V 01.47 No. 20 Mainland Holstein Association Celebrates Banner Year DAVELEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff WESTMINSTER, Md. Maryland Holstein Association members gathered here last weekend to commemorate a history-making year and look toward the future. A number of youth and adult Holstein enthusiasts were recog nized for their outstanding con tributions toward the advancement of the Holstein breed. Five youths received aca demic scholarships for their achievements in the dairy field. Brett Haines, a dairy science major at Delaware Valley Col lege, was named Maryland Out standing Holstein Scholar and awarded $2,000. The son of Michael and Anita Haines, Taneytown, Brett is in volved in all aspects of the family farm and owns about 25 registered Holsteins. He has been active in 4-H dairy judging and in dairy bowl competition on local, state, and national levels, and has served as presi dent of the Maryland Junior Holstein Association. He aspires to a career in dairy genetics. Gary Brauning 111, Andrea Hood, Josh Sanders, and Bar bara Schenning rounded out the Educator Promotes LEAP To Certify More Ag Teachers MILLIE BUNTING Market Staff PORT ROYAL (Perry Co.) MeeCee Baker is an agricultural educator at Greenwood High School, but now she has “leaped” to a wider field of in fluence as an adjunct professor at North Carolina State Univer sity. Knowing that there is a criti cal shortage of teachers in agri culture across the country, Pa. Governor Candidates Detail Their Platforms Before ANDY ANDREWS Editor HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Three candidates for state governor were invited to share their ideas about proposed administrations Monday before Ed Rendell www.lancastorfarming.com field of scholarship winners, each receiving $750 toward their education. Brauning, Haines, and Hood were also named Maryland Hol stein Association distinguished junior members for 2002. For high junior production achievement, Marlee Savage of Montgomery County was recog nized for three top cows, includ ing Hobble Hill Pooh, who produced 39,174 pounds of energy-corrected milk as a 3- year-old. Ryan Savage, also of Montgomery County, owned two cows that topped the list in their age group. Stephanie Kepler, Frederick County, had the high-producing 4-year-old. Maryland Holsteins made an unprecedented splash in 2001 at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Canada, when Ernest Kueffner and Oseeana Hol stein’s 4-year-old Tri-Day Ashlyn-ET and 5-year-old Ernest-Anthony SD Tobi-ET were named supreme champion and reserve grand champion, re spectively. “At no other tipie have the grand champion afld grand champion come from the same state,” noted Arthur Rha derick, outgoing president of the (Turn to Pago A 34) Baker seeks to interest more men and women in becoming certified in agricultural educa tion. As a part of the LEAP Pro gram, she is working to do that. LEAP is the acronym for Li censure in Education for Agri cultural Professionals. The program allows an individual with an ag-related bachelor’s degree to take courses online to (Turn to Page ASS) Cornucopia here at the capitol. Three candidates were invited Ed Rendell, former mayor of Philadelphia, democrat; Robert P. Casey Jr., state auditor gen eral, democrat; and Mike Fisher, attorney general, republican. Mike Fisher Four Sections John Hall, left, received the Distinguished Service Member Award at the Maryland Holstein Association banquet. With Hall, from left, trophy donors Helen and Dennis Remsburg, and Lois Remsburg Skeen. Photo by Tanya Miller Program Promotes Environmental Stewardship MICHELLE KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.) On Monday a group of pro ducers and allied industry mem bers gathered for a monthly poultry seminar sponsored by Penn State extension and de partment of poultry science. Ken Kephart, professor of animal science at Penn State, was the guest speaker during the meeting. Kephart summarized the Pennsylvania Environmen tal Agricultural Conservation Certificate of Excellence (PEACCE) program. The program evolved from a livestock evaluation program and is sponsored by several agri cultural and conservation-based organizations. The goal of the program is to But only Rendell spoke in person at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania State Council of Farm Organizations con ducted earlier in the day. Tuesday, May 21 is the state primary. Election Day for gover- Bob Casoy Saturday, March 16,2002 promote environmental stew ardship, provide odor solutions, minimize water impact, improve community relations, decrease liability, and help agriculture move toward self-regulation. PEACCE, a free program, is comprised of several compo nents, the first of which is an en vironmental awareness course immediately followed by a test. Approximately 600 participants, mostly pork producers, have been certified so far in the pro gram. This classroom phase, 1-1 Vi hours long, is an “attempt, in a relatively short period of time, to get producers to think about en vironmental stewardship,” said Kephart. The second phase is an on farm assessment and environ nor is Nov. 5. Rendell, who has targeted property/school tax reform as a priority, noted how the individ ual property owner absorbs the burden for institutional costs, compared to about 25 years ago. Rendell noted that in 1974-1975, the state paid for about 55 per cent of the school costs in SOI districts. Today that number is down to 35 percent, leaving tax payers with heavier burdens. “In educational funding, Gov. Schweiker’s administration pro posed a 1 percent increase in ed ucational funding,” Rendell noted. “With inflation just under 3 percent, that’s actually a cut in educational funding.” That and other factors have forced “property tax hits” which are unfair to people, he noted. Rendell’s plan: double the cig arette tax (which is still lower compared to other Northeast states) and authorize slot ma- $34.00 Per Year mental review. Approximately 125 people in Pennsylvania have been through this phase, said Kephart. The evaluation is a confiden tial,, voluntary report. Assessors check the farm’s ventilation, odor, and manure storage, for example, to address water and air quality issues. Two trained assessors list the farm’s strengths and challenges in a report that is issued to the farmer two weeks after the visit. The report also lists cost effective recommendations. Both the first and second phases are available. The third phase is expected to be available in mid-2002. Thirdly a conservation dis trict checklist must be com- (Turn to Page A 35) Cornucopia chines at racetracks. Adjoining states have slots, Rendell noted, which draw tax payers and their money away from Pennsylvania. Rendell, popular with voters in the more “urbanized” coun ties surrounding Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, touted his “eco nomic incentive” packages to take advantage of the two larg est state industries, agriculture and tourism. Rendell noted he would help fund and increase those indus tries and revitalize those strengths. “That I can guarantee you,” he said. Rendell, however, admitted he knew little about the agri industry infrastructure but said he would be willing to “learn, listen, and adapt,” much as he did in revitalized business in downtown Philadelphia. Rendell noted on his Website (www.rendellforgovernor.com) (Turn to Page A 32) 75C Per Copy
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