Ag Interests Protected In Rendell’s State Budget Proposals
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
ROCKSPRING (Centre Co.)
Wednesday marked the birth
of the eight-hour workday in
1862, noted one Penn State offi
cial. And one state official wants
to bring all of Pennsylvania back
to work with several agricultural
economic initiatives that could
revitalize the profitability of
farming.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell
noted that through the efforts of
his administration, working with
Penn State, Pennsylvania “can
help grow our economy,” he said
to hundreds of guests during the
Govemment/Industry Day Lun
cheon at Ag Progress Days.
Despite dealing with the head
aches of a $2.5 billion state bud
get deficit, Rendell noted that the
“interests of agriculture have
truly been protected.”
State efforts include a funda
mental effort to “re-engage Penn
sylvania’s young people in the
business of agriculture,” he said.
Gov. Ed Rendell speaks to the media before the start of
the luncheon Wednesday.
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Rendell pointed to the work of
the state’s biggest FFA school,
W.B. Saul near Philadelphia, and
how those kids, “urban kids born
in the toughest ghettos,” are “on
fire” with their interest in agri
culture.
“Pennsylvania has no economy
without ag,” said Rendell. Agri
culture contributes $43 billion
into the state’s economy and re
mains the largest industry. The
second largest is tourism.
For the youth, the state FFA
has been granted a $150,000
grant legislative line item.
Another critical item is the
“Plan for Pennsylvania” es
poused by the administration,
opening up ag business loans for
farmers. The first one, at
$200,000, will be going to a farm
in Lancaster County.
The manufacturing equipment
loan fund, open to businesses
throughout the state, was closed
to farmers at one time. But now
it is open and allows “farmers to
be more productive and add new
technology,” Rendell said.
Farm Walk Set For
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Cover crops, purchasing seeds
and planning for the following year and observing crop con
ditions are the topics that will be covered during a farm walk
at Covered Bridge Produce, Oley, on August 28, 6:30 p.m. to
dark.
Covered Bridge Produce is a farm that is or
ganically certified. Markets are diversified and
include a CSA (Community Supported Agri
culture) market, farmer markets and wholesale
accounts. Joseph Griffin, farm manager, and
Bob Jack, grower, will be leading the walk,
according to Mena Hautau, extension agent.
The walk is part of a series, “Organic Agri
culture in Southeast Pennsylvania” organized
through Penn State Cooperative Extension.
The tour will be take place rain or shine. Wear
appropriate footgear. Participants may bring a
bag lunch if coming directly from work. There
is no charge and no preregistration required.
Rogers Community Auction, Inc.
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CONSIGNMENT AUCTIONS
Every Friday Furniture & misc 1 p.m.
Produce & Eggs 5 p.m.
Poultry Bam 6 p.m.
FIRST TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH
FARM EQUIPMENT CONSIGNMENT AUCTION
1 p.m. Miscellaneous auction
4 p.m. Garden tractor auction
5 p.m. Firewood
6 p.m. Farm Machinery
EVERY Wednesday 1 p.m. Hay & Grain Auction
FAMILY OWNED AND MANAGED SINCE 1955
Gov. Ed Rendell, second from left, poses with other state and Penn State officials.
From left, Robert Steele, dean of the Penn State College of Agriculture Sciences; Ren
dell; Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania secretary of agriculture; and Graham Spanier.
Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
Appropriations for crop insur
ance and farmland preservation
are preserved, despite the budget
problems. In June, 29 new farms
totaling 2,700 acres were pre
served. That brings the total to
2,195 farms, at more than a quar
ter million acres since the pro
gram began about 14 years ago.
The CREP program has been
increased to $4lO million to
farmers, to provide a new crop,
said Rendell “habitat on land.”
That includes $326 million in
federal and $B4 million in state
funds. CREP is open to 23 coun
ties in the Susquehanna River
KEN, BILL BAER AUCTIONEERS
Valley.
The program, noted Rendell,
reduces 14.5 million tons of ero
sion to the Chesapeake Bay, pro
tecting more than 200,000 acres
of good farmland.
The final step, noted Rendell,
is coming up with the solution to
the high cost of property taxes
and the low performance of rural
public schools.
There has been no progress in
the percentage of Pennsylvania
students who read proficiently,
even though other programs,
such as science and math, have
shown improvement.
Covered Bridge Produce
For more information and directions to the farm, contact
Mena Hautau, Penn State Cooperative Extension-Berks
County, phone: 610/378-1327, fax: 610/378-7961, email: Betk
sExt@psu.edu
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 23, 2003-Al9
‘Pennsylvania is not producing
a qualified workforce... in any
endeavor,” said Rendell. The
state share of education dropped
from 55 percent in the early
1980 s to 34 percent, after the re
peal of laws that provided more
state share of the responsibility.
“Local property taxes go up
and up and up and it’s got to
stop,” he said. “Far too many
farmers are land-rich and in
come-poor.”
Rendell believes the new bud
get can be ironed out within the
first couple ol weeks in Septem
ber.
C* I