Ag Leaders Watch Farm Bill Developments (Continued from Page 25) farm bill laws has been five years, including 1996’s “Free dom to Farm” bill, set to expire in September of 2002. Redding said that the “un precedented” 10-year length proposed for the new bill proba bly comes from lawmakers wanting to put more permanent policies in place to address the complexities of U.S. agriculture. “The attitude in Washington is ‘let’s do this creature one time’ (instead of once every five years),” he said. Of particular interest to dairy producers is the fate of dairy compact legislation in the House’s bill. Provisions which had allowed the Northeast In terstate Dairy Compact to exist, and would have allowed similar compacts to form in other re gions of the country, expired Sept. 30. House lawmakers last week ruled out of order any new legislation to revive the compact provisions. The comprehensive farm bill passed by the House must still go before the Senate before final approval. According to Red ding, how the Senate responds to the bill will likely be deter mined by political factors. “What will happen in the WATERLESS TOILETS * “SUN-MAR” Composting Toilets models available „ Jictading non-electric. ' ' • NO Septic System •NO Chemicals Save the Environment' Recycle Back to Nature' When You're On The Road To Higher Dairy Production, Just Look For This Sign. The road to success in the dairy business can have its ups and downs, but with Purina®, it’s easier to reach some new milestones. Purina offers you a beneficial range of nutritionally superior and research proven feed products, all backed by the Purina commitment to quality and our guarantee of satisfaction. We’ll also work with you to balance or Senate is a big question mark,” he said. Focusing on how the new bill would affect Pennsylvania farm ers, Redding cited figures from 1998 and 1999 showing that government payments in Penn sylvania were $.02 per dollar of farm production, compared to some midwestern and western states where the figure swelled, reaching as high as $.24 per dollar in Montana and $.27 per dollar in North Dakota. Although such figures may give the impression that federal farm policy has little signifi cance in Pennsylvania, Redding said the state’s opportunities for involvement are growing. “We know that (Pennsylva nia) farmers are increasingly participating (in federal pro grams),” he said. Although Redding acknowl edged that the farm bill is pri marily driven by grain rather than the livestock, dairy, and egg production which typify much of the agriculture in Penn sylvania and other eastern states, he pointed out that ad vantages here in infrastructure, diversity, and large numbers gf consumers and food processors help balance the effects of uneven government funding. KSSMIUS PURINA CHDWS 6 S Vintage Rd., Paradise, PA 17562 (717) 442-4183 800-635-3592 One major area that Pennsyl vania likely stands to benefit will be increases in conservation funding, including an expanded Conservation Resource Pro gram, and nutrient management and water quality incentives. “This will probably be one of the greenest farm bills we’ve ever had,” Redding said. Highlights of the new House Farm Bill include: •Fixed payment subsidies would be expanded to include soybeans and other oilseeds. •A 1996 law’to establish dairy marketing loans would be res cinded. The government would continue to buy surplus butter, cheese, and nonfat dry milk powder. Dairies would still be required to pay farmers at least $9.90 per hundredweight of milk. •Countercyclical payments would be provided to crop pro ducers when prices fall below es tablished target rates. •Conservation funding would increase by 75 percent. Three million more acres, for a total of 39 million, would be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Pro gram. •The food stamp program would receive $3.7 billion in ad ditional funding. • Rural development initia tives would receive $l.B billion in additional funding. •Mandatory research spend ing on plant and animal genom- Power Washing Painting - Sandblas Specializing In Fai Buildings, Fences, R< Feed M ills, Ftc. Aerial Equipmei AMOS FI 5269 Paes Rd, New Holland, PA 17! 717-354-9856 717-951-2527 Mol supplement your local forages to determine the best complete feed or concentrate for your specific herd requirements. Purina feeding and management programs can help your herd reach higher yields, so look for our sign. It could really boost performance on your dairy, and make your road to success smoother. 557 ibile local ag leaders. ics, food safety, biomass products, and natural resource management would be increased by 22 percent to $145 million an nually beginning in fiscal 2004. Maryland Grain Producers Speak To Non- Farm Groups EDGEWATER, Md. Members of the Maryland Grain Producers Association are opti mistic about the first year for their Speakers Bureau. The Speakers Bureau is com posed of 25 members of the agri cultural community. Some are farmers, some involved agribusi ness, and other employed by the Maryland Department of Agri culture and Cooperative Exten sion Offices. They have volunteered their time to do a Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 13,2001-A37 Redding used part of the ses sion to remind producers that Pennsylvania’s Crop Insurance Assistance Program has been ex tended to include crop year 2002. The program has enrolled in creasing acreage since 1999 and is expected to exceed a million acres in 2001, Redding said. Farmers can sign up free of charge for a catastrophic loss policy that provides payments on crop losses of 50 percent or more. “Our goal is to get producers in Pennsylvania to sign up for crop insurance,” Redding said. “This is one of the things gov ernment can do to fundamen tally change the behavior of producers and how they view their business and risk manage ment.” Remaining deadlines for en rollment are Nov. 20 for tree and vine crops and March 15 for spring plantings. presentation entitled, “Food for Thought... Understanding Mary land Farms.” This is a 20- to 30-minute slide show/discussion addressing issues involving agriculture and is directed to non-farming groups in hopes of giving them a better understanding of agricul ture and the importance it weighs on our lives. To reserve a speaker, contact Celeste Pyper, Speakers Bureau coordinator at (410) 819-0414.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers