A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 1,2003
Agriculture Services Coordinator
■ I iff C tfnmu tit <S /»u/hs(»t
E-mail blandis@lcci com Hjil^Hk.
THE CHAMBER’S
AGRICULTURE SERVICES
PROGRAM OF ACTION
As a member of our local agri
culture community, you are most
likely aware of some of the vari
ous ag-related activities initiated
by The Lancaster Chamber
throughout the year. The activi
ties of the Agriculture Services
Program are directed by The
Chamber’s Agriculture Commit
tee. The foundation for these ef
forts are The Chamber’s three
goals - member services, advoca
cy, and community leadership.
How do these goals shape the ini
tiatives you hear about through
out the year? Read on to learn
more.
As a member of The Chamber,
what member services are avail
able to enhance your agri-busi
ness? The agricultural program
provides many member benefits
from educational opportunities to
enhance your business skills to
various networking events. The
Chamber offers a discounted
membership rate for farmers,
which may be an additional in
centive.
The Lancaster Chamber is one
of the only chambers in the coun
try to employ a full-time agricul
ture services staff person. There
is an annual farm business sym
posium focused for the more pro
gressive farmers, which offers a
reduced rate for members. There
is also an annual agriculture in
dustry banquet which draws
more than 700 people from the
ag industry. This event offers a
reduced rate for members and
provides a celebration for the ag
industry, a featured keynote
speaker, and many networking
opportunities. Another member
ship benefit is a speaker's bureau
w hich is available on various top
ics in agriculture.
When looking at The Cham
ber’s second goal, advocacy, we
have several initiatives and proj
ects to meet this goal. To provide
a better understanding of the
farming community, we have
planned a new legislative farm
tour for Lancaster County offi
cials. The ag program is also
looking to hold an educational
event for township officials and
develop correspondence with
townships on agricultural issues
in an effort to bridge the under
standing of farming. The Cham
ber will lobby and take positions
on key issues of interest to agri-
Passing On The Farm Workshop March 20
YORK (York Co.) Planning
for your successor, or someone to
take over your farm, is the most
important task you need to com
plete if you want your farm to
survive into the next generation.
Yet, according to some recent
statistics, many farm families
have not identified a successor
for their family business or even
talked to family members about
what will happen to the farm
when they die.
To assist you in this process,
Pennsylvania Farm Link and
Penn State Extension will hold a
culture as recommended by the
Ag Committee. Communication
is essential in The Chamber’s ef
forts to advocate for a healthy
business and agriculture environ
ment. It is important that our
members bring to our attention
challenges they are facing so we
can assist to what ever degree
possible.
The Chamber’s third goal,
community leadership, relates to
many of the overall goals of the
agriculture program. In its
awareness building activities, our
agriculture program demon
strates its leadership role in the
community. One particular event
that speaks greatly to community
leadership is Family Farm Days.
This annual three- day event,
planned this year on June 17-19,
provides a free educational and
fun family event on a modern
dairy farm. The typical attend
ance is more than 10,000 people,
all of whom receive a personal
tour of the farm operation and
enjoy many of the aspects of the
farm. Another aspect of commu
nity leadership is the voice The
Chamber provides to the public
about the importance of agricul
ture and more specifically the
benefits that agriculture plays to
our community. To build com
munity understanding of our in
dustry’s significance, The Cham
ber developed a Lancaster
County Farming Facts brochure
which provides a clear illustra
tion and is available free at The
Chamber.
To develop our future leaders
in our community. The Chamber
hosts an annual FFA and 4-H ag
ricultural program focused on ca
reer development in agriculture.
And lastly, the overall role the
Agriculture Committee plays in
helping to unify the agriculture
community and focus on long
term issues of importance to the
economic climate of agriculture
in Lancaster County speaks to
community leadership.
If you’re not a member of The
Chamber and you value the serv
ices and voice we are providing to
the farming industry, you may
want to consider becoming in
volved in The Chamber and join
ing as a member. For more in
formation on The Chamber’s
Agriculture Services Program or
on membership, contact Brent
Landis, agriculture services coor
dinator at (717) 397-3531, ext.
134, or blandis@lcci.com.
Passing On the Farm Workshop
at the York County Extension
Office at 112 Pleasant Acres
Road, York, March 20 from 9:30
a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Farmers seeking ideas for suc
cessfully passing their farm to
family members, or those inter
ested in locating interested, unre
lated farmers to take over an op
eration, should attend. Beginning
farmers are also urged to partici
pate to glean ideas for building
their businesses.
Topics covered will include:
•Bringing the next generation
into the farm business.
Rendell Administration Announces
$4O Million Commitment to Pennsylvania’s
Nation-Leading Preservation Program
36 Farms Preserved at February Meeting
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Pennsylvania will contin
ue to be the farmland preserva
tion leader among states. Agri
culture Secretary Designee
Dennis C Wolff announced re
cently that the State Agricultural
Land Preservation Board voted
to commit $4O million to Penn
sylvania’s nationleading farm
land preservation program.
“We must take every step to
preserve Pennsylvania’s rich agri
cultural heritage,” said Secretary
Wolff. “Today, our State Agri
cultural Land Preservation Board
committed $4O million to pre
serving agriculture’s foundation,
our farmland. To further our
preservation effort across Penn
sylvania, county farmland preser
vation boards have committed a
record-breaking $25.6 million.”
Farm Bureau Urges More Action
On Farm Damage By Elk
NORTH BEND (Clinton Co.)
Using a portion of elk hunting
license proceeds for an indemnity
fund for farms where elk cause
crop damage were among the
recommendations offered by
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau dur
ing a public hearing here by the
state House Majority Policy
Committee.
Jerry Barnett, a Potter County
farmer and a member of Pennsyl
vania Farm Bureau’s State Wild
life Advisory Committee, testified
before the committee.
“In the past decade, and more
notably in the last four years,
many farmers and landowners
have experienced property and
crop damage due to the quickly
expanding Pennsylvania elk pop
ulation,” Barnett said. “Farmers
Wolff Joins Gov. Rendell, State Lawmakers
In Recognizing National FFA Week
PHILADELPHIA Agricul
ture Secretary Dennis C Wolff
joined Pennsylvania Governor
Edward G. Rendell at W.B. Saul
High School in Philadelphia last
week to recognize National FFA
Week and Pennsylvania’s pride
in its FFA program.
“Pennsylvania agriculture has
a very bright future,” said Gov.
Rendell. “The young men and
women in blue and gold continue
to lead the way in agriculture.
For 75 years they have stood for
progress, vision, and change al
ways prepared to take on the
•Business planning for a farm
transfer.
•Financing for new farmers.
•Crop insurance.
•Estate planning and legal im
plications.
•Farmland preservation.
The workshop will conclude
with a panel of local farmers dis
cussing how they transferred
their own farms.
Lunch is on your own. Reser
vations are required by March 18.
Please contact Pennsylvania
Farm Link at (717) 664-7077 to
register and for additional in
formation.
“Pennsylvania can be proud of
the leadership role we have in
farmland preservation. Our pro
gram continues to provide an ex
ample for other states to follow,”
noted Secretary Wolff.
The State Agricultural Land
Preservation Board continued its
farmland preservation success
story with the preservation of 36
farms totaling 3,683 acres at the
February meeting. This brings
the total number of farms pre
served since the inception of the
farmland preservation program
in 1989 to 2,109 farms and
249,840 acres.
The State Agricultural Land
Preservation Board purchases the
development rights, referred to as
easements, to preserve Pennsyl
vania’s prime farmland. Current
ly, there are 53 counties partici-
know they will experience some
crop loss from wildlife such as
deer, raccoons, and geese. Farm
ers should not be expected, how
ever, to accept losses free of
charge resulting from an animal
that was transplanted into his ag
ricultural range without his
knowledge or input.”
Barnett also said farmers re
port as much crop and property
damage caused by tourists and
trespassers as by the elk.
Solutions recommended by
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in
clude:
•A study to determine the effi
ciency and effectiveness of using
some proceeds from the state lot
tery and the sale of elk licenses to
compensate farmers for elk dam
age.
•Continued use and expansion
challenge and embrace the op
portunities of agriculture.”
“Agriculture education pro
grams have played a vital role in
shaping agriculture and our com
monwealth,” said Agriculture
Secretary Dennis C Wolff. “The
students that participate in this
curriculum gain valuable lifelong
skills that prepare them to be
productive citizens of our society
by building leadership, fellow
ship, scholarship, and teamwork
skills.”
During the visit at W.B. Saul,
Rendell and Wolff met with the
FFA state officer team and mem
bers of the Philadelphia FFA
Chapter at W.B. Saul.
With more than 8,000 mem
bers across Pennsylvania, FFA is
one of the largest intra-curricular
youth organizations in the state,
providing high school students
with the opportunity to build en
during skills through the FFA
motto, “Learning to do, doing to
leam, earning to live, living to
serve.”
Lancaster Farming
Check out our Website!
ww
paling in the farmland
preservation program.
The Department of Agricul
ture administers the Installment
Purchase Agreement Program
(IPA) to assist farmers in plan
ning easement purchases. This
program allows landowners to
defer capital gains taxes, thereby
allowing county preservation
programs to use funding for pres
ervation of other farms. Clair
Neal of West Sadsbury Town
ship, Chester County was ac
cepted into the IPA program at
the February meeting.
To further assist in preserving
productive agricultural land, the
Department of Agriculture oper
ates the Land Trust Reimburse
ment Program. This program has
helped preserve 3,063 acres ap
proved in eight trusts.
of an elk hunting season as a
wildlife management tool.
•Prohibition of the Game
Commission from further reloca
tion of elk unless the relocation is
on to fenced state game lands.
•Study and action by the Gen
eral Assembly to address the in
creasing occurrence of trespass
and private property rights in
fringements caused by elk tour
ists.
While Farm Bureau praised ef
forts by the Pennsylvania Game
Commission and Department of
Conservation and Natural Re
sources through a six- point plan
to address nuisance elk com
plaints and educate tourists,
Barnett said such programs do
not address the long- term prob
lems associated with elk and
property damage.
Wolff noted that FFA and ag
ricultural education provide a
strong foundation for the youth
of America and the future of the
food, fiber, and natural resource
systems.
The third largest FFA chapter
in the nation is W.B. Saul High
School in Philadelphia.
Chartered in 1929, Pennsylva
nia FFA has over 142 chapters
statewide.
Nationally, FFA is celebrating
its 75th anniversary.
The Department of Agricul
ture invited the Pennsylvania
FFA to locate its administrative
office at the department last year.
In addition, the Pennsylvania
legislature has provided $104,000
to support the FFA Foundation,
allowing FFA members to partic
ipate in state and national educa
tional events.
To learn more about Pennsyl
vania FFA visit their homepage
at www.paffa.state.pa.us or con
tact Mike Brammer, Pennsylva
nia FFA Executive Manager, at
(717) 705-9551.
lancast
‘armina.ci