A2B-Lamaster Farming, Saturday, May 13, 2000
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Drought assistance,
emergency drought guidelines,
Clean and Green regulations,
and this year’s Annual Cornuco
pia were all discussed at the
Pennsylvania State Council of
Farm Organizations’ meeting
held Wednesday at the Pennsyl
vania Capitol in Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Ag
riculture Samuel Hayes, Jr.,
highlighted recent projects the
Department has been emphasiz
ing.
According to Hayes, 70.6 mil
lion dollars have been dedicated
to assisting farmers with the
1999 drought. Five million went
for the hay assistance program,
while 5.6 million went for the
crop insurance assistance pro
gram. The remaining 60 million
will be allocated as direct pay
ments to farmers suffering from
the drought.
“Both the governor and legis
lators want the 60 million to go
out as soon as possible,” said
Hayes. “The advanced pay
ments have already been made,
and the intermediate payments
are going out this week. The
final payments will go out just as
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PA Council Of Farm Organizations
Addresses Ag-Related Legislative Issues
soon as we get all ot the tmal re
ports from counties that are
behind in providing us with
their information.”
According to Hayes, the only
qualifying criteria of the
drought assistance program is
that farmers must have had
more than a 35 percent crop loss
due to the drought.
Hayes also addressed emer
gency regulations that the Penn
sylvania Emergency
Management Agency is estab
lishing in regards to water usage
during drought emergencies.
“We want to keep an eye on
these regulations because they
could affect parts of the agricul
ture industry. For example,
food-processing companies use
significant amounts of water.
Traditionally, agriculture has
always had an exemption from
these regulations,” said Hayes.
“But, as the regulations become
more extensive, that could
change.”
According to Hayes, the de
partment is working with legis
lators, the Emergency
Management Agency, and food
processing companies to make
sure that regulations aren’t so
restrictive that they prohibit ag
riculture processing.
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“Production agriculture will
be fine under these regulations,”
said Hayes. “But we have to re
alize that we can’t have one
without the other.”
Another issue that Hayes ad
dressed was food safety regula
tions at county fairs and in the
dairy beef and dairy product in
dustries. “We’re applying the
same principles from our egg
quality assurance program to
milk and dairy beef to make sure
we don’t have a problem like the
Jack-In-The-Box incident,
where people were harmed from
foodborae illnesses.”
Hayes also addressed the con
solidation of the Clean and
Green regulations affecting
farmers. The department hopes
to publish the proposed regula
tions and rules soon.
“Currently we are reviewing
informal public comment on the
regulations,” said Hayes.
“There have been incidents
across Pennsylvania where the
farm population has been ques
tioning whether the counties
have been interpreting the regu
lations as the legislators in
tended. We want to make sure
that the county assessor in York
County is interpreting the regu
lations the same as the county
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assessor in Warren County is.”
Jay Howes, director of policy
development for the House of
Representatives Ag Committee
staff, also discussed legislature
affecting agriculture.
Howes discussed the modifi
cation of the drought crop loss'
legislature, which freed up funds
to distribute all of the 60 million
available. The modifications
also opened up the crop insur
ance program to any producer,
not just those who participated
in the 1999 crop loss assistance
program.
Howes also highlighted two
other legislative issues the Ag
committee is working on. The
first is an ag technology bill that
would provide low-interest loans
for installation of irrigation sys
tems. The second involves two
bills that address land use issues.
“They’re making language
modifications to these bills, and
we need to keep an eye on
them,” said Howes. “It’s im
portant that the agriculture land
exemption language stays the
same.”
In his comments, House en
couraged the Council to support
Ken Rutt, who is up for re
election to the state conservation
board. The Council voted to
send a letter of approval on
Rutt’s behalf.
Pete Hardin, editor of the national milk marketing report,
The Milkweed , will explain what’s really going on in dairy:
• The U.S. has a MILK SHORTAGE, NOT A
SURPLUS. (Imports are killing milk prices.)
• Why young dairy animals are scarce and prices will
only skyrocket.
• “Reformed” federal milk pricing is yielding crumbs
to farmers.
• What you can do to improve prices and returns.
The Milkweed is a controversial, independent marketing report
for farmers—published for 21 years and sustained by 6500 subscribers
For free sample copies of this informative publication, interested
persons may write to: The Milkweed, Box 10, Brooklyn, WI 53521.
(The Lancaster Co. Farm & Home Center is located at 1383 Arcadia
Road-just off PA Highway 72, and just south of the intersection of PA 72
and U.S. Route 30. Head south on PA 72 from that intersection and turn left
on to Arcadia Road between the Conestoga Marine and Honda car
dealership. B£ THERE: 8:00 p.m. Monday, May 22!)
(co-hosted by banco Dairy Cooperative)
Council members also
brought up other issues dealing
with Pennsylvania agriculture
during the meeting. Some of
those issues included new pesti
cide regulations, the Environ-
mental Protection Agency’s
proposed water runoff rules,
funding for vocational agricul
ture programs, and potential
changes to the state inheritance
tax regulations.
The group highlighted the
success of the recent Annual
Cornucopia. 192 people at
tended the event held in the ro
tunda of the Capitol building.
117 legislators, along with their
staffs, came to the event to net
work with 75 farm organization
representatives and guests.
During the meeting, the
Council filled the vacancy on
the executive board. Gary
Maurer from the Pennsylvania
Young Farmers’ Association
was nominated to fill the posi
tion.
Vice President Curtis Kratz
from Moyer Packing Company
led the meeting and encouraged
the group to form a new com
mittee to coordinate more activi
ties benefiting the agriculture
industry.
“Everything this group has
done in the past has been really
good, but we need to do more,’’
said Kratz. “We have the oppor
tunity and expertise to do some
thing more to better agriculture
in Pennsylvania.”