CAMP HILL (Cumberland
Co.) - Farmers in may parts of
the state will suffer higher crop
damage losses in 1998 due to
action taken by the
Pennsylvania Game
Commission last year, according
to the Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau.
In testimony at a recent pub
lic meeting in Harrisburg a
Farm Bureau representative
said the Commission's decision
to cut back on license allocations
and to eliminate bonus hunting
tags for 'antlerless deer will
mean more crop damage prob-
Interest-Free Loans For
FLEMINGTON, N.J. -
Interest-free loans are available
from the Clifford E. and Melda
C. Snyder Loan Fund.
Vocation/technical, under
graduate, and graduate stu
dents in an agricultural pro
gram or related study and are
residents of Hunterdon County
a minimum of five years prior to
high school graduation.
NFU Praises Family
Farm Safety Net
Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. Na
tional Farmers Union (NFU)
praised the efforts of House
Minority Leader Richard Gep
hardt, D-Mo., and other members
of Congress for their leadership in
introducing legislation to provide
a safety net for independent pro
ducers.
“The 1996 farm bill gave pro
ducers planting flexibility, but it
largely ignored their marketing
flexibility,” said NFU President
Leland Swenson. “We are very
pleased that this legislation will
address that inadequacy.”
Gephardt announced in a Capi
tol Hill news conference that he
has introduced the Family Farm
Safety Net Act of 1998, which
will remove loan rate caps that
were frozen under the 1996 farm
bill and extend the duration of the
loans from their current nine
months to 18 months. In addition
to Swenson, Gephardt was joined
for the introduction of the legisla
tion by Reps. David Minge, D-
Minn.; Eva Clayton, D-N.C.; Lane
Evans, D-lU.; and Leonard Bos
well, D-lowa.
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Farm Bureau Wants More Deer Killed
lems for farmers,
A Penn State study shows
wildlife caused $74 million in
crop damage in 1994, with deer
being the biggest culprits.
"Progress has been made over
the past decade with deer man
agement," said PFB Wildlife
Damage Control Specialist Joel
Rotz. "Last year was a major
setback to that progress."
In 1997, the Game
Commission reduced the num
ber of antlerless deer allocations
from 724,350 for the previous
year to 640,288. The cut was
over 100,000 license allocations
Final selection will be based
upon a written letter of accep
tance from an accredited voca
tional-technical school or school
of higher education. In addition,
academic records, extracurricu
lar activities, related work expe
riences, career goals, and a rec
ommendation from a teacher,
adviser, employer, or leader of
an agricultural activity will
The 1996 farm bill was passed
when grain prices were the strong
est they had been in years, but the
prices fanners receive have fallen
precipitously since then. As of
March 12, 1996, com prices were
$3.77 per bushel, declining to
$2.54 per bushel as of March 12,
1998. Similarly, cotton prices
have fallen from 79 cents per
pound to 65 cents per pound.
Wheat has declined from $4.85
per bushel in 1996 to $3.28 per
bushel today, and soybeans have
fallen from $7.23 per bushel to
$6.67 per bushel over the same
period.
One hundred and thirty Farmers
Union members recently urged
Congress to give them the tools to
compete in the existing market
place. “The Gephardt legislation
is a significant step forward tow
ard accomplishment of this goal,”
said NFU Vice President of
Government Relations Tom Buis.
Similar legislation, the Agricul
ture Safety Net Act, has already
been introduced in the U.S. Sen
ate.
Sale Ends
April 30,
1998
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.$64.95
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less than the number recom
mended by the Game
Commission's own Bureau of
Wildlife Management to keep
the deer herd population at
manageable levels.
Adding insult to injury for
farmers suffering crop damage
was the Game Commission's
decision to halt the availability
of unsold antlerless deer licens
es as bonus tags in many areas
of the state. This resulted in
over 70,000 antlerless deer
licenses going unused last sea
son.
The resulting reduction in
Ag Students
determine the loan recipients.
Preference will be given to for
mer 4-H and FFA members. All
decisions of the loan fund selec
tion committee will be final.
A minimum of $2,000 per
year for the length of education
al pursuit will be awarded pro
vided a satisfactory academic
record is maintained. The num
ber of recipients and the amount
of the interest-free money
loaned will be determined by the
selection committee.
At the end of the educational
pursuits, recipients have up to
10 years to pay back the inter
est-free loan. The payments will
be in equal monthly install
ments.
Additional information and
applications can be received by
requesting them, in writing,
from The Snyder Fund
Committee, Hunterdon County
Extension Service, 4 Gauntt
Place, Route 31, Flemington,
N.J. 08822. All applications are
due April 15.
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the deer harvest has caused "an
increasing level of pressure from
our members to pursue estab
lishment of a crop damage fund
with monies generated through
hunting license fees." Rotz testi
fied. "We urge you to return to a
more science-based approach in
allocating antlerless licenses
and have surplus tags available
for purchase this year."
In testimony on other topics,
Rotz expressed Farm Bureau's
strong support for continuation
of the Game Commission's
"hotspot" deer hunting program.
The program, known official
ly as the Deer Damage Area
Program, allows a hunter with
an antlerless license to harvest
an antlerless deer on a farm
enrolled in the program during
the regular antlered or "buck"
deer hunting season.
Farms with deer damage
problems are allowed to enroll in
the program.
One improvement suggested
by Farm Bureau for the program
is to have return mailers sent to
the past year's hotspot-enrolled
farms.
"This would greatly reduce
the problem of farmers missing
the deadline for enrollment and
save the dilemma of trying to
reach the regional office through
the constantly busy hotline,"
Rotz explained.
The deer depredation pro
gram, which allows out-of-sea
son antlerless deer hunting on
farms hit hardest with deer
damage, is working well, Rotz
told the Commission. While
there are not large amounts of
deer being taken under either
the hotspot or the door depreda
tion program, Rotz said, they
are both helpful tools to the
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farmers enrolled in the pro
grams.
Farm Bureau's Wildlife
Damage Control Committee is
pursuing the possibility of mak
ing farmers eligible for the deer
depredation program after only
one year in the hotspot program
Currently, two consecutive years
of hotspot enrollment are
required as a prerequisite.
Turning to other matters,
Rotz addressed the recommen
dation presented at the Game
Commission hearing by a study
committee on special regulation
deer hunting areas which per
mit shotgun-only deer hunting
Although Farm Bureau was a
member of the study committee,
Rotz pointed out that Farm
Bureau has no policy direction
from members on the issue.
The committee is proposing
that the Game Commission look
into expanding the special regu
lation areas to territory sur
rounding Pittsburgh and into
southeastern Pennsylvania.
Farm Bureau's Wildlife
Damage Control Committee will
focus on having all appropriate
steps taken to properly manage
deer populations in the special
regulation areas, if they are
expanded to address public safe
ty concerns, Rotz said.
Crop damage due to turkeys,
particularly in western
Pennsylvania, is also a concern
to Farm Bureau members, Rotz
said. Farm Bureau is recom
mending the Commission con
sider lengthening turkey sea
sons in western Pennsylvania
turkey management areas.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
is a voluntary, statewide orgam
zation representing 25,247 farm
and rural families.
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