A3O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday,
Law of the Land
(Continued from Page A 1)
lems and benefits that may arise
in the course of everyday agricul
ture, according to Bell.
Remember, this column is not
a substitute for legal advice. It is
merely a “primer” into how fu
ture legislation could impact you
as a farmer, and insights into the
legislative issues farmers have to
face.
THE LEGAL SIDE OF
AGRICULTURE
Editor Andy Andrews has
given me a great opportunity to
write a quarterly news column on
legal matters related to agricul
ture.
I have had the honor for the
past 20 years to work as legal
counsel for Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau. During this time, many
farmers have contacted me to ask
questions about laws pertaining
to agriculture and solutions to
particular legal problems they
faced.
Some answers were easy.
Many were not. Numerous prob
lems farmers told to me were so
complex that I could not predict
what the outcome would finally
be or whether the outcome would
be costly to the farmer.
Unfortunately, many farmers
facing serious legal problems do
not begin to ask questions or get
help until it is too late
to resolve their prob
lems easily. Many of
these problems could
have been avoided or
significantly taken
care of if the farmer
asked questions or
sought help sooner.
My hope in writing
this column is to raise
your awareness of how
laws can and do im
pact your farming op
erations and what
rights and obligations
you may have in oper
ating your farm busi
ness. Through my at
tempt to raise your
awareness, I hope to
make you think and
ask questions about
how laws may apply
in your everyday oper
ations and your nor
mal business dealings
and encourage you
seek answers to your
questions sooner, rath
er than later
-a- |iM(jONa)miwii)iitTiMii(]|
ST2-s*Em> MIL' Wh annual show
L, I AUGUST 22, 23 & 24, 2003
Ip * I Washington County Agricultural Education Center
T PHfljjßMy 7313 Sharpsburg Pike (Rt 65), Near Hagerstown, MD
JL. 7 Miles South of Intersection of 1-70 & Md. Rt 65
j FEATURING FLEA MARKET
tHKI I Allis-Chalmers craft vendors
Jp Tractors and Equipment WAGON RIDES
Garden Tractor Pull tractor parade
Friday @ 6:00 PM sawmill
Stock 650 lbs (Kids), 750 lbs, STONE CRUSHER
Pre-Season 850 nSb 9 ib? 'feoib?. Ibs ' GAS ENGINES
Sale Altered Stock 900 Ibs, 1100 Ibs SLOW TRACTOR RACE
Alia f to Pro Stock 1050 lbs KIDS PEDAL PULL
Antique Tractor Pull bake auction
Sept* IS Saturday @ 4:00 PM rural heritage museum
1060 Division Highway 322 East, 1965 and Under Classes OPEN DURING SHOW
Ephrata, PA 17522 Stock 3000,4000,5000,
1 Block East of 8t222 6000, 7500, 8500
(717) 733-4973 open osoo & 9500
800-642-0310 p or s h ow information call 301-739-7604,
Tractor Pull Info Call 301-491-5054
Mon . Tubs . wid. 10 to 6; Tnurs , . , ~ ,
or visit our website at www.wcatq.org
ojgust 9, 2003
John Bell
When a parent sees that his or
her child is not feeling quite right,
the parent often thinks of taking
the child to the doctor to better
ensure the child will not develop
a more serious problem. I hope
my column will help you develop
a better sense about the legal
well-being of your particular
farm activities and business deal
ings and to better sense when you
need to seek professional legal to
avoid serious problems. Believe
me, the money you spend now to
prevent these problems now will
be far less than the money you
will spend to deal with them
later.
Many people may try to read
this column as providing “legal
** professionaO^?!!^-^/
«u»T
Mountain Springs Arena
Shartlesville, Pa.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 • 8:00 P.M.
GATES OPEN 6 PM
• Bareback & • Calf Scramble ADMISSION GATE
Saddle Bronc Riding • Stick Horse Race AHlllf , $l9 nn
• Brahma Bull Riding • Steer Wrestling
• Cowgirls Barrel Race • Kid’s Sheep Riding J ren(7tol2) " ‘
♦Cowgirls Breakaway Roping Ch.idren (6 & under) FREE
Free Parking, Food, Concessions - No Glass Containers, Covered Seating.
The Show Goes On Rain or Shine
No Ticket Refunds. Dates, Times, Events, etc. Subject To Change Without Notice.
LOCATION: TAKE SHARTLESVILLE EXIT 23 OFF OF RT 22 (I-78) AND GO ONE MILE NORTH
Mountain Springs Camping Resort, Inc.
BOX 365, SHARTLESVILLE, PA 19554-0365 PHONE 610-488-6859
Website - www.mountainspringscampgound.com Email - mtsprings@fast.net
advice.” They may believe this
column will provide all the in
formation they need to know
about the area of the law being
written about, and they will de
cide not to seek legal counsel.
Please do not make that mis
take. This column will never re
place the advice and counsel you
need to get from an attorney who
is reviewing your particular situ
ation.
My column will be more gener
al in focus. It may not cover
every legal feature that may
apply to you. You and your farm
operation may suffer serious con
sequences if these features are
not considered and accounted
for. You can only account for all
these features if you get the prop
er assistance and guidance from
an attorney who is familiar with
your situation.
In future issues, I plan to write
about Pennsylvania’s Clean and
Green Act and Ag Area Security
Law, the legal protections that
state laws provide to farms, fea
tures of Pennsylvania’s Nutrient
Management Act, and other laws
of interest to agriculture. I would
welcome other suggestions you
may have of topics that I should
discuss.
I am looking forward to writ
ing this column, and hope _
it will help you to get the
law to work better for you.
Corn Silage Programs On
Franklin County Farm
DAUPHIN (Dauphin Co.)
On Thursday, Aug. 14 from 9:30
a.m. until noon in Franklin
County an on farm program will
be conducted to discuss the latest
issues of com silage production,
harvest, and utilization. In addi
tion to production management
discussion will include recom
mendations and diagnostic pro
cedures to evaluate bunker silo
management practices.
Dr. Robert Van Saun, PSU
Veterinary Sciences Department
will lead the group in an exercise
in a bunker silo to evaluate bunk
er silage for optimum feed utiliz
ation. Discussion will include: si
lage density determination,
particle size, moisture, and pH.
In addition Dr. Van Saun will
highlight herd health issues relat
ed to Bunker silo feeds, including
haylage and com silage.
Dr. Greg Roth, PSU Depart
ment of Crop and Soil Sciences
will present updated information
related to the selection of com
hybrids for silage use. Dr. Roth
has been working with the Pro
fessional Dairy Managers of
Pennsylvania and the seed indus
try to conduct on-farm silage
trials. Trials have been estab
lished in Franklin, Lancaster,
Centre, and Perry County.
Additional discussion will be
conducted on correct moisture
determination and recommenda
tions for silage production, prop
er packing techniques, processing
silage, the role of inoculants, en
vironmental impacts of bunker
silos, and bunker silo manage
ment.
This program will take place at
Burk-Lea Farm, Grand Point
Road, Chambersburg. Burk-Lea
Farm is accessible from the Scot
land Exit, number 20, off I 81.
Travel north on Rt. 997 toward
Scotland. Turn left at the M & T
Bank, onto Main St. After several
blocks, turn left onto Scotland
Rd. Travel approximately 0.8
miles and you will come to a stop
sign. Go straight across onto
Grand Point Rd. Burk-Lea Farm
is 0.4 miles ahead on the right.
There is no cost to attend but
pre-registration is requested to
assist in coordinating this event.
Call the Franklin County Exten
sion office, (717) 263-9226 or the
Dauphin County Extension office
at (717) 921-8803.