***“*""*****"********»«»«S-DIGIT 16802 >. , , I p P'Q 036034 9811 ,, TS y■* „ - 1 u “•> PERIODICAL DIVISION . I t - "" - .-- p CNN STATE UNIVERSITY 048 f I Vol. 44 No. 5 Mount Joy farmers Terry and Belle Frey and son Adam pose with bales of tobacco ready for sale. Most tobacco far mers have not sold their 1997cr0p and are in the process of stripping the 1998 crop. Efforts are underway to form a Pen nsylvania marketing cooperative to help bring southern buyers back Into the local market. Farmers Ready To Vote On Tobacco Marketing Auctions EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor MT JOY (Lancaster Co.) The attempt to form a Pennsylvania tobacco marketing cooperative centered in Lancaster County auc tions has progressed to the point where 200 farmers with a total of 3 million pounds of tobacco have paid $5O memberships and the for Gary Caligiuri, owner of Sunny Dell Foods, Kennett Square, sees an improving market for mushrooms grown In this country. Recently the industry united to stem the “dumping” of cheap mushroom Imports into the country. Read more about those efforts in the story on page A2B. Photo by Andy Andrews Four Sections mation committee has gone on record to recommend the auctions be started. But the total member ship (those who have paid their dues) must have the opportunity to vote approval before anything more will be done. The opportunity for this vote will be given on Friday morning, December 11, at Harvest Drive Restraint located south of Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 5, 1998 Environmentalists Want Moratorium On Hog Farms (Part 2) VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Fanning Staff UNION DEPOSIT (Dauphin Co.) Environmentalists domi nated testimony provided the USDA and the U.S. EPA during a recent ‘listening meeting’ held at the'Sheraton Inn Harrisburg East in Union Deposit . The USDA and EPA have joint ly issued a draft of a proposal out lining how the two agencies would work together using interpreta tions of existing authorities to get livestock farmers across the nation to have comprehensive nutrient management planning done and implemented on their farms by 2008. It is called the USDA/EPA Joint Unified Strategy for Animal Feed ing Operations (AFO). In last week's issue of Lancas ter Fanning, the presentation of the proposal during the meeting was outlined, and ‘listening panel’ members and technical panel members were reported. Route 340 just east of Intercoruse. Starting time is 11 ajn. At present most tobacco farmers still have their 1997 crop sitting in the sheds unsold and they are beginning to strip the new crop with still no reports of buying activity. Jane Balmcr, a Mt. Joy tobacco (Turn to Pag* A 32) $29.50 Per Year There were 23 people who had signed up to testify during the meeting (which conflicted with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau annual convention held in Hershey), although several backed out horn taking the floor, in deference to submitting written testimony directly to federal agencies. The meeting and testimony was documented through the con- Three-year-old Amanda Schrecongost, Creekside, India na County, Joins national celebrities sporting milk mousta ches. The Mini Milk Mustache Contest gives kids, ages one to five, a chance to become the next milk mustache model. The contest is helping parents “get the picture” that milk arid milk group foods ate among the best calcium sources for growing bodies. Snap a picture of yourchiid wearing a milk mustache and your child’s response in 10 words or less to the question, “Why do you drink milk?” In addition to the national selection, finalists from each state will receive prizes. All entrants will recipe a “Sing-A- Long Milk Melodies” audio tape and a “Milk and Me” educa tional booklet while supplies last The contest ends Dec. 15. For information on how to enter your half pint in the national contest, call 1-800-WHY MILK. Turn to page BlOto read why milk is Amanda’s favorite drink. Special Pages/Advertisi ng/Ne ws Deadlines For Holidays , Farm Show Issues A number of special pages are planned for Lancaster Farming in the coming weeks. In addition, the Christmas and New Year holidays bring special deadline schedules, too. But first look on the inside of the back cover of Section A in this issue for the new seven-day weather forecast for Lancaster Farming ’s major coverage area. This special service to fanners will continue each week in this location. In the Dec. 19 issue, we plan to have the semi-annual newsletter for Pennsylvania DHIA. Here the association will present their review of the year and bring news of special interest to their members as well as to all dairy farmers. In the Dec. 26 issue we dedicate a few pages to the introduction of the Pennsylvania Young Farmer convention to be hosted by the Manheim Chapter in early February. We will have registration forms and an extensive review of the program. The issues for the first two weeks in January will have news and advertising messages related to the Keystone Farm Show and the Pen nsylvania .Farm Show. December also brings the Christmas and New Year holidays. For Lancaster Farming this means many of the advertising and news dead lines will need to be early to accommodate the publication of the Dec. 26, Jan. 2, and Jan. 8 issues. Some deadlines fall in the week prior to the week of publication. These deadlines are as follows: (Turn to Pago A3B) 600 Per Copy traded services of a court reporter. A draft of the proceeding’s tran script was used as reference for this report A final version needs to be completed. The USDA/EPA effort has a goal of receiving comments on the draft proposal for a Unified Strategy by Jan. 19. (Turn to Page A 24)