(Continued from Page A 10)
In fact, we regularly analyze our
portfolio and the geographic area we
serve to ensure that we are support
ing all the members of our industry.
Last year, we completed an entire re
port for the Farm Credit Administra
tion on usage by young, beginning,
and small farmers. As of December
2001, 21.6 percent of our almost
9.000 borrowers were 35-years-old or
younger. Beginning farmers (or those
who have been farming less than 10
years) comprised almost 25 percent
of our portfolio.
We readily admit that commercial
banks have more debt outstanding to
agriculture than does the Farm Cred
it System. In fact, they have always
had more, because of the simple fact
that there are far more commercial
banks than there are Farm Credit in
stitutions. In mid-2001, more than
8.000 commercial banks nationally
reported that they made an agricul
tural loan. Todaj, fewer than 120
Farm Credit direct lending institu
tions compete with those banks.
That said, I don’t disagree with
your point. The Farm Credit system
was developed to provide a reliable
source of credit to agriculture. We
continue that mission today by work
ing to ensure that there are no bar
riers to any of our borrowing groups
including the young and beginning
farmer group.
Mid-Atlantic spends a lot of time
helping young farmers understand
their credit options. I invite you to
join us on June 11 at the Eisenhower
Auditorium at Penn State to see us
present monetary awards to the top
FFA record-keepers in the state.
Later this month, feel free to come to
Shippensburg University, where 16
students from our region will also be
given awards at the MAC (Mid A
tlantic Alliance of Cooperatives) Sum
mer Institute, a youth education pro
gram.
Mid Atlantic supports MAC with
$lO,OOO in dues each year. In addi
tion to our financial support, we also
donate a lot of time to help young
farmers. 1 am proud to say our ac
count executives spend hundreds of
hours each year speaking to groups
of young and beginning farmers, ei
ther through school programs or
through continuing education work
shops throughout the community.
We have been very active with the
Pennsylvania Farm Link program,
which helps young farmers link with
retiring farmers, to help them get
started in the industry. In fact, I have
a lengthy list of activities in our busi
ness plan targeted to just this seg
ment of our marketplace, and would
be happy to share this list to show
our commitment to young and begin
ning farmers.
The Farm Credit Association has
made it a priority to better monitor
the service given to this vulnerable,
important group. We agree that
that’s a great idea. After all, their fu
ture success is integral to our success,
not to mention the success of the en
tire industry.
President and CEO
Mid Atlantic Farm Credit
How To Reach Us
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Editor, Lancaster Farming
P.O. Box 609,1 E.Main St.
Ephrata, PA 17522 \
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farming@lancnews.infi.net
Please note: Include your full
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Editor.
Senate Bill 1413, which protects
farmers’ rights, is under considera
tion by the House of Representatives.
Originally, the bill was introduced to
the Pennsylvania State Senate by
Sen. Roger A. Madigan (R-Brad
ford). Due to its significance in the
agricultural community, the legisla
tion is expected to receive swift ac
tion from our elected officials in
Harrisburg.
In a nutshell, SB 1413 is crafted to
protect and provide opportunities
and growth to the state’s number one
industry agriculture. Many times
opportunity in the farming industry
is limited or prohibited by local gov
ernments, often at the urging of rural
residents who have discriminated
against a particular agricultural busi
ness.
SB 1413 would prohibit municipal
ities from passing ordinances and im
plementing policies that are inconsis
tent with the Right to Farm Law.
Agricultural operations would also
be protected from nuisance suits. If
passed, the law may entitle farmers
to recover legal fees and court costs
associated with a successful legal
challenge against unlawful ordi
nances.
Bob Frazee
Isn’t it ironic that many Pennsyl
vanians cry for more employment
opportunities within our state and at
the same time, some of those very
same individuals want to stifle poten
tial growth by the state’s number one
industry?
The Pennsylvania State Grange,
an organization that represents
25,000 rural Pennsylvanians, urges
the agricultural community and its
friends to rally the support of their
local representatives for the passage
of SB 1413. Help keep the agricultur
al industry growing for the future.
Brenda Shambaugh
Legislative Director
Pennsylvania State Grange
Editor.
The Pennsylvania Ground Water
Association has strongly supported
HB 1591 that passed in the House of
Representatives in November 2001.
This legislation (called the Water
Well Construction Act) is in the
Pennsylvania Senate, and may be
come law in this legislative session.
This is sad to say, but Pennsylva
nia is one of only four states that do
not have residential water well con
struction standards, and we need
standards now more than ever. Let’s
look at several reasons why we need
standards:
• More than one-third of Pennsyl
vania’s population depends upon
groundwater for its* drinking water
supplies. More than 2.5 million Penn
sylvania residents in 978,202 house
holds are served by privately-owned
water wells. A whole lot of people are
using privately owned wells and the
quality of their groundwater needs to
be protected.
• More than 20,000 new water
wells are drilled in Pennsylvania
Front Row, Lto R: Melvin Stoltzfus - Cochranville Ag, Randy Ringler, Paul Weaver, John Weaver, Henry
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each year, and so the opportunity for
new, improperly constructed wells to
contaminate our aquifers is signifi
cant. If the current drought contin
ues, the number of new wells may in
crease because of the need for deeper
replacement wells. Our use of
groundwater is growing.
• There are many documented
cases of where one improperly con
structed (no grout and not enough
casing) well became the conduit for
contamination to flow to and con
taminate neighboring wells. Follow
ing new construction standards
would protect the owner’s water
quality and that of neighboring wells
and local aquifers.
• The US Geological Survey con
ducted a study in southeastern Penn
sylvania and found that E. coli fecal
coliform bacteria were more likely to
be found in water from ungrouted
wells. No one who understands how
grout and sanitary well construction
features protect our aquifers was sur
prised by the findings of this re
search.
• Water quality testing of residen
tial wells in some areas of Pennsylva
nia has found that more than 50 per
cent of the well water samples
contain coliform bacteria contami
nation. This contamination was not
from existing regional aquifer pollu
tion, but from local contamination
because of the absence of grout and
other sanitary features on household
wells.
Our government sets highway
speed limits and driving rules to
apply to everyone, because if there
weren’t speed limits and rules of the
road, someone would speed or drive
where they wanted and kill several of
us by their bad judgment. Similarly,
From Ground Up.
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you see above. Each person has a
wealth of knowledge gained from
years of personal dairy experience.
We urge you to let us be a
resource for you. Give us a call.
we need uniform well construction
rules to protect our health and our
aquifers.
You need to know that the new
residential water well construction
standards will be developed by the
Water Well Construction Advisory
Committee that will contain ground
water professionals, including four
water well contractors. You will have
a say in the new standards. The costs
of meeting the new standards are ex
pected to add only 10 to 25 percent
to the total cost of a residential well
system, so the fears of doubling or
tripling the cost of a new well are
wrong.
Also, with uniform standards
statewide, drilling contractors will be
on a “level playing field” when bid
ding on residential well work. Con
tractors know that it’s very frustrat
ing to lose a residential well job to a
lower bid when that bid is lower be
cause it cuts corners and does not
contain necessary features in the well
system.
We all recognize that few home
owners really understand all the fea
tures necessary for a quality water
well system. They may pick the low
bid, not realizing what their system is
missing and how the missing parts
are important to the quality of their
well water (and the quality of their
neighbors’ well water).
Please don’t just say “we don’t
need more government regulations’’
until you think through this issue,
and realize that public health protec
tion standards have to come through
the “government” to be uniform and
effective.
Todd Giddings, Ph.D.
Secretary
Pennsylvania Ground
Water Association