Nearly 50,000 Acres In Pennsylvania
Offered For Crop Reserve Enrollment
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Pennsylvania Game Com
mission Executive Director Vem
Ross last week announced that
farmers and rural landowners
have offered nearly 50,000 acres
toward the 100,000-acre goal for
enrollment in the Conservation
Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP).
“Not only will this program
benefit small game hunting, but it
also will go a long way toward
improving water quality and re
ducing soil erosion into the Sus
quehanna and Potomac river ba
sins. The Pennsylvania CREP
represents a major step in the
state’s efforts to help restore our
watersheds and meet Gov. Tom
Ridge’s upstream commitments
to help protect the Chesapeake
Bay,” Ross said.
Eligible land must have a crop
ping history or be marginal pas
ture. Land must be planted with
conservation cover such as native
warm-season grasses, cool-season
grasses and legumes, or trees and
shrubs. Farmers and landowners
are offered annual rental pay
ments (rental rates will vary by
county and soil type, but range
from about $55 to $2OO per acre),
with the possibility of a one-time
bonus payment for implementing
certain conservation practices,
such as riparian forest buffers,
grass filter strips, or creating wet
lands. Landowners also receive
up to 100 percent cost-share for
installing such practices.
CREP does not target Pennsyl
vania’s best farmland, but rather
focuses on those lands in most
need of conservation. The pro
gram will influence less than
three percent of the farmland in
the 20 counties eligible for CREP,
but it will positively influence
Pennsylvania Represented At
Conservation Reserve Forum
ST. MICHAELS, Md. Rep
resentatives from 31 states gath
ered here last week to discuss the
USDA’s Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program (CREP).
CREP was lauded as the most ef
fective federal conservation pro
gram, capable of addressing up to
five million acres of agricultural
land in the 50 states.
The focus of the CREP Forum
was implementation strategies of
the different states and the status
of the 2002 federal
Farm Bill that will de
termine the future of
CREP, as well as other
federal farmland pro
grams,
Highlights of the
forum included a dis
cussion by Congress
man Wayne Gilchrest
of Maryland on the
importance of CREP
in Maryland and his
perspectives on the
Farm Bill. Congress
man Tim Holden of
Pennsylvania, a mem
ber of the House Agri
culture Committee,
was represented at this
meeting by a member
of his staff. In addi
tion, Tim Searchinger
of Environmental De
fense and Ron Helin
ski of the Wildlife
Management Institute
also spoke on the bene
fits of CREP and their
organizations’ perspec
tive on the 2002 Farm
Bill.
Pennsylvania’s
water quality, recovery of declin
ing wildlife populations and farm
income.
USDA began taking offers for
enrollment in CREP on June 1,
2000. Program enrollment will
remain open until at least Sept.
30, 2002, or until the
100,000-acre cap is reached. So
far, more than 1,600 landowners
have offered 49,236 acres for en
rollment in CREP in the
20-county region.
A listing of the total acres of
fered through May 15, for enroll
ment in the eligible counties is:
Adams, 1,573 acres; Bedford,
2.000 acres; Berks, 1,039 acres;
Chester, 397 acres; Columbia,
6,340 acres; Cumberland, 847
acres; Dauphin, 2,913 acres;
Franklin, 1,802 acres; Fulton,
1,530 acres; Juniata, 1,266 acres;
Lancaster, 636 acres; Lebanon,
234 acres; Montour, 2,425 acres;
Northumberland, 8,869 acres;
Perry, 826 acres; Schuylkill, 3,819
acres; Somerset, 4,080 acres;
Snyder, 3,180 acres; Union, 1,777
acres; and York, 3,682 acres.
Klinger noted that wildlife
habitat biologists have completed
eligibility determinations for
1,036 landowners on about
28.000 acres. He also said that
wildlife habitat biologists have
completed nearly 700 conserva
tion plans encompassing more
than 19,000 acres. Nearly 7,300
of those planned acres also arc
part of the Game Commission’s
Cooperative Farm-Game Pro
gram, which has improved hunt
er access to private property for
more than 60 years. Almost 5,000
acres are planned to be planted
this spring with native warm-sea
son grasses, and nearly 800 acres
are forested riparian buffers.
Landowners interested in par-
CREP was presented by Scott
Klinger of the Pennsylvania
Game Commission. In addition,
existing CREP efforts in North
Carolina, Delaware, Illinois,
Maryland, Minnesota, New York,
Oregon, Virginia, Ohio, Michi
gan, North Dakota, Missouri,
and Washington were also de
scribed.
Pennsylvania’s CREP is a
partnership between the state
and federal governments, the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the
ARE YOU CONSIDERING:
SELLING YOUR FARM * BUYING A FARM * RELOCATING
We offer professional real estate services to help you. We have a service
oriented, family business that combines knowledge, experience, sales
expertise, and networking exposure to help your family with your biggest
investment.
We can market your farm for the highest and best price. If you are
looking for a certain type of farm we can help you find it. We specialize
in farm properties in Southeastern, Central and Southcentral
Pennsylvania.
We understand your need for:
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We would be happy to meet with you to discuss your goals, and how we
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Real Estate Sales
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(717) 872-9002 46 4_8930
Knowledge + Service + Integrity = Performance
ticipating in CREP are encour
aged to contact the habitat biolo
gist assigned to their respective
county;
• Brian Wolff is working with
landowners in Bedford, Fulton
and Somerset counties. He can be
reached at (814) 445-6876, ext.
130;
• Colleen DeLong is working
with landowners in Northumber
land and Union counties. She can
be reached at (570) 286-7114, ext.
114;
• Dean Shank is working with
landowners in Adams and York
counties. He can be reached at
(717) 334-2317, ext. 119;
• Sharon Scarborough is
working with landowners in
Cumberland and Franklin coun
ties. She can be reached at (717)
249-3924, ext. 113;
• Roger Coup is working with
landowners in Dauphin, Lebanon
and Perry counties. He can be
reached at (717) 921-2380, ext.
180;
• Scott Singer is working with
landowners in Columbia and
Montour counties. He can be
reached at (570) 784-1062, ext.
126;
• Kevin Wenner is working
with landowners in Berks and
Schuylkill counties. He can be
reached at (570) 622-1312, ext.
119;
• Chad Spencer is working
with landowners in Juniata and
Snyder counties. He can be
reached at (570) 837-0007, ext.
113; and
• Josh Homyack is working
with landowners in Chester and
Lancaster counties. He can be
reached at (717) 396-9423.
Landowners also may contact
the USDA Service Center in their
county, which is listed in the tele
phone book blue pages.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau,
Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants For
ever, and others designed to im
prove water quality and wildlife
habitat. Pennsylvania’s CREP fo
cuses on highly erodible farmland
in a 20-county region in the Sus
quehanna arid Potomac water
sheds.
For more information, contact
Steve Taglang at (717) 783-8727
or e-mail taglang.
steven@dep.state.pa.us.
I Farmers Sought To Serve
As Sustainable Farmer Educators
BURLINGTON, Vt. Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education (SARE) announces a, new program to promote sustain
able agriculture in which three farmers will be selected to serve as Sus
tainable Fanner Educators.
These farmers will be proven experts in their fields who have expe
rience sharing their knowledge with other farmers, extension educat
ors and other agricultural professionals. They will have spoken at
meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars, and field days, answered
questions by telephone, e-mail and fax, and otherwise generously re
sponded to requests for help and information.
In the upcoming year, Northeast SARE will reimburse these Sus
tainable Farmer-Educators for their time and the expenses they incur
as they continue to share their knowledge.
For 2002, three Sustainable Farmer Educators will be chosen, one
from each of the following subject areas: grazing management for
dairy cows, horticultural crops, and agronomic crops.
Each of the Sustainable Farmer Educators will be awarded a grant
for up to $B,OOO to reimburse travel, phone, fax, and e-mail expenses
and to compensate for their time.
The activities of each farmer will be reviewed annually, and there is
the possibility of extending the award for a total of three years.
Applicants should farm within the region, which is made up of
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ver
mont, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
This is a competitive program, and applications should be in the
Northeast SARE office by Sept. 28. Selections will be made by Nov. 1.
To learn more about this initiative and Northeast SARE, call (802)
656-0471.
Portable Sawmill Day
Scheduled In Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Operat
ing a portable sawmill takes more
than buying a mill and locating
logs to saw, said Ed Smith, natu
ral resources specialist at the East
District office of Ohio State Uni
versity Extension.
Whether landowners are pur
chasing a mill for full-time em
ployment or to produce lumber
for their own property, they need
to learn how to maximize its effi
ciency and use it properly.
Landowners and others inter
ested in portable sawmills should
attend Portable Sawmill Day,
Saturday, July 14, from 9:30 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. at the Bruce Tree
Farm in Monroe County. The
day will offer basic information
on owning and operating porta
ble sawmills and considerations
of buying a mill.
In the past 15 years, interest in
portable sawmills has grown,
Smith said. Today, there are
more than 80 firms manufactur-
ing portable sawmills.
“There are more than 200
models of portable sawmills
available on the market,” he said.
“They range in price from less
than $5,000 to $50,000 or more.”
There are three basic types of
mills: circular, band and
chain.“ The amount of production
Pack Mat
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For details and installation with over 7 years experience, call:
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ooocnyo Ask For MerrjU Qr Sam
and the quality of the product
you will want to produce will de
termine the type of mill you
should purchase. Generally,
higher-priced mills will have
more features and labor-saving
devices than lower-priced mills,”
he saidAt least two mills will be
demonstrated throughout the
day, and a number of resource
people will be on hand to answer
technical questions. A panel dis
cussion of existing operators and
a manufacturer is scheduled.
Other topics to be covered in
clude sawing patterns; grading,
stacking and drying wood; com
plying with governmental regula
tions; waste disposal; and sawmill
safety.
Preregistration for' the pro
?ram is requested. Registration is
10 per person and includes
lunch. The Bruce Tree Farm is
located approximately 10 miles
north of Lewisville off Township
Road 68.
information, contact the Monroe
County office of Ohio State Uni
versity Extension, (740) 472-0810;
a county or local Extension of
fice, service forester, or Soil and
Water Conservation District; or
Smith, (740) 732-2381,
smith.2S@osu.edu.
Pasture Mai:
The Golden Standard In Cow Comfort
"V*
For registration or additional
1