A24-Unc*sttr Fanning, Saturday, Juna 10, 2000
Streambank fencing is the latest buzz word in conser
vation. Martie Hetherington, a Chesapeake Bay techni
cian for Schuylkill Conservation District, encourages
farmers to fence animals away from the streambanks to
prevent water pollution.
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
POTTSVILLE (Schuylkill
Co.) Chesapeake Bay techni
cian Martie Hetherington is a
certified crop advisor, certified to
write nutrient management
plans, and has received her pesti
cide license.
Although the only certification
she needs as a Bay technician is
her certification in nutrient man
agement, Hetherington applied
for the other two because it helps
her do her job better.
“I wanted to make sure I
could talk the farmer’s talk,”
said Hetherington. “Keeping up
my accreditation helps me stay
abreast of not just what is hap
pening in nutrient management,
but what is involved in the cul
ture of crop production.”
“People think that since farm
ers have planted crops for hun
Agri-Services Agency Returns
Substantial Dividend To Farmers
SYRACUSE, N.Y. For the
third consecutive year, Agri-
Services Agency (ASA) has de
clared a substantial dividend for
farmers enrolled in its workers’
compensation safety group in
Pennsylvania. More than
$350,000 in returned premiums
has been distributed to agribusi
ness owners in the ASA Safety
Group this year alone.
“Since the inception of the
ASA Safety Group six years ago,
participants have seen their
workers’ compensation insurance
costs drop more than 50 per
cent,” said ASA Vice President
Gene Madill.
The Agri-Services Safety
Group has taken important steps
to monitor and help reduce the
incidence of occupational inju
ries and illness associated with
farming, explained Madill. “Our
record of declaring substantial
Chesapeake Bay Technician Helps
Farmers Keep Clean Water Clean
dreds of years, there shouldn’t be
too many changes,” said Hether
ington. “But there is always
some new regulation, product, or
technique that you have to learn.
My accreditation keeps me from
getting stuck in my box.”
Hetherington works with
Schuylkill county farmers who
are located in the Chesapeake
Bay / Susquehanna River basin.
About a half of the county’s
farmland is located in the Chesa
peake Bay area, while the other
half is located in the Delaware
River basin. •
“In this county, most fanners
sign up for the Chesapeake Bay
program after hearing about it
through word of mouth,” said
Hetherington. “My farmers are
my best salespeople. Sometimes
farmers can be apprehensive
about working with the govern
ment. But then they see their
dividends is a direct result of our
emphasis on safety awareness, as
well as the cost control efforts of
the program. Many agribusiness
owners received as much as 30
percent of their already discount
ed premiums back this year,” he
said.
At a recent agricultural recep
tion in Harrisburg, ASA pres
ented Pennsylvania Agriculture
Secretary Samuel E. Hayes, Jr.
with a symbolic check for
$353,027, representing the divi
dends returned to agricultural
employers in Pennsylvania.
In applauding ASA’s perform
ance, Secretary Hayes said,
“Agri-Services Agency’s efforts
have been successful in educating
Pennsylvania farmers about the
need for safety, and in turn, are
saving them money through the
discounted rates of their workers’
compensation safety group.
Pennsylvania agriculture has
neighbor installing a new ma
nure facility and find out we’re
not too bad to work with.”
Hetherington helps fanners in
the Chesapeake Bay area devel
op Ag Waste Storage Plans for
their farms. Part of the plan in
cludes writing a nutrient man
agement plan and a conservation
plan. Through the Chesapeake
Bay program, the farmers can re
ceive money to help fund new
manure facilities and other im
provements included in the plan.
“The best way to sell a farmer
on developing a conservation
plan and a nutrient management
plan on their farm is by showing
them the bottom line,” said
Hetherington. “You have to
show them how it is going to ben
efit the farmer. They can save a
lot of money using less fertilizer
once they take into consideration
the nutrients from their ma
nure.”
Hetherington coordinates the
Chesapeake Bay program for
Schuylkill County Conservation
District. The program’s funding
comes from the Environmental
Protection Agency, funnels
through the Pennsylvania De
partment of Environmental Pro
tection, and then comes to the
districts. It’s Hetherington’s job
to distribute the money to farm
ers.
“We work with farmers to d
termine what Best Managenu
Practices they would like to
installed on their farm,” sai
Hetherington. “Our main er
phasis in the program is to kr
clean water clean.”
Hetherington works do:
with the USDA’s Natural
source and Conservation Sei
ice’s soil conservationist throu)
the program. “We install divi
sions around bam yards, n
gutters, and other things to pi
vent polluting rain water. Mi
nure storage facilities are probs
bly the biggest item we install,
but we also try to determir
what will work best overall.”
Since Act 6 or the Nutrii
Management law came into <
istence, all nutrient managemi
plans that Hetherington wriu
have to be in compliance with
Act 6.
“All Chesapeake Bay techni
cians must be certified to write
and approve nutrient manage
ment plans,” said Hetherington.
benefited greatly from this initia
tive.”
Madill reported that the Agri-
Services Safety Group continues
to grow rapidly as a result of the
value that it is bringing to agri
culture employers. ASA workers’
compensation coverage is avail
able to those involved in produc
tion agriculture in most states in
the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
regions of the country.
Workers’ compensation cover
age is among the many compet
itively priced insurance pro
grams offered through ASA,
which has been providing insur
ance programs to the agricultural
sector for more than 30 years. As
an agricultural insurance special
ist, ASA also provides health,
dental, life, disability, and long
term care insurance. For more
information on the wide array of
coverages available from ASA,
call 1-800-654-8840.
“I’ll write a plan for any farmer
who is involved in the Bay pro
gram. However, I encourage
other farmers, especially farmers
with concentrated animal feed
ing operations, to work with pri
vate consultants to write plans.”
Hetherington has been writing
nutrient management plans since
the late 1980 s. “We’re very fortu
nate that the Chesapeake Bay
program was the only program
for a while that had a consistent
amount of money. The sad part
is I can only deal with half of the
farmers in this county. The farm
ers located in the Delaware River
basin would like help, too, but we
don’t have the funding for
them.”
According to Hetherington,
the Chesapeake Bay program
funding gets more limited each
year. “We have to compete more
and more between counties, and
we seem to be losing money.”
Still, Hetherington enjoys
every aspect of her job, especially
her ability to help farmers. She
has been working for the Conser
vation District for 12 years.
“I grew up in a suburb in
Bucks County and my mother
had the county agent come look
at a tree in our yard,” said Heth
erington. “When I met the exten-
Acres of beautiful farmland are Schuylkill County’s
best kept secret. Martle Hetherington works with farm
ers to help conserve water and other natural resources
while improving the bottom line with conservation plan
ning.
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Agri-Services Agency Representative Peter Switalski
(right) presents Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Sam
uel E. Hayes, Jr. with a symbolic check for $353,027,
representing the dividends returned to agricultural em
ployers in Pennsylvania by the Agri-Services Agency
Workers’ Compensation Safety Group.
sion agent, I thought, ‘wow, what
a cool job.’ ”
So Hetherington went to the
University of Delaware to study
plant science and agriculture ed
ucation. She interned during col
lege as a summer assistant and
was the Bucks County horticul
ture extension agent for seven
years. Then, after marrying a po
tato farmer, Martie moved to
Schuylkill County to take the
Chesapeake Bay position at the
Conservation District.
“I’ve always been interested in
education and in helping farm
ers,” said Hetherington. “Be
tween extension and this posi
tion, I feel like 1 am doing what I
always wanted to do.”
Calling herself one of the dino
saurs of the Chesapeake Bay
program, Martie enjoys working
with the farmers and the diversi
ty in her job. Her quest to learn
more and maintain certification
in crop advising, pesticides, and
nutrient management is part of
her drive to go the extra mile.
“It’s a personal thing for me,”
said Hetherington. “The farmers
don’t care whether I am certified
or not, but it’s something more I
can offer them even if they don’t
know I have it. It helps me an
swer their questions and solve
their problems better.”
*353,027.00
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