A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 24, 2003 Dairy Producer Testifies Before Congress Subcommittee WASHINGTON, D.C. Challenging times call for coop erative efforts, said Gordon Hoo ver, Land O’Lakes Dairy Com mittee chairperson, to members of the U.S. House of Representa tives’ Committee on Agricul ture’s Subcommittee on Depart ment Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry at a pub lic hearing in Washington, D.C. Hoover was invited to testify at the hearing, addressing the state of the nation’s dairy industry on behalf of dairy farmers in the Northeast. “Eighteen months ago, the price I received for my milk dropped 34 percent, and it has stayed there ever since. Right now, the milk price isn’t even covering our costs,” said Hoover, who milks 120 cows in Gap. “With conditions as drastic as they are, it’s now more important than ever that producers work with other producers, through in dustry organizations, within our cooperatives like Land O’Lakes, Soil Assessment Workshop June 10 LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. Good farming starts with good soil, and two Mercer County farms with an unusual collection of soil types and conditions will be the center of attention June 10 as the summer education season gets under way. Cherry Grove Farm and Cher ry Grove Organic Farm will co host “Get Your Hands Dirty: Evaluating Soil Health,” Wednesday, June 10, at the twin farms, located on Rt. 206 in Lawrenceville, N.J. The event begins with an informal brown-bag dinner hour at 5 p.m., with workshop activities starting at 6 p.m. (Be cause of the nature of the activities planned, the event will be post poned until June 11 in the event of rain.) The evening twilight meeting will feature one-on-one soil test consultations and tours of Cherry Grove Farm, a grass-based livestock farm, and Cherry Grove Organic Farm, a certified or ganic vegetable farm. Interactive activities will include real-world application of soil maps, reading the landscape for soil in formation, using soil pits and soil profiles, and a collectino of low-tech, low-cost farmer-run assess ments of soil chemis- PMMB Hearings Set HARRISBURG (Dau phin Co.) The PennsylvaT nia Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) has scheduled pub lic hearings to receive testi mony and exhibits concern ing cost replacement in Milk Marketing Areas 4 and 6. Both meetings are set for July 2 in Room 202 of the Agriculture Building in Harrisburg. The hearings for Milk Marketing Areas 4 and 6 will begin at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. For more information, contact the PMMB at (717) 787-4194 or visit their Web site at http;// www.mmb.state.pa.us. and with government officials to increase dairy farmer profitabili ty” Hoover commended the feder al government on programs such as the Dairy Price Support Pro gram, the Dairy Checkoff Pro gram, and the Dairy Export In centive Program (DEIP). “Programs like these are working to benefit producers, and we need you to give them your continued support,” he said. “We also need you to keep the farmer’s best in terest in mind when developing legislation that affects dairy trade obligations, environmental re strictions and income subsidies.” Urging passage of H.R. 1160, which would establish new tariffs on Milk Protein Concentrate im ports, Hoover said this legislation is an important part of the indus try’s three-prong strategy to ad dress MPC. “I congratulate the 100-plus U.S. representatives who have agreed to sponsor this bill, and I encourage more of you to do so.” try and physical properties. Course presenters include Joe Heckman, soil specialist at the New Jersey Agricultural Experi ment Station; Dan Kluchinski, Mercer County agricultural agent; and Chris Smith, soil spe cialist with the Natural Re sources Conservation Service. The free event is sponsored by Voicing reservations regarding a proposed free trade agreement with Australia, Hoover cautioned that this type of agreement would be a one-way street for dairy. “Instead, I encourage the admin istration to focus its efforts on ne gotiating a comprehensive, multi lateral agreement in the WTO,” he said. “In that forum, dairy farmers have a reasonable hope of gaining new markets.” Hoover commented that pro ducers are taking more responsi bility in shaping their future through programs such as the in dustry-led, farmer-funded, self help program, “Cooperatives Working Together” or CWT, proposed by National Milk Pro ducers Federation. However, he told those at the hearing, “our in dustry still needs your help and support. “Our goal as dairy farmers, and as an industry, is to create a marketplace where supply and demand work together to generate reasonable and realistic the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey and is open to any fanner. Because of the hands-on nature of the event, registration is limited. For more information or to register, call NOFA-NJ at (609) 737-6848 or visit the NOFA-NJ Website at www.nofanj.org and click on “Farmer Events.” profits for producers, without “Anything you can do to help us substantial dependence on gov- build and sustain that market emment subsidies,” he said, place is greatly appreciated.” NRCS Accepts Applications HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Serv ice (NRCS) is accepting appli cations for FYO3 Environ mental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) participation until Thursday, May 29. Applications for cost-share funding to install conservation practices for the treatment of resource concerns involving livestock/poultry issues, graz ing, and cropland erosion across the state are accepted on a continual basis. Funded through the Envi ronmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) as part of the 2003 Farm Bill, funding will be available through multiple county “pooling” areas, which Our Dairy Plus Special Technology issue on June 28 focuses on ways producers can use the latest technology to aid them in improving WaKuzSBM efficiency and expanding the bottom line. Included are reports on a freestall sand separator, robotic milking, and other new items. Also included are a stray voltage update, veterinary reports, cooperative and dairy business news, and a calendar of events. For EQIP Funds will rank applications based on criteria that include nation al, state, and local priorities. Applications have been ac cepted at NRCS field offices throughout the state since the Farm Bill was signed. Pennsylvania received ap proximately $6.9 million dol lars to be used for cost-share assistance. Each of the 20 pool areas will receive a base allo cation of $200,000 with addi tional dollars based on their state percentage of cropland and livestock. Ranking criteria and other program informa tion will be available on the NRCS Website at http:// www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov within a few days.
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