822-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dacamber 30, 1995 Last Of A Series Editor’s note: Last week, the odors conference held in New Holland examined the chal lenges of studying odors and how to control them. This week looks at further studies about odors and how municipalities have reacted to odor concerns. ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff NEW HOLLAND (Uncaster Co.) When odors are under attack, what must fanners do to stem the problems that arise? Charles Abdalla, associate pro fessor of agricultural economics at Penn State, told producers and municipal planners at a recent con ference here that there is a ‘ ‘diver sity” of stockholders in the con cerns about odor, flies, and water quality from manure. ‘‘lt is diffi cult to generalize about the solu tions,” he said. Abdalla reported the results of a ‘‘changing landscape” that is ‘‘creating a sense of unease." Penn State conducted a mushroom study last year. Twenty-eight of 54 farmers contacted in the study responded. Of the 28 that responded, 41 percent reported there were neighbor complaints from the mushroom farms. Factors affecting the complaints were farm size, nearby housing density, and the increases in the number of homes near the farm. Is co-existence possible? “It’s possible,” said Abdalla, ‘ ‘but there are some cases where it isn’t The problems are very com plex and are often interrelated.” It’s important for all parties involved in the procedure to recog nize each other’s interests and see change as an ongoing problem. Abdulla also related a way in which this approach resulted in a “win-win” situation in New York state. There, N.Y. dairy farmers participated in a cost-share water quality program using best man agement practices. Established was the Watershed Agricultural Council, working with New York City, to ensure fresh water supply from the Catskill Mountains to eastern New York state. The relationships that deve loped were fruitful and worked for both parties. Counties in southeastern Pen nsylvania are going through rapid demographic changes, according to Stan Letnbeck, professor of agricultural economics and rural sociology at Penn State. While the population of Pen nsylvania has stayed on the same level, 11.7 million, in the past 10 years, there has been a movement of population to many of the agri cultural areas in the southeast, away from the cities. The increasing presence of urban populations will pose a chal lenge for producers in the year 2000 as they did in 1980 and 1990. About 40 percent of the people now live in the Class II townships, with a population density of 300 people per square mile. These townships are home to many ani mal agricultural facilities. One of the first methods used to control odors by people outside of agriculture is township zoning. “Zoning is sometimes thought of as a magic bullet, a Swiss army knife with a blade for every prob lem,” said Letnbeck. This think ing is often detrimental to agriculture. Zoning sets the standards before Odor Control the activity begins, but ignores the challenges faced by a changing environment, economy, and tech nology. Yet 65 percent of the mun icipalities 1,600 of the 2,600 municipalities in Pennsylvania have some form of zoning laws in place. Paul Heinemann, associate pro fessor of agricultural engineering at Penn State, provided detail on the study of odor modeling using the stack modeling approach in studies ot air pollution. Research is ongoing to study the dynamics of odor formation and movement in the environment Some of the legal issues of nui sance regulations were examined by John Becker, Penn State profes sor of agricultural economics. Of particular concern are the notions of what is a normal and customary way of farming when markets and technologies are changing so rapidly? A producer also spoke at the conference about the market chal lenges producers face on top of the concerns for the environment. Jerry Hostetter, independent pork producer from Denver, spoke about the changes taking place that will affect pork producers and (Continued from Pago B 21) Howard County Hard Hard Cowa In Milk Avg Nama Braad Hard T FCM T David & James Patrick H 135 76.2 Paul F. Harrison Jr. H 96 76.1 Patrick, David & James Ayrshire 63 68.9 Merry Acres Farm H 45 67.1 University of Maryland H 111 65.0 Kant County Herd Hard Cowa In Milk Avg . Name Braad Hard T FCM T Centerdel Farm Inc. H 126 83.5 Fair Hill Farm Inc. H 253 74^3 P. Thomas Mason H 77 ' Greenwood Acres H 77 72.7 McGuire Bros. Inc. H 52 72 5 Larry Yetman H 38 72.2 Roy W. Crow H 67 72.1 Wm & Kathleen Schrodel #2 H 145 71 3 R&E Brink H 62 679 Wintacres H 98 66.2 Clover Leaf Farm H 62 65 8 Jonas & Ruth Stoltzfus H 74 65 6 Marv. Assocation Herd Cows In Milk Avg .. _ N B ™ Brssd Herd T FCM ' Glad-Mar Farm Inc. H 182 67.8 Montgomery County Herd Herd Cows In Milk Avg Name Breed Herd T FCM T Beneva Farms h 68 771 HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) —A Statewide Forum focus ing on enhancing the safety of Pennsylvania foods will be held on April 17 at the Harrisburg Hil ton and Towers. The Forum is a component of a four-year project designed to develop educational approaches to food safety. It will be hosted by Penn State Cooperative Extension. The forum on food safety is open to food producers and pro cessors, representatives from the food service industries, federal and state agencies, academia and consumer groups, and all others involved in the food system. It is designed to encourage the discus sion of food safety issues by rep resentatives from all areas of the Maryland DHIA Report For November Safety Has No Simple Solutions Jerry Hostetter, Indepen dent pork producer from Den ver, spoke about the changes taking place that will affect pork producers and how, in turn, nuisance litigation could be a concern. how. in turn, nuisance litigation could be a concern. Profit margins are shrinking, Of Foods A Team Approach food system. The goal of the For um is to produce a “Food Safety Plan” that will develop and imple ment educational programs throughout the Pennsylvania food system. 'Some of the key issues to be discussed at the Forum will include the state of food safety in Pennsylvania; the complexity and the integrated structure of food systems; and the effect of globali zation of the economy, technology and regulatory changes, and con sumer choices on the safety of Pennsylvania foods. The Forum will include keynote speakers and panel discussions with representatives from every sector of the food system. After the panel discussions, Forum par ticipants will be divided into Some of the legal Issues of nuisance regulations were examined by John Becker, Penn State professor of agri cultural economics. which translates into producing more hogs with less expense. The move is to more hog numbers at Mendelssohn Terrace Farm H 135 69.6 Clifton Farms H 128 69.3 Kingstead Farms H 44 67.4 Potomac Valley Aaaoc. Hard Hard Cowa In Milk Avg Nama Braad Hard T FCM T True Vine Holsteins H 78 73.8 Quean Annaa County Hard Hard Cowa In Milk Avg Name Braad Herd T FCM T Pintail Point Farm H 85 78.1 Boone Brothers H 146 75.7 Lester C. Jones, Inc. H 641 75.7 Benjamin Stanton H 52 75.5 F4J Moore H 132 75.5 U & WE Palmatary H 189 72.2 Harry L. Schrader & Sons H 177 67.2 F. Reed Leaverton H 92 65.7 Talbot County Hard Cows In Milk Avg Braad Hard T FCM T H 62 83.5 Waahlngton County Hard Hard Cows In Milk Avg Nama Braad Hard T FCM T Curtis W. Ausherman H 169 75.3 Debaugh Farms H 95 72.9 Marsh-Haven Farm H 86 70.2 Creek Bound Farm H 105 6e!s Marvin L. Zimmerman H 152 66 4 Pryor Brothers H 93 65 0 Herd ' Nama Wm. Brinsfield multiple sites, which helps with nutrient management As a result producers have had to woric with new technology because of the concerns with manure holding area leaks and handling of the material. Also, hog finishing technology has changed rapidly. In 1984, a typical hog finishing at 210-215 pounds produced a 150-pound car cass with a 1.5-inch backfat mea surement Now, a 255-pound hog has a 190-pound carcass with .65 to .7 inches of backfat. Producers have had to work closer with the packers to develop products that consumers demand But along with the demands include a bigger size operation to make feed delivery and feed use more economically feasible. As a result, the hog industries have moved from the southeast to areas north and west of Harrisburg. About7o-80percent of the farmers involved in Hostetler’s business are dairy farmers that are hog fin ishing floor producers. For his farms, “water quality is very important to us.” It will be challenging for fanners to keep their industry profitable while at die same time working to ensure a clean environment. small, multisector sessions to dis cuss issues that are critical to developing a food safety plan for Pennsylvania. The day’s activities will end with a dinner and a presentation of results from each work session. Designated delegates from each sector of the Pennsylvania food system will be asked to sfcy an additional day—April 18—to work on the development of the food safety plan. For more information on the Forum or the project, contact Claudine Nuemberger, Coordina tor, Penn State Cooperative Extension, Department of Veter inary Science. 115 William L. Henning Building, University Park. PA 16802-3500. or call (814) 863-5846 or 863-2160.
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