AlB-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 30, 2000
Agriculture
(Continued from Page A 1)
tional venture was named
AgStar Technologies.
The Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture allocated
$5.6 million to aid farmers in
purchasing crop insurance. This
money was in addition to the
$6O million Pennsylvania used
for disaster relief from the 1999
drought.
Also during February, Gover
nor Ridge proposed a budget
which included $135 million
toward Pennsylvania’s “Grow
ing Greener” environmental
effort.
Pennsylvania’s Department
of Agriculture (farmland preser
vation), Department of Environ
mental Protection (watershed
protection and restoration), De
partment of Conservation of
Natural Resources (grants to
communities) and Pennsylvania
Infrastructure Investment Au
thority(water and sewer proj
ects) received the money.
In the last days of February,
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Dan Glickman announced the
pork checkoff referendum in re
sponse to the call from Cam
paign for Family Farms.
March
Plum Pox hit the news again as Ag Secre
tary Samuel Hayes issued a treatment order
requiring that infected orchards in Pennsyl
vania be destroyed by April 1, affecting 218
acres of trees.
April
The Pennsylvania Beef Council and Penn
State University unveiled the “Blueprint for
Success” program. The program provides
cattle feeders with an education program
meant to increase the beef value and improve
profitability.
Meeting a deadline: more than 100 farms
were preserved in 100 days before Earth Day.
Since January, nearly $23 million was in
vested to preserve the farms.
May
New York’s legislative leaders reached an
agreement on the state budget, “one of the
best for agriculture,” reported Lancaster
Fanning.
The budget represented a historic $l2 mil
lion reform of tax exemption programs for
farmers, plus reductions in energy tax and
restoration of various agricultural programs.
Pfizer Inc. and Warner-Lambert Co. com
pleted one of the year’s top mergers on June
19 for $ll6 billion. The merger was one of the
top 210 worldwide mergers.
The 2000 “Simply Delicious” marketing
campaign was kicked off with a check to
Pennsylvania fruit and vegetable growers for
the billboards and point-or-purchase materi
als. The campaign, in its fourth year, has
grown to include more than 900 stores and
500 growers.
Plum Pox was again in the news, this time
for a sweeter reason: The USDA compen
sated Pennsylvania fruit growers with up to
$13.2 million for trees destroyed in an effort
to control the disease.
In mid-July, Pennsylvania earned a certifi
cation from the USDA as having received
bovine tuberculosis (TB) “accredited free
state” status. This TB-free recognition came
on the heels of a large scale effort in testing
and meeting regulations.
The Dairy Forward Pricing Program offi
cially began on July 19. The voluntary pro
gram allows dairy farmers and handlers to
forward contract where they agree to terms
by which the handler buys raw milk and the
. producer is paid.
August
Empire Farm Days, New York’s largest ag
ricultural showcase event, served as host to
the New York State FFA and New York 4-H
Tractor Operators contest for the first time,
drawing 100 students from the state to com
pete in the contest.
Lebanon farmers received a symbolic check
representing final payments under the Crop
Loss Program and closing out the 1999
drought disaster relief program.
The Reading Fairground opened its doors
on 60 acres of ground. Not only the acreage
but much of the construction and money
which covered additional costs was donated
Governor Ridge committed
$9O million capital investment
in agriculture, a largest-ever
state investment. The money is
slated for a new exposition
center and major renovations to
the Farm Show Complex, a new
research center at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Veter
inary Medicine, and a new live
stock evaluation center at Penn
State.
Visitors to Ag Progress Days
at Rockspring enjoyed both
clear weather and the optimistic
outlook pervading the event,
which officials called the largest
in memory.
Returning the favor .. Penn
sylvania farmers were blessed
with assistance from other states
as a result of the 1999 drought,
and producers had a chance to
aid other producers with the “I
Care A Ton” program. Pennsyl
vania producers contributed
more than 1,200 tons of hay to
Montana farmers and ranchers
during the first week of the pro
gram following its announce
ment on Aug. 25. The hay went
to Montana producers affected
by forest and range forest earlier
in the year.
June
July
Makes Headlines In The New Millennium
'a V'" * f
September
One million pounds of waste
pesticides were collected from
all 67 Pennsylvania counties and
4,000 individuals who partici
pated in the Chemsweep Pro
gram, making a significant
contribution to water quality
goals.
Somerset County Fair cele
brated 100 years of fair seasons.
Melinda Wolfe, SUN area
dairy princess, became Pennsyl
vania’s dairy princess.
The All-American Dairy
Show saw entries up 26 percent
to 2,900 head, with 21 states
represented. The aged cow
grand champion of the Eastern
National Holstein Show, owned
by Tracy and Lindsey Weiker
from Republic, Ohio, became su
preme champion.
October
The value of cheese traded on
the Chicago Mercantile Ex
change dropped to the 1978
level on Oct. 10, at $1.0550 per
pound.
Nationally, Ag Secretary Dan
Glickman signed a declaration
of emergency, authorizing the
transfer of $44 million to expand
the bovine tuberculosis eradica-
|P«E IS MONEY, HOW
."WV
tion problem in the U.S.
A $3OO million program was
announced which encourages
expanded production of fuels
made from corn, soybeans, and
other crops. Ethanol, a
“biofuel” almost nonexistent 20
years ago, now accounts for 1.2
percent of the nation’s gasoline
supply. More than 5 percent of
U.S. corn production goes to
biofuel use.
Pennsylvania received the
“Pseudorabies-Free State” certi
fication from the USDA for the
swine industry.
The Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture awarded
matching funds of up to $36,000
to the Pennsylvania Beef Coun
cil directed to the promotion of
beef quality and safety in Penn
sylvania through use of the Beef
Quality Assurance guidelines
and certification process.
The new farm equipment dis
play will be featured at the 2001
Pennsylvania Farm Show, say
officials. The display is spon
sored by major farm equipment
manufacturers and will be in the
center of the main exhibit hall.
* *p f
■( 3
November
December
The USDA announces that it
will begin accepting proposals to
fund up to $1 million in compet
itive market and promotion
projects for the U.S. lamb indus
try.
A new USDA rule put man
datory price reporting in place,
making more market informa
tion available to the industry,
available through USDA and
NCBA Websites. Packers, pro
cessors, and importers that
slaughter large amounts of
swine and lambs and cattle must
report price, volume, and terms
of trade.
Ann M. Veneman, Sacra
mento, Calif., became the first
woman to hold the office of na
tional secretary of agriculture by
president-elect George W. Bush.
Lancaster Farming
Changes With The Times
Reflecting the change and
growth this paper records,£an
caster Farming has added to its
family of publications. The com
prehensive 2001 agricultural
directory covers an eight agri
culture-intensive state area plus
national contacts.
(Turn to Pago Al 9)