A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 5, 2003
Northampton County Farm Owners
Attend Farmland Preservation Meeting
NAZARETH (Northampton
Co.) Farm owners are the ar
chitects of our county because the
decisions they make with their
land will impact what our county
will look like. Is selling to devel
opers the only option that farm
owners have who are selling their
land? About forty farm owners
filled the Plainfield Township
Building, April 3, to hear about
other options.
Maria Bentzoni, the new ad
ministrator of Farmland Preser
vation in Northampton County,
explained the process and the
benefits of selling the develop
ment rights on your land. She
emphasized that even after the
sale of those rights, farm owners
still own the land, are still re
sponsible for it, and can one day
sell it to an ever-increasing mar
ket.
The combination of funds re
ceived from Farmland Preserva
tion plus the sale of the land
often is more than what a devel
oper will pay for the land. De
pending on the location, soil type,
and other criteria, there is a
$lO,OOO cap per acre that can be
USD A Begins Sign-Up For
New Crop Disaster Program
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Sign-up for the USDA’s Crop
Disaster Program (CDP) for the
2001 or 2002 crop began Friday,
June 6. The closing date for sign
up will be announced at a later
date, but producers will be given
ample opportunity to complete
the process.
Payments for CDP are author
ized by the Agricultural Assist
ance Act of 2003, signed into law
on Feb. 20, 2003, to provide some
$2 billion in aid for producers
suffering from natural disasters.
The CDP has no funding limita
tion but each producer is limited
to $BO,OOO.
Under CDP, producers will be
reimbursed for qualifying crop
production and qualify losses to
crops (other than sugar cane,
sugar beets or tobacco) for either
the 2001 or 2002 crops.
Payments will be issued for
losses exceeding 35 percent of ex
pected production at 50 percent
of the established price for crops
that were covered by crop insur
ance, 50 percent of the estab
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paid in this program. The aver
age price paid per acre is $2,300.
Jeff Zahr, the Lehigh County
administrator of Farmland Pres
ervation spoke about Act 153, a
little-known law that freezes
school taxes on preserved agricul
tural land in a school district. Act
153 must be enacted by a local
school board, with the advantage
to them being that the land will
not be developed. Residential de
velopment causes local taxes to
increase with the need for in
creased essential services, such as
police and fire protection, and in
creases in school taxes. The aver
age cost to educate a single stu
dent is on average $B,OOO per
year, while the average house
pays a school tax of approxi
mately $2,000 per year. The
$6,000 deficit has to be made up
somewhere. Only three Bucks
Co. school disticts have enacted
Act 153 to date.
Bill Mineo, the director of the
Lehigh-Delaware Heritage Corri
dor, stressed the importance of
keeping the farmer profitable as
the ultimate method of farmland
preservation. Growing commodi-
lished price for crops for which
crop insurance was not available,
and 45 percent of the established
price to producers for crops that
could have been insured but were
not.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency
(FSA) has developed a Website
that provides producers with one
convenient location for details on
new and existing disaster assist
ance. The Website can be ac
cessed at http://
disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
For more information about
CDP and
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ty crops, where the price for the
harvest is dictated by the market,
often leaves the farmer with a de
ficient return on their investment.
Direct marketing, selling to large
local companies and schools or
directly to consumers at farmers
markets, is a way to eliminate the
middle-man. He emphasized the
importance of keeping agricul
ture in Northampton County to
maintain the pastoral beauty in
Northampton County.
During the round table discus
sion phase of the meeting, specif
ic questions from the farm own
ers were addressed about our
local farmland preservation pro
gram. Similar programs are being
planned in other townships
around the County.
NJ. Foundation To Recognize Ag Teacher
BROADWAY, N.J. The
New Jersey FFA Foundation has
announced the establishment of
the Harry Schnieber Honorary
Scholarship Endowment Fund
and will kick off fundraising ef
forts Saturday, Sept. 20, at War
ren Grange No. 110 Hall, located
here at 6:30 pm.
Harry Schnieber, a well-known
Belvidere resident, taught agri
culture at Belvidere High School
from 1939-1978. Schnieber not
only built the agriculture pro
gram at Belvidere, but he literally
built his own classroom by sal
vaging an old schoolhouse from
across town.
He also planned and super
vised the construction of the
present classroom facility in
1975. With a beginning enroll
ment of 19 students, his classes
grew to an annual enrollment of
Ag Educators, Young Farmers
To Host Confemce July 7-10
DOYLESTOWN (Bucks Co.)
The Pennsylvania Association
of Agricultural Educators and
the Pennsylvania Young Farmers
Association are hosting the 2003
Agricultural Education Confer
ence at Delaware Valley College
in Doylestown during the week of
July 7-10.
This conference will also in
clude other agricultural educat
ors from the states affiliated with
the National Association of Agri
cultural Educators, (NAAE) for
Region VI, (Mid Atlantic and
New England States) as well as
the American Association for Ag-
ricultural Education, (AAAE)
and the National Association, Su
pervisors of Agricultural Educa
tion, (NASAE).
140 by 1978 when he retired, in
cluding some third-generation
students. It is estimated that
more than 1,000 students were
enrolled in his classes over the
years.
Schnieber demonstrated his
commitment to the community
through his participation in
many local, state, and national
committees and functions. While
teaching and after retirement, he
conducted Young Farmer classes.
He served as treasurer of the
New Jersey FFA Foundation,
Inc. for 13 years. He was an ac
tive member of the New Jersey
Vocational Agriculture Teachers
Association, White Township
Board of Education, and Rotary,
and he served as a scoutmaster.
Master of Rocksburg Grange
#ll7, and a trustee of Belvidere
Methodist Church. He continues
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The Tuesday, July 8 banquet
will feature Secretary of Agricul
ture Dennis Wolff as well a key
note address from Dr. Dennis
Avery, director, Center for Glob
al Food Issues.
Avery is a former agricultural
analyst for the United States De
partment of State and is a staff
member of the President’s Na
tional Advisory Commission for
Food and Fiber.
He is also the editor of the
“Global and Food Quarterly”
and is the author of a number of
books including “Saving the
Planet with Pesticides and Plas
tics.”
Avery has testified before Con
gress and has appeared on most
of the nation’s major television
networks.
to farm and operates Stoneyiield
Orchards in Belvidere.
The New Jersey FFA Founda
tion, Inc. also is searching for for
mer students to share in this spe
cial recognition event on Sept. 20.
Former students and friends who
are interested in taking part, or
anyone else who needs directions
or more information on this proj
ect, should contact New Jersey
FFA Foundation, Inc. Treasurer
Michael lannitelli at (908)
213-9722.
Those interested in making a
contribution can send a tax-de
ductible donation to the Harry
Schnieber Honorary Scholarship
Endowment Fund, New Jersey
FFA Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box
237, Belvidere, NJ 07823.
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