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V0i.47 No. 8
Farmers Dispute Local Ordinances
Curbing Intensive Agriculture
Regulations Called Unconstitutional
DAVELEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
NEEDMORE (Fulton Co.)
Four farmers have sued the Bel
fast Township board of supervi
sors here for adopting laws
designed to freeze the growth of
intensive and corporate agricul
ture in the township.
Filed the last week of Novem
ber, the lawsuit claims that three
ordinances passed by the Fulton
County township within the last
year and a half are unlawfully
restrictive and, in several in
stances, violate the U.S. and
Pennsylvania constitutions.
Dave Garrison of Stevens &
Lee law firm near Philadelphia
AX Shows Up In Union County
‘Tis The Season For Biosecurity , 9 Says Hayes
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Recently five flocks in
Union County have tested posi
tive for avian influenza.
Agriculture Secretary Sam
Hayes presided at a press con
ference Wednesday with the as
sistance of state veterinarian
John Enck and PennAg vice
president Jim Shirk.
“This is not a crisis,” said
Hayes. “It is not to sound an
alarm. There is a smidgen of the
H7N2 virus in the common
wealth right now, but we’re
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The Don Chamberlain family was honored with the Con
servation Farmer of the Year Award at the Tioga County
agricultural banquet. Shown here, from left, are Cassie,
Tyler, Don, and Lugene Chamberlain. See story page
A 36. Photo by Carolyn N. Moyer, Tioga Co. correspondent
www.lancasterfarming.com
is representing the plaintiffs
two livestock producers and two
dairy producers operating in
Belfast Township.
“When viewed collectively
and in context, the three ordi
nances are clearly an illegal at
tempt to hinder or prohibit
corporate animal farming in the
township,” Garrison writes in
the lawsuit.
One of the ordinances,
adopted in its final version last
February, essentially prohibits
nonfamily corporations or syn
dicates from establishing new or
expanding current livestock op
erations in the township.
Titled the “Belfast Township
moving with dispatch,” he said.
“What we have to do is react ef
fectively.”
Five different growers own
the five flocks that are located in
lower Union County, close to the
Centre and Snyder county lines.
Two flocks of broiler breeders,
about 8,000 birds each, and one
flock of 56,00 broilers were in
fected.
Two flocks that turned up
positive after the press confer
ence will be depopulated and
composted within the house,
said Shirk.
“One of the biggest risks in
Four Sections
Farm Ownership Ordinance,”
the law allows that a nonfamily
corporation engaged in ag pro
duction at the time the ordi
nance was adopted may
continue to operate.
“However, this exception
does not allow the corporation
or syndicate to change or alter
the nature or extent of the farm
ing enterprise currently existing
on the farm,” the ordinance
states.
Another provision in the law
is that family corporations are
allowed to operate under the
stipulation that at least one of
the family members “shall
(Turn to Page A 27)
biosecuity is moving birds that
are shedding the virus around.
We want to use extreme caution
to reduce feathers and dust
flying off farms. It’s a better
option to lock them down inside
the house,” said Shirk.
The two additional flocks,
11,000 in each flock and two dif
ferent owners, are located within
the same area as the first three
flocks that tested positive.
Within a two-mile radius
every bird will be marketed by
Saturday, said Shirk. “If they
are negative we don’t want them
to go positive. The best option
for the producer is to have nega
tive birds and take them to
market,” he said.
“We’re not going to go and
just simply depopulate in that 5-
mile radius,” he said. “We’re
surveying and testing flocks to
make sure they don’t have the
virus, and we are asking houses
to stay empty after flocks get
out.”
(Turn to Page A 26)
Saturday, December 22,2001
Bowersox Family
Furnishes White House
With Christmas Tree
This 12-foot Douglas fir from the Hill View Christ
mas Tree Farm owned by the Bowersox family near
Middleburg now adorns President and Mrs. Bush’s
private residence in the White House. From left,
Aimee, Darryl, and Janice Bowersox.
Photo by Gail Strock, Mifflin Co. correspondent
Mifflin Co. Correspondent
MIDDLEBURG (Snyder
Co.) “I took the best we
had,” said Darryl Bowersox of
Middleburg, when referring to
choosing a Concolor fir tree
$34.00 Per Year
GAIL STROCK
75c Per Copy
from his family tree farm to
enter in the National Christ
mas Tree contest in August
2000. “Once we got there and I
saw the other trees, I knew we
had a definite shot at it (win
(Turn to Page A 25)