergence Spraying
with High Clearance
Sprayers
• Lime Spreading
• Delivery
vided by Farm Link, “Landholders
contacting the (Farm Link) agency
will receive a list of individuals
with compatible interests. The
actual details will be worked out
by the individuals. Both parties
will be encouraged to participate in
goal-setting workshops.
“Individuals will be screened to
ensure that they have a genuine
interest in becoming fanners. They
will be required to attend work
shops prior to being linked.”
The cooperation between the
PFB and the Farm Link program is
not coincidental. The PFB has a
long experience helping its farmer
members with economics and farm
management in a variety of areas,
as part of its services.
The Farm Link program was
originally spearheaded by the Cen
ter for Rural Pennsylvania, Rodale
Institute, and the Pennsylvania
Farmer magazine.
However, many others became
involved in the effort to make the
idea a reality, including the PFB,
state Rep. Sheila Miller R-Berks
County, Rep. Sara Steelman, Key
stone Farm Credit, Delaware Val
ley College, Pennsylvania Associ
ation for Sustainable Agriculture,
the Chesapeake Bay Education
Office, the USDA Farmers Home
Administration, Soil Conservation
Service (now called the Natural
Resources Service), Penn State
University Cooperative Extension
Service, York Farm and National
Lands Trust, the Wildlands Con
servancy, York Farm Credit, the
state Department of Agriculture,
and several fanners.
Carson said the upcoming meet-
5 Convenient Locations to call toll free:
Gettysburg 1-800-626-0880
York (717)428-2109 Chambersburg 1-800-243-3856
Sponsor Seminar
ing is to feature several speakers,
including PFB attorney Gary
Heim, an inhouse expert on the
transference of farms and related
issues, and Don Hummel, PFB
manager of its Faint Management
Service. Hummel is to talk about
how to transfer the farming busi
ness, and what to be aware of in
doing so, along with long-range
planning.
She said that there are to be sev
eral fanners who have either parti
cipated in the current Farm Link
program, or who, on their own.
KEEDYSVILLE, Md. Pond
management and practices to
increase the usefulness of your
pond will be the focus of an
upcoming program at the Western
Maryland Research and Education
Center (WMREC), 18330
Keedysville Road, Keedysville,
from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday,
April 1.
Whether your pond is utilized
for recreational use, wildlife and
fishing, or aquaculture produc
tion, this workshop will provide
up-to-date information to particip
ants on improving the various
aspects of pond usage.
At the Western Maryland Pond
Management Workshop, basic
pond ecology and nutritient cycles
will be discussed. Other important
aspects that will be covered are
ow
/4(t tfoun, cnafr iteecU,..,.
in wet experUeoeed Honda,.
Products:
• Dry Bulk Fertilizer
• Bagged Fertilizer
• A Complete Line of
Liquid Fertilizers
• A Complete Line of Farm
Seed
• Farm Chemicals
Western Md. Sets
Pond Management
Workshop
have transferred their farm to a
non-family person interested in
fanning.
Also to speak is Marion Bow
lan, coordinator of the Farm Link
program. She is to discuss the
program, what it can and can not
do, and the services that it can pro
vide. For direct information on the
Farm Link program, call her at
(717) 787-9555.
For more information on the
meeting, call Don Hummel at
(717) 761-2740.
proper stocking, pond fertiliza
tion, design, liming and aeration.
On-site demonstrations at a
nearby pond will provide a firs
thand look at water analysis pro
cedures and interpretation of the
various measurements. Recom
mendations for management of
bass, bluegill, trout and hybrid
bass populations will also be exa
mined. Many problems such as the
overgrowth of aquatic weeds and
algae overproduction can hinder
the quality of plant and animal life
of the pond. This workshop will
offer solutions to these and many
other pond issues.
The $7 registration fee will cov
er the cost of handouts and break
beverages. For registration or
additional information, contact
Steve Bogash, (301) 432-4492.
• Ag Lime
• Pelletized Calcium Lime
• Barn Dri
$
A Division of Agway