, Vol. 49 No. 5 Sheep Milk Cheese Anyone? Wajswol tends his young East Friesian dairy ewes. After lambing next their milk will be used exclusively in Wajswol’s specialty cheesemaking 'iin. See story on page A 32. Photo by Dave Lefever 'Awards Banquet Honors Jennings For Environmental Excellence ' V BROWNLEE a Correspondent IAWFORD, Va. On Nov. 13, Thomas Jef ings of Luray, Page eceived the Environ :ellence Award for Vir- pas Jeffrey Jennings, left, of Luray was named I of the Environmental Excellence Award for Virgin- In Gangwer, environmental affairs director for Pil f ride, made the presentation. |by Gay Brownlee, Virginia correspondent . ~. *K **Y. 1680,- 529 P 4 1844 ' u5O 2V6288 SERIALS RECORDS 1 -’6 KATERNO I 1 BRAKY UNIVERSITY PARI Ri> it. 802 1808 www.lancasterfarming.com ginia at the fourth annual Envi ronmental Awards Banquet hosted by the Pilgrims Pride or ganization. In garnering the top honor, Jennings also received a compa ny sign and a cash award. John Four Sections Gangwer, director of environ mental affairs, made the presen tation for Pilgrims Pride. Gangwer mentioned how trib utary strategy is everyones busi ness because Virginia joins other states that are in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. He discussed animal feed oper ations (AFO) and explained for chicken and turkey growers what identifies a concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO). “Changes are coming quickly,” he said. “The more involved you are, the more you know, the bet ter off you are.” On the Jennings’ farm, the South Fork of the Shenandoah River is the waterway that passes the 500-acre spread of cropland, pastureland, and timberland. Jennings said he has fenced the stream banks there, so his beef cattle cannot get to the river. The 120 head of beef animals that comprise his cow and calf stocker operation have access to water that is piped to a trough from a well. Jennings said the cattle are on a rotational grazing system. He is making headway toward his goal to clean up the farms six ponds. The one thats already done had fencing installed, as well as a culvert. It controls the water level and functions in a way that benefits a wildlife area on the property. These things take time, but Jennings is ready to begin fenc ing the next pond. He also plans Saturday, November 29, 2003 House Rejects Bill That Could Have Jeopardized Farmland Preservation CHARLENE M. SHUPP ESPENSHADE Lancaster Farming Staff NORTH WARREN (Warren Co.) House Bill 66 was defeat ed Tuesday afternoon in the House of Representatives with a vote 150 to 50. This decisive vote closes a chapter on a bill that has the po tential to set precedent with farmland preservation on state owned farmland. The bill introduced by State Trout Deal Bad For Pa, Growers HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Pennsylvania trout growers say that the bidding terms for con tracts to supply trout in the state helped give competitive advan tage to an out-of state fishery. The commonwealth recently awarded a North Carolina trout farm a contr&ct to stock 650,000 rainbow trout in 96 Pennsylvania lakes during the next five years, according to Frank Kane, spokes man for the Pennsylvania De partment of General Services (DGS), the agency that handled flow of water into a trough by gravity. Jennings keeps 14,000 chick ens in a 624-foot-long double broiler and breeder hen house. The egg and gathering room in the center is flanked on either side by a unit of 7,000 birds. Jen nings said the 4-year-old facility is serving its intended function very well, “I’ve been very pleased with the way it works,” he said. The chickens are not caged. Instead, they are free to roam be fore moving to the nest at egg laying time. The eggs are auto matically conveyed to the gather ing room. There, an employee takes charge of their care. Another piece of equipment Jennings invested in following the 2002 avian influenza (A. 1.) outbreak was an incinerator. Inside The Farmer ✓ Lancaster Cham ber Ag Banquet page page A 22. ✓ Holiday Glitz Ideas page 82. ✓ More State Dairy- One DHIA Reports page 825. ✓ Peanut Butter Heritage page 817. .... $37.00 Per Year DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff $l.OO Per Copy Rep. Jim Lynch (R-Warren County) was set to remove the agriculture use restriction on 22.7 acres of land outside of North Warren, clearing the way for the commercial development of the land. The projected plan for the farmland was for the construc tion of a Wal-Mart. Agriculture organizations who lobbied hard for the defeat of the (Turn to Page A 26) the contracting process for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). Tellico Enterprises, Inc. of Franklin, N.C. won a contract to supply all of the fish 130,000 annually through February of 2009 for a bid of $141,541. According to Pennsylvania trout growers at a recent Pennsyl vania Aquaculture Association meeting, Tellico’s advantage was partly because fish disease testing in North Carolina is performed free of charge. (Turn to Page A 25) “Thats been a great help,” he said. “I love it. My experience with composting was not good.” Jennings is the ninth generation of his family to live on the land. He and his wife, Winn, have three sons Joe, 16, Phillip, 13 and John, 10 who comprise the 10th generation. On 80-100 acres, Jennings sows com. He puts hay on 50 acres, soybeans on 30, alfalfa on 16, and barley on 15 acres. “Were not cropping on highly erodable land,” he said. Five farms were Environ mental Stewardship winners. They were Cathy Alger, Luray; S&F, LLC operated by Bud Shaver of Weyers Cave; Ray J. (Turn to Page A 24) Office Closed
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