* Vol. 47 No. 49 Livestock Producers Take Message To Harrisburg Grange Weighs In On S.B. 1413 As Court Responds To Fulton County Case DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff HARRISBURG (Dauphin Andy Freitag stands at the halter of the grand champion Clydesdale mare, Solomon’s Asti, exhibi ted by Greenwood Farms Wednesday at KILE. Read more about the show on page A 24. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor Fisher, Rendell Respond To Candidate Questions ANDY ANDREWS Editor E PH RATA (Lancaster Co.) Pennsylvania’s election of a new gov ernor could hinge on several issues in the next month, including revising what some see as an outdated and outmoded property tax, how much influence agriculture will have in Pennsylvania Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candi date Mike Fisher spoke in early September at the Pennsylvania Agricul tural Issues Dialogue at Landis Valley Museum. Photo by Andy Andrews, mdltor www.lancasterfarming.com Co.) Four Pennsylvania live stock producers met with law makers and media representa zoning requests, and whether pro duction agriculture can remain via ble in the state. Two candidates are set for a show- Four Sections With Election A Month Away, Candidates Tackle Ag Issues Saturday, October 5, 2002 lives at the Capitol on Tuesday morning to talk about their oper ations and how local ordinances have affected them or could po tentially affect them. The informal breakfast was or ganized by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, a group that has thrown its support behind Penn sylvania Senate Bill 1413. If adopted, this law could require townships to pay legal fees if cer tain local ordinances affecting agriculture are challenged and ruled illegal. The bill passed the Senate in April and moved to the House for consideration in May. Craig Richard of Northumber land County raises about 12,000 hogs per year in two facilities in Locust Township, Columbia County, where a township ordi nance limits livestock operations to 150 animal units or a total of 150,000 pounds of live animal weight. The regulations specify water, setback, and acreage re quirements as well, he said. He is concerned about his son, a 20-year-old college student, see ing little future in farming be cause of such ordinances prevent ing further expansion of his livestock operations. Richard also raises broilers in two houses and runs a beef feed lot, but claims township authori ties seem most opposed to hog operations, apparently because of greater odor potential. However, the regular checks Richard receives from the cor poration with which his hogs are contracted provides him a steady income that helps keep him on the farm, he said. That allows down a month from now, on Nov. 5. when voters will cast their decision for either Republican candidate and state Attorney General Mike Fisher Ed Rendell, former Philadelphia mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, spoke at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days in late August. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor him the opportunity to pursue other types of agriculture, includ ing about 1,800 acres of field crops, plus sweet com that he sells at a roadside market With weather and prices mak ing it tough to turn much of a profit on field com and soybean Trevor and Mariah Tompkins are eager to show visitors all the things they do on their farm. Their parents, Mark and Cindy Tompkins, own Evergreen Lane Farm, Mon trose, and are offering visitors a fun-filled “Day on a Dairy Farm” Oct. 12. See page 810 for details about the Sus quehanna County event. Pork Industry Fosters m Positive Attitude BRIAN SNYDER Center Co. Correspondent CENTRE HALL (Centre Co.) Farmers and consumers who lament the changes in America’s or Democratic candidate and former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Here we present a roundtable of the issues, with questions and an- $36.00 Per Year crops, “The sweet com has kept us afloat,” Richard said. Doug Graybill, a hog and poul try producer from Granville Township, Bradford County, rep resented one party that success or urn to Page A 34) hog industry over the last few decades, and who long for the wonderful taste of pork they re (Turn to Page A 33) swers from two candidates. First, Lancaster Farming presents Mike Fisher’s answers, presented in early September this year at a Penn sylvania Agricultural Issues Dialogue at Landis Valley Museum. Then we present Ed Rendell’s answers. $l.OO Per Copy (Turn to Page A 25)
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