A42-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 15, 2003 Spring Decisions For Agricultural Producers HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) —Current economic condi tions in the farm community dic tate that farmers in Pennsylvania take action to minimize risk. “There are two steps that farmers can take right now that will be well worth their time,” said Richard Pallman, state exec utive director of the Pennsylvania Farm Service Agency (FSA). The FSA is enrolling farmers into the Direct and Countercy clical Payment Program (DCP). The DCP is designed to be an equitable means of assistance for growers of agricultural feeds and grains. This program provides grain producers with the best price protection program afford ed farmers in several years. Two forms of benefits are made available in DCP. A guar anteed direct payment is made each year at an established pay ment rate. Additional payments are issued when market prices are low—this is called a “counter cyclical (CC) payment.” “DCP participation guarantees farm operations direct pay ments—regardless of market prices—and countercyclical pay ments —depending on national average market prices. This is a safety net that producers cannot afford to miss,” said Pallman. The first step is deciding whether to update your base and yield for the 1998-2001 time peri od. Two decisions go hand-in hand. First, whether to update your base or freeze it at the exist Maple Syrup: Above Average Crop Predicted ROCHESTER, N.Y. the winter months has After last year’s above aver- promoted deep subsoil mois age crop of maple syrup crop, ture and has promoted good an above average crop of tree health during the winter maple syrup from western months. New York is predicted, due We soon expect a winter to heavy snows and lack of thaw (temperatures above 32 frozen soil. In addition, the degrees) for a three to four heat and drought of the past day period which may trigger summer promised to increase the fir£t run of sap for many sugar production for sugar > maple tree varieties. quently, there is also expected ha|. contributed to saturation to see a good to excellent of*rnost soils and for most sugar content for most sap areas the sbil is not frozen, production. Consequently a winter thaw Despite the drought this past summer, maple trees were healthy (gting into the winter. Even though the leaves turned early, there was not a lot of brqwjblhjf of the. foliage. Heavy snow during This was the earliest tap- Program Offers Opportunities Penn State Cooperative Extension in coop eration with the Small Business Development Center at Kutztown, Pennsylvania Depart ment of Agriculture, Ben Franklin Technolo gy Partners and USDA RDA is excited to an nounce the upcoming program “Income Opportunities for Rural Areas.” This conference is an excellent opportunity to explore non-traditional agriculture related businesses with an eye on enterprise startup. The. conference targets those seeking to get started in some kind of new agricultural busi ness or diversify their present operation. A few of the conference enterprise topics: Deer Farming, Meat Goats, Hydroponics, Strawberries, Cut Flowers, Greenhouse Pro duce, Ornamental Crops and much more. Business topics such as, Starting your Busi ness A-Z, Financing your venture, Web-Based Marketing, and Marketing Non-Traditional products are all part of the morning plenary session. Income Opportunities for Rural Areas will '■>. £9ij£|ucted ( qn March 29 frpm ing 2002 production flexibility contract (PFC) base. In either case, you can add eligible oilseed acres. Second, whether to freeze your yields at the existing 2002 PFC levels or update your coun tercyclical (CC) payment yields for all covered commodities on the farm. If you did not have a PFC for 2002, then it becomes very impor tant for you to go to your FSA of fice and establish your bases. The county FSA committee will as sign a direct payment yield to each farm with history acres for the period 1998-2001 but was not on a PFC for 2002. Growers need to visit FSA as soon as possible to choose a base and yield option which will be the basis of their participation through 2007. It should be noted that since the benefits available for the next six years will be based on historical plantings, this one-time, first step in the process is very important. Deadline for base and yield se lections is April 1, 2003. Should producers who were not previous PFC participants miss this dead line, they will be ineligible for the price protection this Farm Bill provides through DCP. Should previous PFC partici pants miss this deadline, DCP benefits for the remainder of this Farm Bill will be based on exist ing base and yield information, and they will have lost the oppor tunity to make adjustments in their favor. to promote an initial heavy sap flow for most area pro ducers is expected. For 2002, the season opened on February 22 and closed on March 29. 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dickinson College, Emil R. Weiss Center for the Arts in Carlisle. The cost of the pro gram is $35 per person for the first person from each household and $25 for the second. This includes all handout materials, lunch, and break snacks. Pre-registration is re quired. For registration forms or additional informa tion, please contact Steve Bogash, Franklin County Cooperative Ex tension (717) 263-9226. Registration forms will also be available lioin the Adams and Cumber land County Extension offices, . , The second step is for produ cers to sign a contract for pro gram participation. June 2, 2003, is the final date to sign a DCP contract for 2002 and 2003 par ticipation. Sign-up will be con ducted annually for each of the four remaining program years. Producers not participating in the DCP will not be eligible for direct and countercyclical pay ments. Producers who do not participate in the DCP program, however, will be eligible for com Pennsylvania Farmers Union Receives Farm Aid Grant BLOOMSBURG (Columbia Co.) —Pennsylvania Farmers Union has received a $5,000 grant from the Farm Aid Foun dation to help promote its mis'- sion of strengthening the family farm system of agriculture by keeping family farmers on the land to produce America’s food. Larry Breech, president of Pennsylvania Farmers Union, an nounced that the grant will be used to launch the Family Farm Empowerment Project to im prove farm income and indepen dence of family farmers and ranchers and rural communities. “The Family Farm Empower ment Project is intended to build, ping since records began in 1972. The extended season pushed yield per tap to the highest level since 1966. This year’s cold winter weather has encouraged a more normal window for tap ping trees. Typically, tapping for the western New York re gion starts during the end of February. However, some maple syrup producers may try to tap during early Febru ary. • Ideal conditions for tap ping are freezing tempera tures at night and just above freezing temperatures during the day (32-40). TBfS-creates a differential .dn'pressure of the tree to encourage sap flow. Typically, the tree will generate ' 12 pounds per square inch to encourage sap VISIT US AT: www.probstauction.com gMa public vmar auction OF Antiqs , Collects , Guns, Tools, Early Corn Wagon, LANC signed broad & other axes 1970 Ford 100 & 1989 Ford Ranger Pick-Up Trucks, (2) H Farmall Tractors, Misc Butchering. Tobacco Related Items Lot Farm Mach & Equip , Lot Horse Tack & Tools SAT., MARCH 1, 2003 @ 9:00 A.M. LOC: 112 Chestnur Grove Rd, Village ot Highville, Manor Twp Lane Co PA (Dir Between Safe Harbor & Creswell, along River Rd ) LOT GOOD PICS @ www.probstauction.com FOOD SFRVED ai c noN by Benjamin M. Murry PROBST FAMILY AUCTION ERIC R. PROBST, Auct. AU-001856-L 464-3700 KARL BOLTZ. Auct. AU-001855-L modity loans and LDPs when they are available. It is important to start the pro cess now because sign-up activi ties may require that you make more than one visit to FSA. FSA will assist growers throughout the sign-up process; however, you can greatly speed up the process by doing your homework. Review the informa tion mailed to you concerning the planting history and yields as signed to your farm. If informa educate and update an effective and informed coalition of family farmers and ranchers and rural supporters to promote an eco nomically viable family-based ag riculture,” Breech said. Pennsyl vania Farmers Union will work with other organizations to help train individuals on how to suc cessfully convey the benefits of a family-based system of agricul ture. “Our family farm members greatly appelate this generous support and encouragement to help survive these trying times,” Breech said. “Willie Nelson’s support of this initiative and de termination to the success of flow. It takes 10 to 12 gallons of sap to make one quart of syrup. In addition, good sub soil moisture will ensure an adequate supply of soil mois ture for sap production as well as a differential in pres sure. For many areas, we have achieved these ideal conditions for tapping trees. We expect prices to be sim ilar to last year as carryover stocks are low this year. Prices paid by consumers are expected to range from $25 to $45 per gallon depending on the grade of syrup. Maple syrup production for the United States totaled an estimated 1.36 million gal lons, up 29 percent from last year’s production. Vermont led the U.S. with 495,000 gal lons. Maine was the second leading state with a produc tion of 230,000 gallons, 15 percent more than 2001. New York is the third in syrup production with an estimated 228,000 gallons. tion is missing or inaccurate, you can take certain steps to correct it. Evidence to substantiate plant ings for the years 1998 through 2001 is still being accepted by FSA. Updating your history could greatly impact future pro gram benefits. Sign-up activities require that many growers visit the office more than once. Please contact the office for an appointment prior to your visit. Office staff can then prepare for the visit to greatly speed the process. family farms and ranches makes this project possible.” Much of the money raised by Farm Aid was the result of a sold-out concert in September 2002 at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown. Farm Aid’s 2002 grants, which were distrib uted to many farm groups across the U.S., will be used to fund a variety of programs, including emergency grants to farmers hit by low prices and weather-related disasters, legal and financial counseling to help farmers avoid foreclosure, cultivation of new di rect markets for family farm pro duced livestock, and crops, out reach, and organizational development. , Restaurant Equipment Auction Monday, Feb. 17, 2003 10 am Ponderosa Steak House 3047 N. sth St., Reading, Pa. No Buyer’s Premium! Building demolition creates great auction’ Hot and cold food bar with nice oak trim. (70) Windsor type light blonde wood chairs, (18) 24”x24” tables, (16) 24”x48” tables, oak trimmed booth seating, pictures and decor, baker’s nook neon sign, Migali single door freez er, Traulsen single door refrig, (2) Frymaster fry ers, Volrath gas convection double stack ovens, Manitowoc large capacity ice machine on bin, Hobart dish washer, (3) SS prep sinks, (3) SS prep tables, lots of Metro shelving and bakery carts. Henny Penny warmers, Hosizaki ice machine, interior oak and brass trim, counters, good small items: SS insert pans, trays, sheet pans. Walk in cooler. Globe sheer, Blakesley 20 qt. mixer. IkMfe nrattia. High End R«tt«nnn|t, mm , refrigerated sand wich tables, hot. dagger, 10' exhaust hood, and more! Nice lot m Syracuse white china, new stock jodte, pans, utensils, small items for all types or food service. Directions: Directly across from Fairgrounds Mall. From Lancaster take Tr. 222 to Rt. 422 West, Take Rt. 12 East Exit towards Pricetown, Take sth St./Rt. 222 exit towards Allentown. From North take 1-78 to Rt. 61 South at Leesport. Turn left on E. Belleview Ave, Turn right on Allentown Pike Terms: No Buyers Premium. 48 Hr removal, cash and Pa. Checks. Mark Baranowski AU 2570 (717) 657-2317 We are always seeking quality consignments of Restaurant Equipment and Food Service Items. Please call our offices! *** \ t