Vo). 42 No. 23
Secretary Brosius Resigns, State Ag Community Shocked
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Gov. Tom Ridge this
week requested and received the
resignation of state Secretary of
Agriculture Charles Brosius,
according to a five-paragraph
news release made Wednesday.
Secretary Brosius had no public
comment on the action, and none
would be forthcoming, according
to his press secretary Sally Bair.'
According to the governor’s
spokesman, Tim Reeves, Secret
ary Brosius is to serve until May 31
and is expected to continue to ful
fill the commitments of his sche
dule until then, including leading a
trade mission to Mexico in mid-
May.
State legislators and agriculutral
lobbyists and state employees
expressed shock upon learning of
the resignation requested by Gov.
Ridge, since all contacted were
under the assumption that Secret-
State Legislators, Say
They Don’t UffttErstand
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Several state legislators
familiar with agriculture and slate
Secretary Charles Brosius said
they don’t understand Gov. Tom
Ridge’s request for Brosius’
resignation.
Brosius. of Chester County, was
asked for and tendered his resigna
tion this week, ending his term as
head of the Pa. Department of
Agriculture May 31.
State Rep. Arthur Hershey,
Cochranville, had nominated Bro
sius to the position and said he was
disappointed with the governor’s
decision.
“We were shocked,” Hershey
said. “Here is a man who has raised
the visibility of the department
considerably, working with the
governor and Senate to get funding
of New Bolton (University of Pen
nsylvania School of Veterinary
‘Panorama’ Of Music
At Poultry’s
Big Fundraiser
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
They call her voice “triumphant,”
often “electrifying,” many times
“captivating,” providing listeners
a true “panorama” of music.
The words describe the music of
Sandi Patty, who will entertain
next Wednesday at the annual Pen
nsylvania Poultry Federation fun
draising banquet.
Those same words can also
Five Section*
ary Brosius was doing an excellent
job in the position.
Several legislators said that of
all of Gov. Ridge’s political
appointees, that the last one they
would suspect of being considered
for being asked to leave would
have been Secretary Brosius.
Those who remember other res
ignations said that this one was
such a Shock because there were no
waming’signs or indications that
anything was wrong On March
24, Brosius had sent a progress
repent to legislators with a cover
letter that expressed gratitude for
the successes and hope for conti
nuing support.
“ The past two years have
brought many successes to Pen
nsylvania’s agricultural communi
ty. With the strong leadership of
the Ridge Administration and sup
port from the members of the Gen
eral Assembly, we have made
important strides in working
together to keep our agriculture
Medicine) back up to being
comfortable.
“Research at Penn State
increased through his leadership.
The (Penn State University
Cooperative) Extension budget
was increased a major percen
tage,” Hershey said, adding the
past administrations had allowed
the extension service to atrophy.
‘There have just been many,
many plusses (with Charles Bro
sius as secretary),” he said.
Hershey noted that Brosius took
over the management of the state’s
new diagnostic laboratory, giving
credit to getting it started to former
Ag Secretary Boyd Wolff, but tak
ing it further to get it completed
and staffed.
Brosius also successfully
tackled nutrient management
responsibilities, serving as chair
man of the State Conservation
Commission, tackling Dog Law,
(Turn to Pago A 26)
describe the night every year that is
set aside to celebrate accomplish
ments of the industry and to share
friendship and good times.
Next Wednesday evening, April
16, nearly 1,300 producers and
agri-industry representatives will
celebrate the accomplishments of
the state’s poultry industry at the
Hershey Convention Center.
Sandi Patty brings to the stage a
“remarkably flexible and far-
(Turn to Pago A 18)
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, April 12, 1997
industry strong and competitive,”
Brosius stated in the cover letter.
Legislators said they considered
Brosius to be an excellent leader
for the department, highly quali
fied and considered to have
unquestioned integrity, principal
Spring brings out the warm, fuzzy feelings in all true agriculturalists. Newborn
lambs, toddlers, and the yellow glow of forsythia in full bloom bring hope for another
good growing season and the future of generations to come. Maybe young life seems
more sacred to those of us who have seen more than 60 springs come and go. But
regardless of your age, it’s hard not to enjoy the combination of subjects in this
week’s cover photo.
The toddlers are Christy (age 1) and Katie (age 5) Umberger, daughters of Don and
Cindy Umberger, Palmyra, Lebanon County. The three-day-old quad lambs belong to
a registered Dorset at Ovine Ally Farms, located north of Palmyra and owned by Ken
and Ann Staver. The Stavers have been breeding Dorsets since 1951; and this is the
first set of quads they have ever had. This mother ewe has been quite busy, too. This
birth of four lambs follows her triplets that were born last September.
According to the latest statistical summary from the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture, there are 107,000 sheep and lambs on Pennsylvania farms. Common
wealth flocks include 92,000 breeding sheep and lambs and 15,000 market sheep and
lambs. Five-hundred sixty-thousand pounds of wool was shorn from 81,000 sheep.
The gross income from sheep production was $5.2 million, and Pennsylvania ranked
17th in the United States for sheep and lamb inventory as of January 1,1996. Photo by
Evaratt Nawawangar, managing adftor.
and ethics, in addition to serving
personally as an example of suc
cessful agricultural entreprenuer
ialship and personal growth.
They said he was one who
already understood the issues well,
could make suggestions and prom-
$27.50 Per Yew
ote effective legislation and
changes to benefit agriculture, and
one who wasn’t afraid to tackle
even controversial problems, such
as the state’s Dog Law, which was
recently recodified, updated, and
(Turn to Page A 32)
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