A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 25, 2002
Berks County To Celebrate Farmland Preservation Efforts
(Continued from Page A 1)
lion dollar bond “solely dedicated
to protecting farmland.”
With funds also provided by
the state’s preservation program,
the county has about $lO million
to use for farmland preservation
annually, enough to ensure 50 to
55 additional farms each year
will be designated farms in per
petuity.
According to Mark Wolfskill,
the decision to preserve land has
helped ensure the family a future
and a livelihood in agriculture.
Funds from preserving two of
the family’s farms went toward
the purchase of another neigh
boring farm four years ago and
toward the dairy facility they
built on it.
The Wolfskills had already
been renting that farm for a
number of years to grow crops.
When the opportunity came to
buy it, Mark saw the future of the
dairy operation on the level hill
top overlooking contour strips of
corn, barley, and alfalfa.
“I said to David, ‘Just look out
over here. You can build another
bam,”’ said Mark.
One of the reasons they chose
the site is because of good air
movement on the hill for ventilat
ing the animal facilities.
Building the manure pit under
the bam was more expensive
than building one at an open lo
cation. One reason: about 110
concrete and steel posts plus a
wall running lengthwise support
the 156-by-112 foot slatted floor
where the cows stand over the
These cows are standing on slatted floors above the
built-in manure pit.
Lancaster
Farming's
Classified
Ads Get
Results!
Lancaster
Farming
Check
out
aur
Website
But as Mark pointed out, there
is “no lagoon to spoil more land”
on another site. With the freestall
floors never needing to be
scraped, the setup also saves a
significant amount of labor over
the years and helps keeps the
cows drier, he said.
The soils on the Wolfskill
farms are Class 2 and 3, well
drained, silt loam types a chief
factor in determining the land’s
eligibility for preservation,
according to Hildebrand of the
county preservation office.
Other important considera
tions that help farms qualify for
preservation are “clustering po
tential” and “farmland poten
tial.”
Clustering potential refers to
the amount of neighboring land
still used for farming, community
support, and whether the land is
zoned for agriculture. Farmland
potential is determined by look
ing at the farm operation’s ability
to grow and be productive. The
Wolfskill farms had high rank
ings, Hildebrand said.
Appraisals for preservation
run from about $1,700 to $2,300
per acre for the county’s farms.
The maximum landowners can
receive through the program is
$2,000 per acre. If the appraisal
is greater than that, owners, in ef
fect, donate the difference be
tween the appraised value and
the $2,000 per acre they receive
in preserving the farm.
With high residential develop
ment potential in the area, pre
serving farmland is not a matter
Randall G. Renninger
Certified Public Accountant
Specializing in agriculture and construction industries
“We help business people discover ways to cut costs,
save taxes, and be more profitable”
Call about our FREE seminars
f 535 W. Orange Street, Lancaster, PA 17603
J (717)299-6480 ♦ Fax (717)299-6390
A swing set for the Wolfskin’s grandchildren is situated between the freestall barn
and the milking parlor.
of “looking for a gold mine”
but will definitely help in passing
the farm on to the next
generation, Mark Wolfskill said.
The Wolfskills have eight
grandchildren, including David
and his wife Cindy’s two chil
dren, ages 5 and 2.
Fulltime herdsperson Lorraine
Gechter and hired man Harold
Keeney, along with his three
young sons, are an important
part of the operation. Two local
students also help out with the
milking.
McDonald’s Official Responds To Beef Criticism
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Re
sponding to the concern of the
Livestock Marketing Association
(LMA) over its decision to use
imported beef, McDonald’s Corp.
recently said it was committed
“to the U.S. agriculture indus
try,” noting it is the largest pur
chaser of U.S. beef.
The burger giant, in a letter to
LMA President Patrick Goggins,
also said its imported beef “must
meet the same requirements as
the products produced domesti
cally, including our requirements
for feed certification and animal
welfare.”
Mark was 10 years old in 1948
when he moved onto the first of
the farms owned by his parents,
Martin and Anne Wolfskill. They
chose “Mar-Anne” as the prefix
name for the dairy herd. Mark
has been farming here practically
his whole life.
“This is a good valley,” he
said. “We need to keep whatever
we can.”
The farmland preservation cel
ebration takes place Friday, June
7, at the Wolfskin’s Mar-Anne
Farms on N. Church Street, sev
Goggins last month wrote Mi
chael Roberts, ’ president of
McDonald’s USA. He expressed
the marketing sector’s concern
over McDonald’s decision to use
imported beef at about 400 of its
restaurants in the Southeast.
Goggins also pointed out that
LMA and beef industry groups
several months ago agreed to
“implement a somewhat onerous
producer certification program
demanded by McDonald’s... to
assure that the domestic beef
supply was meeting the highest
standards of food safety.”
Given the imported beef deci
eral miles north of Robesonia. It
is open to the public. Registration
is at 9:30 a.m. and the program
begins at 10 a.m.
Scheduled to speak at the cele
bration are Scott Sechler, owner
of Bell and Evans, the poultry
company, and owner of a Berks
County preserved farm.
Guests are also welcome to
tour the Wolfskill dairy facilities.
A light lunch will be provided.
For more information about
the event, call (610) 378-1844.
sion, Gopgins said many markets
and producers “'now feel aban
doned by McDonald’s... deci
sion ”
McDonald’s repeated its
earlier claims of a “shortage of
lean beef in the U. 5..” The letter,
signed by the senior vice presi
dent for supply chain manage
ment, also said the “vast majori
ty” of the beef in its hamburgers
comes from U.S. beef. It also
noted that “all national ham
burger chains have used or are
now using a significant portion of
imported beef.”