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Award Honors Md.
WASHINGTON, D.C, A* Both Rominger and Glickman
fourth-generation Maryland farm praised the McGinnis family for
family hailed as a strong, vocal their conservation efforts,
proponent of state and national A member of the 1958 Univer
farm land protection programs and sity of Maryland basketball team
the usage of environmentally which finished sixth in the NCAA,
sound farming practices received McGinnis owns and operates the
the first national Steward of the- 1,400-acre McGinnis Family
Land Award. Barm in north Baltimore County,
American Farmland Trust, a
national nonprofit farmland con
servation organization, chose the
Wayne McGinnis family of Balti
more County, Md., for the award
over 60 other nominees nation
wide in recognition of its out
standing efforts in land steward
ship, farmland conservation poli
cy, and the use of environmentally
and economically sustainable
farming practices.
Wayne McGinnis accepted the
award at a special luncheon of the
AFT board of directors in
Washington attended by U.S. Sec
retary of Agriculture Dan Glick
man and Deputy Secretary of
Agriculture Richard Rominger.
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Ag Seminar Leading Research • Livestock Products Specialists • Forage Quality • Nutritionists • Local Representatives • Excellent Disease Resistance • Proven stand Life
NORTH CORNWALL (Lebanon
Co.) Mote than 500 people on Wednesday
attended the annual spring agriculture semi
nar sponsored by the Lebanon Valley Nation
al Bank agricultural lending group, at the
Lebanon Valley Exposition Center at the
Lebanon Area Fairgrounds.
Speakers for the event included Dr. Robert
Yonkers, a Penn State University agricultural
economist who discussed the dairy situation
and predicted that while dairy producers can
expected to receive less for their milk this
year, compared to last year, that it shouldn’t
be as much of a drop as some have predicted.
Also speaking was H. Louis Moore, Penn
State professor emeritus of agricultural eco
nomics, who said that livestock and grain
prices appear set to remain strong for the com
ing year, largely because of the growth in
exports. He said that 15 percent of the beef, as
well as 20 percent of the United States’ poul
try production is to be exported, helping to
prevent domestic surpluses and thus lower
prices.
The same is true for grain production, he
said, predicting relatively strong prices
because of export commitments.
Albert Murry, president and CEO of
LVNB, also addressed the audience, discuss
ing financial tools that may be available to
them to survive uncertainties in farming.
Erik Bucks, a nutrient management spe
cialist with the Lebanon County Conservation
District, also talked to the group. He dis
cussed the help that the Conservation District
exists to provide free to customers, in addition
to opportunities through the Chesapeake Bay
Program,
Well-known Pennsylvania weatherman
Joe Bastardi, of Accuweather and the Penn
State public television weather program,
“Weather World,” talked about weather pat
terns in the Lebanon Valley and how major
winter storms have formed over the past
years.
Bastardi gave a list of the 10 most signific
ant winter storms in the Lebanon Valley dur
ing the past years, and showed a comparision
of how the storms developed.
Bastardi reviewed each of the storms and
what made each unique, such as the weather
following the storms. For example, the Janu
ary 1996 blizzard (Farm Show storm) was fol
lowed by a flood of a level that hadn’t been
experienced since the 1972 flood associated
with Hurricane Agnes.
The weatherman said that residents of the
Lebanon Valley are extremely fortunate.
, weather-wise to live where they do, because
■of the protections provided by the mountain
ranges to the west, south and northeast.
Most of the severity of storms passes either
; to the north or south of the Lebanon V alley, he
Md. The tall, strapping, 6-foot,
7-inch farmer raises com, soy
beans, wheat and hay. He also has
160 head of Angus beef cattle.
The $lO,OOO award honors the
memory of Peggy McGrath Rock
efeller, philanthropist, farmer and
AFT founder who died last year. It
recognizes the spirited inspiration
and deep personal commitment to
farmland conservation that Mrs.
Rockefeller brought to AFT from
its establishment in 1980 until her
passing.
“Mrs. Rockefeller strongly
believed in the family farmer and
the protection of the nation’s best
and most productive land,” said
AFT President Ralph Grossi.
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“Wayne McGinnis and his family
have demonstrated that same
strong commitment to the conser
vation of our nation’s agricultural
resources as Mrs. Rockefeller did.
I know she would have been very
pleased with AFT’s choice. The
family truly is a model for farmers
across the nation.”
“Our family are fourth
generation farmers who have
always had a teal passion for the
land,” said McGinnis. “So it’s an
honor, a great honor in fact, to be
recognized for something we have
believed in so strongly and com
mitted ourselves to so much.”
McGinnis was born and raised
on his family farm in Baltimore
County. He received a bachelor’s
degree from the University of
Maryland where he met his wife,
the former Harriet Hasted. She
now handles the farm’s adminstra
tive matters. Their three children
all grew up on the farm and intend
to return some day.
McGinnis was an early leader
in the usage, demonstration, and
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promotion of environmentally
sound farming practices. As early
as 1969, he converted his farm to
“no till” cultivation, a then new
form of cultivation that improved
organic matter on his crop
acreage. He used other practices
as well to reduce soil movement
and protect the water quality of
streams. He also continued to
experiment on ways to reduce the
use of pesticides and fertilizers
and created wildlife habitat on the
nonproductive portions of his
farm.
hi the 19705, McGinnis actively
supported Baltimore County
efforts to adopt agricultural zon
ing and protect farmland from
suburban sprawl. His work on
three different county committees
resulted in the establishment of ag
zoning for a third of the county.
Later he aggressively promoted
and placed his own farm in the
Maryland Agricultural Land Pre
servation Program. Today the
county ranks in the top 10 in agri
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 8, 19874)1
cultural preservation nationally,
having protected more than
19,000 acres of farmland.
McGinnis also aggressively
promoted farmland protection at
the state level and recently was
appointed chair of the Maryland
Agricultural Land Preservation
Foundation. He has taken part in
.national farmland protection
efforts as well, speaking before
farm groups, legislators, reporters,
planners and government officials
in numerous states.
“Wayne McGinnis feels so
strongly in his heart his commit
ment for agriculture that he has
spoken up even when it was not
politic to do,” said Wallace Lip
pincott, program adminstrator for
the Baltimore County Department
of Environmental Protection and
Resource Management, who nom
inated the McGinnis family for the
award. “He truly has made a dif
ference in fanning and land pre
servation in his community, the
state and the nation.”
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