V 01.45 No. 44
Growing produce to sell means money in the bank for Beth Kreider, 16. But this Leba
non County Fair Queen said thatyßßWHHq her own business also has a downside.
“Every time I go to the mall and sea something I want, I think of all the boxes of tomatoes
I needed to sell to earn enough money to buy it," she said. “Having my own business has
really taught me to grasp the concept and value of money.” To read more about Beth,
her growing business, and the beef and poultry operation of her parents, Harold and
Barb Kreider, turn to page 812. Photo by Lou Ann Good
Brent Landis
Agriculture Services Coordinator
The
/m Lancaster
hh Chamber
of C onimnrt 6 Jiuhislrv
Phone; (717) 397-3531 ext. 62
E-malhblandlsOlccl.com
A Valuable Resource
For Agricultural Law
As our agricultural industry
continues to grow and intensify
in Pennsylvania, many legal
issues are beginning to take pre
cedence. In an effort to provide
a free source of educational pro
grams, information, and materi
als focused on agricultural law
to the ag-community, Penn
State’s Agricultural Law Re
search and Education Center
was formed in 1997. The Center
is a creation from the merger of
the Dickinson School of Law
with The Pennsylvania State
University.
The Center is not only an ex
cellent resource for farmers, but
also for professionals, govern
ment officials and extension fac
ulty and staff. The Cooperative
Extension network works
closely with the Center to pro
vide many educational sources
on law and regulatory topics to
farmers and agribusiness organ
izations. Lawyers, accountants,
Four Sections
financial planners and many
other professionals can use the
Center as a key resource for in
formation that may affect their
clients. Continuing education •
(Turn to Page A 33)
Office Closed
Labor Day
On Labor Day, Sept. 4, Lan
caster Farming office is closed.
The office will reopen Tuesday,
Sept. 5.
For the Sept. 9 issue, there
are some deadline changes:
Public Sale and Mailbox
ads, noon, Friday, Sept. 1.
Classified, Section D ads
5 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Classified, Section C, Farm
Equipment ads, 9 a.m., Wednes
day, Sept. 6.
General News noon,
Thursday, Sept. 7.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 2, 2000
A ceremony to recognize the collection of one million pounds of waste pesticides was
conducted at the Johnson’s Nursery and Landscape, Inc. Halifax, late last week. Collec
tions have been completed in all 67 Pennsylvania counties and 4,000 individuals partici
pated in the program. The Chemsweep Program is making a significant contribution to
Pennsylvania’s ground and surface water quality goals.
The cost of the program is supported by pesticide product registration, not by tax rev
enues. Pennsylvania is one of the first states in the nation to complete a statewide col
lection and is recognized as a national leader.
The program is designed to provide a means to dispose of canceled, suspended, or
unwanted pesticide products. In the photo, from left, Phil Pitzer, PDA bureau of plant in
dustry; Hal Fairbank, MSE Environmental engineer; Greg Johnson, deputy secretary of
agriculture; Chris Herr, PDA bureau of plant industry director; and Lyle Forer.
Latest Results OiHßobotlc
Milkers: The European Reality
DR. MARK VARNER
Professor, Extension
Dairy Scientist,
University of Maryland
Editor’s Note: Dr. Mark
Varner, professor, extension
dairy scientist at the University
of Maryland was invited to
make a presentation at a paral
lel conference and thus attended
the International Symposium on
Robotic Milking for self educa
tion. Dr. Varner says he learned
a lot and has provided Lancaster
Farming with this summary of
what is happening in Europe
with robotic automated milking
systems.
NETHERLANDS - Robotic
automated milking systems
(AMS) have been promised by
futurists for some time, and it
now appears that at least for
Europe, they are no longer a
promise. Instead, they are a re
ality. Their growing and now
widespread use on private dairy
farms for the last several years
confirms that for at least
Europe, AMS are an important
part of the future. The most ex
citing developments in Europe
are related to what farmers and
their advisors are learning about
practical AMS use.
Robotic automated milking
$32.00 Per Year
systefhs have been used by pri
vate Dutch dairy farmers since
1992. Over 500 AMS units are
now on farms, with most in the
Netherlands and almost all of
the rest elsewhere in Europe. An
international symposium was
held in Lelystad, Netherlands on
18-19 August 2000 to discuss
these results. Over 250 people
from 20 countries heard 25 pres
entations, viewed over 30 scien
tific poster presentations and
visited private dairy farms using
the five brands of AMS being
marketed.
Many of the technical engi
neering problems, especially
those critical challenges con
cerning attachment of teat cups,
have been resolved over the last
several years. The equipment
works reliably, but now new
problems have developed with
the widespread adoption of the
AMS by private farmers.
MILK QUALITY
Milk quality parameters were
found by various research
groups to be significantly worse
in herds using AMS. Sometimes,
though infrequently, the levels
exceeded milk marketing organ
ization penalty limits. Of course,
that sometimes happens with
dairy producers using conventi
(Turn to Pag* A 34)
60C Per Copy