Vol. 47 No. 27 Lawmakers Reach Farm Bill Agreement Policies Called More Equitable For Northeast DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. After nearly two months of negotia tions, U.S. House and Senate conferees have agreed on a na tional farm bill in time for most of this year’s agricultural produc tion. The House approved the com promise bill by a vote of 280 to 141 Thursday afternoon and President Bush urged the Senate to vote promptly so he could “sign the bill into law.” The “Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002” man dates agricultural policy for the next six years, with about $l7O billion in funding allocated for the next 10 years $73.5 billion above the previous farm program budget baseline. According to Joel Rotz, Penn sylvania Farm Bureau policy spe cialist, the new farm bill will bring a greater share of assist ance to Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers and diversified crop pro ducers than ever before. “Clearly, this farm bill is more equitable to Pennsylvania farm ers than any other farm bill,” he said. A significant boost in conserva tion fonding, a nationwide dairy program, yield and base acreage updates for crops, and lowered payment limits are key provisions of the new bill. Bill conferees agreed on a total payment limit to farmers of $360,000 per year, a compromise between the Senate bill’s pro posed cap of $275,000 and the House’s limit of $550,000. Advocates for smaller, diversi HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.) Texas native Linda Davis sang country songs for a crowd of about 1,100 at the PennAg Poultry Council banquet here Monday evening. With Davis, from left, are Dan Heller, Poultry Council chairman; Jim Shirk, Council assistant vice president; and Qlenn Esbenshade of Esbenshade Farms/Mills. Photo by Dave Lotovor www.lancasterfarming.com ted family farms strongly back lower payment limits to more fairly distribute aid among the nation’s farmers. For the nation’s dairy produc ers, the bill establishes a new $1.3 billion program that will provide direct payments when the price of fluid milk in the Northeast Milk Marketing Area falls below $16.94 per hundredweight. With this “countercyclical” provision, dairy producers in all regions of the country will receive 45 percent of the difference be tween $16.94 and the market price. These dairy payments will be capped at 2.4 million pounds of milk per year, equivalent to the production of a typical herd of 135 to 140 cows. About 90 per cent of the milk produced in Pennsylvania comes from herds that size or smaller, according to Ken Bailey, Penn State dairy economist. Retroactive to Dec. 1 of 2001, the program could pay out about $6O million this year to Pennsyl vania dairy producers, Rotz said. The bill also maintains the cur rent $9.90 per hundredweight milk price support program, cov ering all types of mUk utilization. In other specifics, the legisla tion: • Mandates an additional $17.1 billion for conservation pro- grams over the next decade, an 80 percent increase. Included are a new $2 billion Conservation Se curity Program with incentives for farmers to adopt better envi (Tum to Page A 24) Four Sections At Hershey Gardens, with the amusement park’s ferris wheel in the background, pink “Salmon Jewel” tulips give way to yellow*and-pink “Blushing Lady” late tulips. Approximately 30,000 tulips color the gardens’ landscape in the spring. Read more about Hershey Gardens on page 82. Photo by Michelle Kunjappu Conference Explores Sensibility Of Smart Growth ANDY ANDREWS Editor MILLERSVILLE (Lancaster Co.) Smart Growth is the anti dote to sprawl, a noted land use expert told more than 180 munic ipal officials and policymakers Monday evening at Millersville University. William H. Hudnut 111, senior resident fellow of the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C., said that only “responsible leadership and the use of the land to enhance the environment” will Saturday, May 4, 2002 keep us from sprawl. He defined sprawl as “unplanned, low-densi ty development,” he said, that spreads farther and farther out from towns and cities. Hudnut spoke during the Lan caster County Smart Growth Conference at Millersville Uni versity. Population growth is inevita ble, according to the land use Farm Show Complex Construction Update x^-vrPDA ©farm Showi Building For The Future - On Schedule Editor's note: Written by Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Samuel E. Hayes Jr. exclusively for Lancaster Farming, this new column will provide monthly updates on the exciting new con struction under way at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Construction is on schedule to be completed for the 2003 Farm Show. Secretary Hayes has been serving Pennsylvania agriculture since June 1997. A lawmaker and legislative leader, Hayes served in the state House from 1970-1992, including as Majority Leader and House Whip. Secretary Hayes served on active duty with the U.S. Army and is a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he received the Bronze Star. Secretary Hayes is chair of various organizations, including the state Farmland Preservation Board, Farm Show Commission, (Turn to Page A 24) $36.00 Per Year specialist. Hudnut, who pointed out the myths generated by those who resist the policies of smart growth, noted there will be 60 million more people in America in 2020 than in the year 2000. Those 60 million people will take up more area than the “size of Texas and California combined.” Hon. Samuel E. Hayes Jr. Pa Secretan of Agriculture $l.OO Per Copy (Turn to Page A 26)
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