(Continued from Page A 10) long as a good faith effort was made to attain the services of a certified nutrient management adviser. That good faith effort includes providing to MDA proof that certified nutrient management adviser services were requested at least 60 days prior to the first plan develop ment deadline of December 31, 2001, and that circumstances beyond the operator’s control prevented completion of the plan by that deadline. MDA is developing a form to serve as proof of request for a plan, to be signed by your certified nutrient management adviser. Currently, however, the law still requires implementation of the appropri ate nutrient management plan by December 31,2002, without a provision for delaying imple- ITS NOT TOO LATE! “Take the worry out of your feed and storage handling” (GBI) AFFORDABLE QUALITY We handle a full line of grain storage and processing equipment including: • GSI Air Stream Fans and Heaters • Wet Tanks •Transport Augers • Bucket Elevators • Grain Dryers • Stirator System For More Information and Free Estimates call Our Grain Bin Salesman Many counties do have the ca pability to service the needs of their constituents within the given plan development timeframe. Some, however, are accumulating waiting lists due to such circumstances as an ex traordinarily high demand, finite resources, or new hires that need time to be properly trained. The numbers of coun ties and the lengths of the wait ing lists are likely to grow as more producers request assist ance. If you are a producer in a county with a waiting list for nu trient management plan devel opment, simply sign up with your county extension office. If a certified nutrient management adviser will not be able to de velop your plan by the deadline, he or she will make sure you are ERSHEY EQUIPMENT CO., INC. Bill Shirey at 1-800 432-0988 still in compliance with the law for obtaining a plan by following the necessary steps within the regulations, such as signing the proposed proof-of-request form. Let me take this opportunity to remind you that there is also cost-share assistance available for the use of private sector cer tified nutrient management con sultants in the development of your nutrient management plans. The cost-share is avail able through MDA’s Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share Program (MACS) and covers up to 87.5 percent of the development cost of the plan, depending on the type and size of the operation. For more information on this program, or for a list of certified nutrient management consultants, con tact MDA at (410) 841-5959. The bottom line is that Mary land Cooperative Extension per sonnel are committed to serving the needs of their communities and will make every effort to assist in your compliance with the law. We will continue to pro vide outstanding, individualized attention in as timely a fashion as possible for as many produc ers as possible, given our finite ' Orders are still being taken ip for fall installation of i all your bins, augers IPf d storage needs. • Feed Bins • Grain Bins • Flex Auger Systems •And Much More... resources and contract arrange ment with MDA. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and for uti lizing the resources of the Mary land Cooperative Extension. We look forward to assisting you. Editor. As dairy farmers, we often hear of the regional bickering over dairy compacts. We often hear blame cast on midwestern politicians for trying to block dairy compacts. However, the enemies of dairy compacts are numerous and di verse. The rhetoric has heated up greatly in the past months. I believe we need to know who they are and what they are saying. Americans for Tax Reform call it a milk tax, saying that Congress has given waiver to compact states to overcharge consumers for a gallon of milk. (By the way, the average price of a gallon of whole milk in Boston averaged $.06 lower than the na 255 PLANE TREE DRIVE LANCASTER, PA 17603 (717) 393-5807 FAX (717)291-1534 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 4,2001-All Thomas A. Fretz $5OO million last year in government pur chases. Obviously, they did not investigate where these purchases were made or the impact of imports in creating oversupply. Human Events and The Washington Times carried an article that called dairy compacts “Lactose Leninism.” This article blamed the compact for overproduction, which splashed in the face of m|dwestem farmers. (From 1997-2000, U.S. milk produc tion increased more than seven percent, the increase in the compact states was 2.9 per cent.) The article called for GOP to remove the dairy compacts from their big tent. It also warned that abandoning the GOP position will result in Republicans getting “their oxen gored.” A common theme is that the poor won’t be able to buy milk for their children. They never say that three percent of the compact prem ium goes to the WIC program and one per cent goes to the School Lunch Program. Nor have I read any of the opposition admitting that the current “market price” is higher than the compact price, thus the current premium is zero. None have mentioned the danger that market concentration poses as evidenced by Jewel and Dominicks milk pric ing scandal in Chicago last summer, that fixed retail prices nearly a dollar higher than other cities in the region. One of the most disturbing themes in all the articles that I have read is the weaving of exact figures presented in Ken Bailey’s Miss ouri Study on Compact. This is seen as the model study by the opposition of compacts and the economic theories are carelessly ap plied as facts to describe what has resulted from the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact and why it must be eliminated. Although dairy compacts may not be the best answer to dairy’s problem, the lies and distortions leveled against it must not go un challenged. natural pond TREATMENT BARLEY STRAW Easy-To-Use Kit^ • Suppresses Algae • Environment Friendly • Easy To Apply Treats Up To 10 000 Sq Ft Dean and Director College of Agriculture And Natural Resources Maryland Cooperative Extension Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station tional average in 1999.) They claim that retail milk prices have inevitably escalated 20-30 cents per gallon. (The actual cost has been $.OB for class I. The rest of the retail cost has re sulted from passed on percent age margin plus increased margins.) They claim that the South wants to form a compact if for no other reason than to protect themselves from a glut of milk pouring out of the Northeast In terstate Dairy Compact area. This is simply ludicrous. They have notified every member of Congress that a vote for com pacts will be considered a vote against taxpayers. Citizens against Government Waste blame the compact for surplus that cost the taxpayer Gerald Carlin Committee Chairman Pennsylvania Dairy Policy Development Committee Of Family Farm Defenders To Order: 1-888-422-5243
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers