Seed Council Reviews ‘Onerous’ Issues At Annual Meeting
(Continued from Pago AM) headquartered in Washington, are required on state highway ment. This a national
ing nfcans to ensure that seed D.C., needs industry members to projects, a cottage industry trend in falling enrollments in
genetic "copyrights” are en- work on ways to ensure the would have to be established to agronomy departments across
forced for manufacturers on plant species necessary for supply the seed as part of the re- the country,
overseas markets. growers who supply depart- quest process. At Penn State, graduation of
“You know, it’s those issues ments of transportation are not Looking at “ecotypes and agronomists has fallen back,
that come up out of nowhere on die national list, if it ever be- biotypes becomes rather daunt- “There’s no demand (in the in
that we need to be prepared comes established. ing to think about,” said Bach- dustry) for them,” Bachman
for,” Wertman said. “It’s those man. said.
issues out of left field that can But researchers at Penn'State The university recently made
impact our industry.” continue to embrace the values a bid for an additional 60 acres
Fred Grau, Grasslyn, Inc., in of biotech. In the future, value- of land from an adjoining farm
State College, ASTA representa- added properties can be added in Landisville, but lost it at auc
tive to the Mid-Atlantic Exotic to com to help suppress mastitis tion, Bachman said. A few more
Pest Plant Council (EPPC), said in cows, or be provided with an- acres to continue Penn State re
though no official lists exists for tioxidant values (similar to search programs at the research
PennDOT or the state turnpike edible com varieties) for ani- center in Landisville are being
commission, Maryland’s high- mats, or corn grains with vacci- considered, noted Bachman,
way department considers nation capabilities. Other topics included at the
crown vetch and tall fescue in- Penn State is considering meeting were mandatory non
vasive plants. changing the name of the binding arbitration, seed quality
The core group that is “riding Agronomy Department to the issues, committee reports, and
the bus,” in terms of the invasive Plant and Soils Science Depart- other Seed Council business
species lists, is the “hard eco- matters,
left,” said Grau.
They present the need for
preservation as a “religious
mindset.”
The Mid-Atlantic EPPC is a
501C3 charitable organization
that anybody can join. ASTA,
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Walt Peecbatka, executive di
rector of PennAg Industries,
noted this was the first Seed
Council meeting since the old
Pennsylvania Seed Council was
dissolved and became part of
PennAg last year.
A big issue faced by PennAg is
the increasing domination of
rural township supervisor
boards by those who don’t un
derstand agriculture and don’t
have an ag policy.
PennAg, noted Peechatka, is
working with the State Associa
tion of Township Supervisors on
a policy book for agriculture in
townships.
PennAg works to ensure the
townships do not violate the Ag
Security Act, Right to Farm leg
islation, and Nutrient Manage
ment legislation in place which
preempt township provisions.
Jim Adams, PennAg Indus
tries Legislative Committee
member, raid the organization is
thinking about creating a coali
tion committee legislative liai
son position, not a lobbyist but a
person who could help during
the legislative process and be
active in the ag community.
Dr. Paul Bachman, associate
dean of research and graduate
education at Penn State, spoke
about the huge turnovers that
have occurred at the university
(90 people in more than three
years) to retirement and other
reasons. Many have not been re
placed.
He also spoke about the inva
sive species issue. He noted that
one researcher found out that
for a certain plant, the bluestem,
an important forage grass in the
western U.S., though the species
are similar, one biotype can be
different from the next. The
Maine bluestem can differ in
biotype from the Texas blues
tem.
As a result, if native species
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Ag Conference Jan. 12-13
WYOMISSING (Berks Co.)
Agriculture remains a power
house industry in Berks County.
Intending to keep that industry
healthy and growing, a coalition
of farm and agribusiness leaders
have announce a two-day
conference, “Charting
the Future of Berks
County Agriculture:
Farming and Food
Processing in the 21st
Century,” Friday and
Saturday, Jan. 12-13.
The conference, de
veloped by the Berks
County Board of
Commissioners,
begins with a dinner
Jan. 12, beginning at
6:30 p.m, at the Inn at
Reading, Wyomissing.
Art Brown, secretary
of agriculture for New
Jersey, is the keynote
speaker.
Conference ses
sions, all in the Per
kins Student Union
Building at the Berks-
Lehigh Valley College
of the Pennsylvania
State University,
Spring Township,
occur Jan. 13. The ses
sions centering on
topics including the
future markets, work
force availability,
biotechnology and
genetic engineering,
land availability and
use issues, consumer
demographics and
market trends, food
safety, financial issues,
agriculture laws and
regulations, processor
needs, and the future
of agriculture in Penn
sylvania begin at 8
a.m. and continue
through 12:30 p.m.
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