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44-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 2, 2003
Dairy Shows To Highlight Delaware Co. 4-H
Tioga Co. Fair Summer Fair
The 2003 Tioga County Fair Delaware County 4-H invites
will feature three quality dairy the public to the Summer Fair on
shows. The animals will arrive by Friday evening, Aug. 8, and Sat
-3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4, the of- urday, Aug. 9, at the 4-H Farm
ficial opening day of the Fair. and Center, Garrett Williamson
The first show, open to 4-H Foundation, 395 Bishop Hollow
and FFA members, will begin at Road, Newtown Square.
9 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 6. Start- The annual country fair draws
ing with showmanship and fitting area families to the 4-H Farm for
classes for each age group, the .a series of activities, contests, dis
show will proceed through all plays, pony and hay rides, and
seven dairy breeds, showing in animal showing. The fair also
two rings. serves as a showcase for 4-H
Several changes have been youth to present their completed
made in the open dairy shows, projects from the past year.
The colored breed show will take The fair begins on Friday with
place Friday at 11 a.m., while the a small horse show at 3 p.m., fol-
Holstein and Red and White lowed by opening ceremonies at 5
show will be Saturday morning pm. and sheep and pig show
beginning at 9 a.m. In past years, manship.
these shows have alternated year- Special visitors both days of
ly between Friday and Saturday, the Fair include the Litterbug
However, due to the length of the from Pennsylvania Resources
shows and the confusion result- Council and antique farm equip
ing from the alternation, the ment presented by George and
dairy committee has decided to Shirley Carnog. Saturday’s
permanently hold the shows with schedule begins at 9 a.m. with
Colored Breeds on Friday and livestock showing, silent auction,
Holstein and Red/White on Sat- various contests, a small country
store, a used book sale, and a live
auction. An educational exhibit
on composting will be provided
by Penn State Master Gardeners.
Pony and hayrides run regu
larly from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sat
urday. Market animals, hand
raised by youth members at the
farm, are sold to bidders at the
live auction at 2 p.m. Vegetable,
poultry, and educational exhibits
remain on display throughout the
fair, and food and refreshments
are available. The fair closes at 4
p.m.
Dauphin County 4-H
Annual Free Fair
The 4-H Clubs of Dauphin
County will conduct their Annual
4-H Fair, Aug. 6-9, at the Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg.
This free 4-H Fair is open to
the public, Wednesday from 5
p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday and Fri
day, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Satur
day, 9 a.m. to noon. Parking and
admission are free.
The 4-H Fair is an exhibition
of 4-H projects. Exhibits include
sewing, foods, horticulture, rab
bits, cats, dogs, goats, sheep,
swine, cattle, and horses. Ani
mals are available for petting.
4-H members and leaders are
available to answer questions.
A horse show featuring Hunt
Seat, Saddle Seat, Stock Seat,
Gaming, Trail, Driving, Reining,
Pairs, and County Team will
take place Friday beginning at
noon and again Saturday, 9 a.m.
till noon.
On Thursday and Friday from
10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a series of
hands-on learning stations will be
available for families. To sched
ule your family or for more in
formation, contact Penn State
Cooperative Extension at (717)
921-8803.
Chester County 4-H Fair
The Romano 4-H Center, 1841
Horseshoe Pike (Route 322 near
Route 82), Honey Brook, will be
the location for this year’s Chest
er Co. 4-H Fair.
General project exhibits focus
on dozen of 4-H projects Chester
County young people have been
working on this year rocketry,
pet care, photography, sewing,
leadership, foods and nutrition,
wildlife, computer science, and
many more.
Over 100 dairy cows of various
breeds competed last year Hol
steins, Jerseys, Guernseys, Line
backs, Ayrshires, and Brown
Swiss, to name a few! This year’s
Dairy Show will begin at 9:30
a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9.
For further information, con
tact the Penn State extension of
fice at (610) 696-3500.
Land O’Lakes
Reports Second
Quarter Results
ARDEN HILLS, Minn.
Land O’Lakes, Inc., recently re
ported its second quarter and
year-to-date financial results,
while also commenting on indi
vidual business unit performance
and progress against key strate
gic initiatives.
For the quarter, the company
reported $1.40 billion in sales
and $44.7 million in net earn
ings, as compared to $1.42 billion
and $48.3 million, respectively,
in the second quarter of 2002.
Year-to-date, sales are $2.85 bil
lion and net earnings are $44.3
million, versus $2.95 billion and
$47.3 million for the same period
one year ago. EBITDA (Earn
ings Before Interest, Taxes, Dep
reciation, Amortization, and
other items, as defined in the
company’s bond indenture) are
at $85.5 million through June 30,
as compared to $lOO.B million
one year ago.
Company officials indicated
that, when litigation settlement
proceeds are excluded, 2003 first
half EBITDA is $66.3 million,
versus $68.1 million for the first
half of 2002. Due to the challeng
ing operating environment, Land
O’Lakes revised its full-year
EBITDA forecast from $255 mil
lion to $230 million.
Land O’Lakes reported pro
gress against three key strategic
initiatives, as well as positive
performance in its branded,
value-added, and proprietary
businesses and product lines.
Habecker Advocates Dairy Trade
Issues With Local Legislators
WASHINGTON, D.C. With
the proposed Free Trade Agree
ment with Australia and increas
ing imports of milk proteins con
centrates threatening to displace
U.S. domestic milk supplies, Nel
son Habecker, a dairy farmer
from Lancaster, asked his local
legislators to support the dairy
industry and their dairy-farmer
constituents on these crucial is
sues.
Habecker, chairman of Land
O’Lakes Policies and Resolutions
Committee, traveled to Washing
ton, D.C., as part of a Land
O’Lakes legislative “fly-in”
earlier this month. While in the
Capitol City, the Land O’Lakes
delegation received briefings
from national trade organiza
tions, including National Council
of Farmer Cooperatives and Na
tional Milk Producers Federa
tion, and visited with their legis
lators. Habecker met personally
with Sen. Rick Santorum and
Rep. Joe Pitts. He also met with
staff members for Sen. Aden
Specter and Rep. Tim Holden.
“Land O’Lakes members do
not support a Free Trade Agree
ment with Australia because it
would be a one-way street for
dairy and other commodities,”
Habecker told them. “This agree
ment would expose U.S. produc
ers to unacceptable increases in
imports that would destroy our
domestic markets.”
Instead, Habecker encouraged
the legislators to encourage the
Bush Administration to focus re
sources on completing the new
multilateral round of WTO dis
cussions. “Only in this setting can
dairy producers expect a reasona
ble hope of gaining new mar
kets.”
Attorney/Farmer Makes Waste Useful
NICKILEFEVER
Special Correspondent
ROYERSFORD (Montgomery
Co.) —Ned Foley practices law by
day and picks up trash by night.
The 40-year-old attorney/
fanner and his wife Gail rent
Two Particular Acres, a 50-acre
crop farm in Royersford.
The Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection is
sued the first on-farm compost
permit to the Foleys in February.
The permit allows Foley to
make a practical business of col
lecting and reusing organic
waste.
Foley said his interest in com
post started in 1999. The farm he
rents was a dump sight for a
landscaper’s wood chips through
an agreement with the land
owner.
“It was becoming a night
mare,” Foley said. “I would clean
it up and more would come. I
started researching the compost
process and putting it back into
the farm and it worked.”
In October, 2002, the Pennsyl
vania Legislature passed regula
tions for on-farm compost per
mits and Foley applied for the
permit right away to make his
practical methods work for more
than just himself.
Maryland Pork Producers To Elect Delegates
EDGEWATER, Md. Mary
land Pork Producers Association
(MPPA) President, Jennifer Deb
nam has announced that the elec
tion of the two pork producer
delegate candidates for the 2004
Delegation Body of the National
Pork Board (Pork Act) will take
place at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug.
23.
This election will be conducted
in conjunction with the MPPA
Lancaster County dairy producer Nelson Habecker met
with Senator Rick Santorum during a Land O’Lakes legis
lative fly-in to Washington, D.C., in July to advocate sup
port for the dairy industry on dairy trade issues.
Habecker also urged support reductions and market access is
for legislation in the House and sues. “Our goals are to support
Senate that would restrict MFC a n aggressive reduction of subsi
imports. “By allowing dairy pro- dies worldwide and open new
tein imports (in the form of MFC markets for the profitable export
and casern), we are displacing do- of u s product s.”
mestically produced dairy pro- _ . , ~ . .
teins and exacerbating the prob- , For m ° re formation about
lem of low milk prices,” he said. dair y trade . and other legislative
“The proposed legislation is nec- issues affecting your dairy farm
essary to close this loophole.” operation, log onto National Milk
According to Habecker, Land Producer Federation’s web site,
O’Lakes is actively involved in www.nmpf.org, and click on
the negotiation of trade subsidy Dairy G.R.E.A.T.
The permit allows Foley to
charge a tipping fee, less than it
costs at a landfill, to pick up and
take in yard waste, food waste,
cardboard and manures to be uti
lized as feed stocks for compost
ing.
His customers include golf
courses, horse farms and resi
dents and he is looking to include
a grocery store or school cafete
ria.
The organic material, after a
12-week decomposition period, is
used as a soil fertilizer/
conditioner on the farm or sold
as mulch or topsoil to the public
for $35 per cubic yard and a de
livery charge.
This permit, said Foley, creates
two revenue opportunities: a tip
ping fee for incoming waste and
revenue for finished product
sales.
The community also benefits,
said Foley. The project creates
usable products that were origi
nally headed to landfills.
“It is a way for people to re
connect with their trash,” Foley
said. “When someone brings
waste to me they might see it
again.”
Foley’s business didn’t happen
overnight. The permit took five
months to get. The application
cost $5OO and took the better part
Board of Directors meeting at the
Maryland State Fairgrounds in
Timonium, Maryland. All Mary
land pork producers are invited
to attend.
The National Pork Board de
termines the manner in which
checkoff monies, generated from
the sale of pork, are spent.
Checkoff funds can be used for
promotion, research, and educa
tion.
of a day to fill out. The equip
ment; a compost turner, screen
machine, grinder and roll off
truck, cost thousands of dollars,
but a grant from DEP helped
Foley get going.
It was worth it according to
Foley.
“If you build it, they will
come,” Foley said.
He’s had an overwhelming re
sponse from the community and
his biggest problem is telling peo
ple he can’t take their waste.
With the permit, Foley is only
allowed to take five acres of
waste. He started with one acre
to make sure he was comfortable
with the process.
Foley monitors the sight with
the help of trusted friends to
make sure he is sticking to the
regulations, but has no set hours.
“I pick up waste and have peo
ple drop it off by appointment,”
Foley said. |
According to Foley?'there are
many opportunities for farmers
to make money, in fact, he found
it helps his farm pay for itself.
But money is not the main
issue for Foley, who wants to en
gage the community with his
farm by giving recycling a come
back.
“The whole thing just makes
sense,” he said.
“Pork checkoff funds have
been used successfully to promote
*Pork...The Other White Meat®,’
” said Debnam.
Any producer, who is a resi
dent of the state and has paid all
assessment due, may be consid
ered as a delegate candidate. For
further information contact
Lynne Hoot, executive director,
(410) 956-5771.
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