A32-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 10, 2000
‘Green Milk’ Successfully Test-Marketed At Mid-Atlantic Stores
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) People are con
cerned about protecting water
quality and some even are will
ing to pay for it, said a scientist
in Penn State’s College of Agri
cultural Sciences.
The Environmental Quality
Initiative Inc. a collaboration
between Penn State, the Chesa
peake Bay Foundation, the
Pennsylvania Association for
Sustainable Agriculture, the
Rodale Institute, and the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency recently tested peo
ple’s willingness to purchase
milk in an eco-labeled milk
carton, “with successful re
sults,” said Les Lanyon, profes
sor of soil fertility.
With support from a Pennsyl
vania Department of Environ
mental Protection grant,
Chesapeake Milk hit the shelves
in December 1998. Produced by
dairy farmers in southeastern
Pennsylvania, the milk in spe-i
dally marked cartons was test
marketed for more than a year
at Fresh Fields grocery stores in
Pennsylvania, Maryland, north
ern Virginia, and Washington,
D.C.
“When consumers purchase
Chesapeake Milk, dairy farmers
who are doing a good job of pro
tecting water quality receive a
premium,” Lanyon explained.
“A nickel per half-gallon goes
directly to these farmers.”
To participate, farmers un
dergo a yearly evaluation that
examines how well farmstead
structures and management
practices protect water quality
on the farm. The evaluation,
performed by Leon Weber,
Rodale Institute’s on-farm coor
dinator, looks at six areas
around the dairy farmstead,
such as whether cows are kept
out of streams, how barnyard
runoff is managed, and how pes
ticides are stored and handled.
So far, 20 Pennsylvania dairy
farmers have participated.
“Even farmers who didn’t
qualify for the program ended
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LEBANON VALLEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Manufacturing - Powder Coating • Precast
up making changes,” said
Weber. “Farmers are concerned
about the environment and real
ize these practices can make
business sense as well.”
“Agriculture is still consid
ered by many to be the number
one cause of nonpoint source
pollution,” Lanyon said. “His
torically, government cost-share
programs paid for some of the
cost of water quality protection
on farms to reduce the ‘burden’
on farmers. But many people
have become disillusioned with
the level of environmental qual
ity resulting from this approach.
Other methods, such as direct
regulation, are likely to be im
plemented.
“Typically, regulations spec
ify conditions that must be met
or practices that must be in
stalled,” he said. “To deal with
additional costs, farmers often
have to increase milk produc
tion or increase the number of
cows they milk. This could ac
celerate the evolution of farms
in the ‘get bigger or get out’ di
rection and does little to pre
serve small family farms.”
This issue is particularly se
rious in Pennsylvania, which
ranks fourth in the nation in
milk production and where av
erage herd size is only two
thirds of the national average.
Lancaster County, where the
dairy herds are smaller than the
state norm, has the highest dairy
cow population per square mile
in the U.S. At the same time,
more than half of the state in
cluding Lancaster County
contributes freshwater to the
Chesapeake Bay.
“Manure and sediment that
are allowed to run off from
Pennsylvania farms can cause
serious problems in the bay,”
said Turner Odell, staff attorney
for the Chesapeake Bay Foun
dation. “It is important that we
encourage farmers to use envi
ronmentally sensitive practices
that protect water quality, but
we also understand that these
X Adjustable neck opening for calf to cow
X Auto Release for downed cows
practices must be economically
sustainable.”
The group learned that intro
ducing an eco-labeled product is
not without its challenges. “It’s
not easy to achieve buy-in from
players in the food system whose
agendas may not include envi
ronmental protection,” Lanyon
said. “It’s also not easy to com
The Pennsylvania Ayrshire
breeders have planed their annual
picnic on Sunday, June 25 at
Myron and Teresa Pomraning’s
farm located at 491 Slab Road,
Delta Starting time is 11 p.m. •
Association officials have
planned a relaxing day of fun and
fellowship with fellow Ayrshire
breeders. Activities that are
planned include various industry
related games and contests,
horseshoes, volleyball, and
swimming Bring your lawn
chairs, swimsuits, and towels
Lunch will be served at 12:30 and
will feature a pig roast with all the
Out
in vo
The Agri-specialists from Farmers First aren’t a bunch of deskbound
bankers waiting around for the phone to ring. We get involved with you.
Right where you live and work. We lend the money farmers need to keep
growing. And, we can help your business in a lot of other ways, too.
We talk the talk. And we walk the walk, (wherever that might lead us).
™ ; T ! . " ■
municate new ideas to milk con
sumers.
“However, we learned that
dairy farmers are very interested
in this effort. Top government
officials also supported the con
cept. And consumers purchased
enough of the Chesapeake Milk
for premiums to go back to
Pennsylvania Ayrshire Picnic
Set For June 25
trimmings.
Directions to the farm are as
follows;
From York, follow route 74
south through Red Lion, Brogue,
and Airville to Route 372 east
heading for the Susquehanna
River and Lancaster County. Turn
left onto 372 and go one-half mile
and turn right onto Slab Road.
The farm is 1.6 miles on the left.
From Lancaster, follow Route
272 south to Route 372 west. At
the Buck turn right onto 372,
cross the Norman Wood Bridge
over the Susquehanna River. Take
the second road left, Flaharty
The Agri-speclallsts
A SUSQUEHANNA BANC V W*"** FDIC
farmers.
“Now, the challenge is to
create more opportunities for
eco-labeled products,” Lanyon
said. “If we’re successful, the
costs of environmental protec
tion will be shared by those who
care and are committed enough
to act on what they value.”
Road. There turn left and follow
to stop, bear right, farm is on the
right one-fourth mile.
If you plan to come please
RSVP to Teresa at 1-800-551-
6567 by June 20.
Ayrshire breeders are also
asked to remember that
consignments for the annual Raise
To Graze sale scheduled for
August 19 are due by July 1.
Please send your consignment
information to John Rodgers at
717-935-5242 or Ben Htllyard at
507-569-4371. Consignments are
needed so reply as soon as
possible.
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