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OPINION
(Contlnued from Page A 10)
or he can decide if he wants to
raise fruits or vegetables, raise or
ganic commodities, or start a new
or expand an existing, animal/
poultry operation in order to in
crease profits, stay in business, and
pass the farm on to the next
generation. That is a choice that
should be left to the farmer, not to
local government.
Should local government be al
lowed to break the law just because
“there is a lot of heat in the kitch
en” when local citizens descend on
the township meeting and demand
that they do something to stop the
installation of a finishing floor for
swine or stop someone who has
plans to expand a dairy operation
in the township?
You and I are expected to obey
the laws of the land, and there are
plenty of them. Agriculture and ag
ribusiness are very heavily regulat
ed too. There are requirements for
nutrient management plans, con-
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servation plans, erosion and sedi
ment control plans, water quality
permits, and on and on. It has been
said that there are two million laws
on the books to enforce the Ten
Commandments. And if agricul
ture has to obey all of the laws,
why should local government be
exempt?
What Senate Bill 1413 does is re
state the original purpose of the
Right to Farm Act and then goes
one step further. It states that if the
local government ignores the stat
ute and adopts a frivolous or oner
ous ordinance and is then taken to
court by the agricultural commu
nity, and the agricultural commu
nity prevails, the court may award
legal costs to the agricultural com
munity.
But you know the legislation
even goes further and provides that
if the township prevails in court,
that the court may award costs to
the township. And in that case the
agricultural community would pay
the local governments costs. Senate
Bill 1413 cuts both ways.
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What is unfair about that? First
of all, a local government is only
vulnerable if it ignores the Right to
Farm Act and someone is so ag
grieved that they take them to
court. There are a number of cur
rent instances where it is felt that
local governments have adopted il
legal ordinances, but the agricul
tural community can not afford to
take them to court. I suspect that
will continue to be the case.
Also, in what other situation
would you be allowed to break a
law on a regular basis and be left
unchallenged? Or if you break the
law and are taken to court, but the
court determines that you are inno
cent and orders the police depart
ment to pay your legal and court
costs?
Let me assure your readers that
the solution offered in Senate Bill
1413 to the current dilemma facing
agriculture is not an unfair one to
local governments or their tax-pay
ing citizens. To the contrary, it
may be the best option available to
them.
Agriculture is not the only indus
try that is having difficulty with
the local governments. And if all of
those industries which have
problems with local government
unite, the solutions, which are de
veloped by such a coalition, could
be unfair to local governments
rather than the reasonable and fair
approach offered in Senate Bill
1413.
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(Continued from Page A 10)
bear, coyote, raptors (hawks and
owls), small wildcats (bob, lynx),
turkey, crow, vulture and raven,
fishers, whereas the grouse varies
widely by season as do most spe
cies.
DairyCOPs Workshop Nov. 18
ADAMSTOWN (Lancaster
Co.) Dairy producers can par
ticipate in a hands-on workshop
to examine how to produce 100
pounds of milk.
Penn State Dairy Alliance and
Nutrient Solutions in Agriculture
have scheduled a DairyCOPS
workshop Monday, Nov. 18, from
1 a.m. to 5 p.m., in conjunction
with the upcoming Farming with
Technology Conference at Weav
er’s Banquet Hall in Adamstown.
DairyCOPs (Dairy Cost of
Production System) is a comput
er spreadsheet developed by Brad
Hilty, information management
specialist with Penn State Dairy
Alliance pro
gram. The
spreadsheet
compiles finan-
8350YG1
in- n.i\ ' 11!m
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 9, 2002-A27
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Pennsylvania seems to lead all
other states in wildlife or free
roaming animal death by motor
vehicle. Muskrats, pheasants,
quail, woodcock, and mice seem
in low numbers. Eagle, elk.
Mountain Lions, bats, beaver are
rarely killed.
Please drive carefully, defen
sively and be alert. Drivers must
look forward always while mov
ing forward.
Herbert C. Jordan
Osceola Mills
dal and production data from a
dairy farm and calculates the
farm’s accrual cost of producing
100 pounds of milk.
A grant from the Northeast
Center for Risk Management Ed
ucation will subsidize 50 percent
of the cost, so producers will pay
only $35. There is a $l2 charge
for additional people from the
same farm. Producers interested
in participating in this program
should call the Dairy Alliance Of
fice at (888) 373-PADA. For ad
ditional information, call the
Dairy Alliance Office or e-mail
bhilty@psu.edu.