Pa. State Grange (Continued from Page A 1) teer monitoring; lawsuit abuse reform act; and funding for Johnc’s disease control and eradi cation and creation of a vaccina tion program. “As a grass-roots organization, the policies determined here will influence our legislative efforts on Capitol Hill as we work on legsila lion that will affect agriculture and rural Pennsylvania,” said Brenda Shambaugh, State Grange legisla tive director. “These issues are of greatest concern to our membership and the Pennsyvlania State Grange will see that these policies are addressed at the state federal level." In his address to the State Grange, Agriculture Secretary Hayes said, “From agricultural research to cooperative extension and extending the over-order pte mium, the Grange has historically and I’m proud to say this played a proactive role in securing funding, and has been a voice for agriculture and rural issues. “We must continue to tell the good story of agriculture and its many accomplishments." Hayes touched upon a number of issues of concern to Grange members in his talk. “In the area of food safety. (state) Department of Agriculture officials will have our people working in the field, productively, proactively and in a cooperative way, to ensure that Pennsylvania products remain the most healthy and wholesome.” Hayes said that, as an example of the actual care and concern that is a daily event around the state, out of the 180 million meals served to school students in 1997 there were no reported cases of contami nated food. He also discussed farmland pre servation efforts in Pennsylvania, noting that the state, its communi ties and landowners have been working together to save farmland for future generations at a greater rate than any other state in the nation, and recently celebrated the preservation of 1,000 farms under the program. The state agriculture secretary said additional research and fund ing are needed to eradicate pseudo rabies, and to suppress avian influenza. The current state agriculture budget is the best he’s been alive to have seen, he said. He commended the Grange on its activity and leadership, and said that its role in agricultural and rural affairs has had a tremendous impact and will continue to into the next century. Among the new policies, on the issue of CAFOs, the Pennsylvania State Grange does not separate small farms from larger ones, and believes all fanning activities should be within the scope of the laws and regulations governing their operations. Moreover, all required permits relating to the size of the operation should be process in a timely manner. “any changes to the present CAFO regulations should be con sidered by the General Assembly and not done by policy of an agen cy,” Shambaugh said. “The Grange also feels public hearing should not be necessary to meet permit requirements, and believes local municipalities should not deny local permits when state reg ulations are met” Under the Food Quality Protec tion Act the Grange does not approve the grouping of chemicals together for risk factor measurements. Shambaugh said the Grange recommends that the Act contain four principles sound science in protecting public health; trans parency; a reasonable transition for agriculture; and consultation with the agricultural community, the general public and other agencies. The Grange created policy to work with other farm organiza tions to clarify and update permis sible and nonpermissiblc uses of farm vehicle registration plates. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 7, 1998-A35 The policy was created in response to demonstrated local discrepen cies in interpretation, knowledge and practices in enforcing the law. “It's important that the Grange and other organizations be a part of the equation as we seek to rectify the problems associated with this program,” Shambaugh said. “We will work on behalf of the agricul tural community to see that the law works the way it was intended to allow fanners to use their vehi cles to conduct farm business as they transport commodities to and from the farm.” The state Department of Enviro mental Protection has for some time enjoyed the volunteer efforts of state citizens who have an inter est in monitoring some basic local water quality parameters. The effort began years ago as there is a contigent of citizens interested in water quality and in being able to contribute to efforts to collect raw data. The state DEP never had and does not now have the manpower or financial resources to be able to monitor water quality parameters across the state on an annual basis, much less on the daily basis that is scientifically required in order to determine probable causes of water quality characteristics. For example, it only takes one day out of one year fora stream to experience high water tempera tures in order to kill temperaturc and oxygen-sensitive aquatic life. While citizen volunteers gener ally don't do daily monitoring, the program at least allows for the col lection of aw data by which the department can track trends and also be able to spot questionable data reports. The. Grange, an organization proud of its heritage of environ mental stewardship, established policy calling for members to con tinue their efforts to educate ether organizations and individuals to sustain valuable natural resources through programs such as Citizens Volunteer Monitoring. On another issue, the Grange created policy at the convention to encourage members and their sub ordinate Granges to check with their local municipalities and join the Pennsylvania Civil Justice Coalition, an organization dedi cated to the elimination of frivol ous lawsuits and lawsuit abuse, in general. “Simply stated, lawsuit abuse costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually,” Shambaugh said. “The time has come to bring to an end frivolous lawsuits that bog down the court system and waste money." As far as Johne's Disease, Grange delegates approved two companion resolutions one call for exploring various avenues for the possi bility of creating a state-funded indemnity prog ram for Johne's; the other calls for an even grater push for research to continue to make strides against the disease, with the goal of creating a vaccine and then implementing a vaccination program. “The Grange has been in the forefront of all Johnc's Disease research in Pennsylvania for the last 15 years,” Shambaugh said. “Now that research has progressed to the point where a vac cine may be developed in the near future, we designed policy that, if implemented by the state, will bring an end to this costly disease.” In its election of offierts, William Steele of Freedom was re-elected master (president) for another two-years. A 45-year member of the Grange, Steele is a lay minister at St. John’s Lutheran Church and is .associated with his brother in a crop farm operation. Steele is also past president of the Beaver County Extension Association, and past chair man of the Youth Conference of the National Safety Council, and the Arlington, Virginia, County Fair, of which he was a co-founder. Betsy Huber of Lincoln University, in Chester County, was re-elected overseer (vice president) for a two-year term. She is the first woman to fill the post. A 37-year member, Huber is past member of the Goshen Grange No. 121, immediate past mas ter of the Chester/Delaware Pomona N 0.3, and was with her husband Henry, the 1971 Yough Couple of the Year. A legislative aid to state Rep. Art Hershey, Huber has been involved in a number of county and local organizations. Also re-elected were Susan Tau of Hayfield Grange No. Boo as lecturer; Floyd Buffington of Community Grange N 0.2048 as assistant ste ward; Mary Ann Vucklcy of Lincoln Grange N 0.914 as lady assistant steward; Jean Holla baugh of Waston Grange No. 1068 as chaplain; ann Nause of Valley Grange N 0.1360 as state treasurer, and Sandy Witmcr of Elizabethtown Grange N 0.2076 as secretary. Newly elected were Dean Miller of Battlefield Grange N 0.2063 as steward; Robert Moore of Buffalo Grange No. 1523 as gatekeeper; Linda Strong of Plumcreck Valley Grange No. 1702 as Ceres; Debra Campbell of Petty Valley No. 1804 as Pomona; Janet Fishovitz of Big Knob Grange N 0.2008 as Flora; and Stan Gruber of Stony Point Grange No. 1694 as committee member. The Pa. State Grange represents 30,000 rural Pennsylvanians. For more information, call (717) 234-5001.
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