Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:50pm.
Andrew Jenner
Virginia Correspondent The production of advanced biofuels feedstocks — perennial grasses, fast-growing trees and other crops — in the mid-Atlantic region could significantly benefit farmers and Chesapeake Bay water quality, according to a report just released by the Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The report estimates the bay watershed could produce 500 million gallons of biofuels per year without diminishing regional food production, thereby creating new economic opportunities for farmers while lessening the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:48pm.
Laurie Savage
Maryland Correspondent ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s farmers will most likely fall short of a 2011 goal to plant 460,000 acres of cover crops. While the goal was set using realistic methods that took into account the needed decrease in nutrient runoff and the effectiveness of cover crops, farmers are just not planting that many acres, said Royden Powell, MDA assistant secretary in the Office of Resource Conservation. One of the most important practices to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay is planting cover crops, he said. Powell addressed members of the Maryland State Soil Conservation Committee at their regular meeting Thursday, Jan.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:45pm.
 Steve Taylor
New England Correspondent SUTTON, N.H. — Hundreds of people bundled up against the January cold clambered out onto the frozen surface of Kezar Lake Sunday to watch ice being harvested the way it was done all over northern climes back before electricity and modern refrigeration came along. Time was when ice harvesting was a major industry across New England and New York State, utilizing thousands of farm hands and teams of horses to fill ice houses perched around ponds and lakes and to load onto rail cars for shipment to urban markets to the south, and even by ship to as far off as Florida and the Caribbean. It all went away when the technology of refrigeration was perfected enough to give households, restaurants and businesses reliable means to keep perishable products chilled.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:34pm.
 Charlene M. Shupp
Espenshade
Special Sections Editor HARRISBURG, Pa. — One might assume that as the Rendell administration heads into its last year, it would be a time to relax and take it easy. Not so, according to newly-appointed Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding as he discussed his goals at the legislative luncheon at the recent Pennsylvania Farm Show. “The last leg of a relay is the most important leg,” Redding said, describing his goals to the nearly 800 people in attendance. The six goals he noted will take a partnership of “everyone who eats” to continue to invest in agriculture. With the industry evolving, he noted the importance of recognizing the industry in all of its shapes and sizes.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:32pm.
Anne Harnish
Food and Family Features Editor HAMBURG, Pa. — A 50-year-old farmer from Fleetwood, Pa., attending a recent workshop on farm succession with his 26-year-old son, wants to avoid making the mistakes of a previous generation; although the family farm remained intact when it was passed along to him, the family incurred steep financial losses to inheritance taxes.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:29pm.
 Lou Ann Good
Correspondent MOUNT JOY, Pa. — “Let’s put it in perspective. We didn’t have to bury a son, just throw an arm away,” Sue Musser told her husband Jim as they grappled with the after effects of a farm accident. Today, the family laughs about her comment, but it was no laughing matter when, within a 10-day period, their son Cody’s arm was ripped off when his coat sleeve got entangled in an auger, fire destroyed a grain bin on their farm, a driver who ran a stop sign demolished the family’s van and Jim had to have back surgery for a herniated disc. “I kept thinking, ‘what next?’” Sue said. “My pastor said I should be renamed Job,” Jim said, referring to the biblical character who lost everything within a few hours. Two months later, the Mussers cannot stop listing the many good things that happen despite their losses. Cody, 25, matter-of-factly recalls the events that began on Monday, Nov.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:29pm.
 Lou Ann Good
Correspondent MOUNT JOY, Pa. — “Let’s put it in perspective. We didn’t have to bury a son, just throw an arm away,” Sue Musser told her husband Jim as they grappled with the after effects of a farm accident. Today, the family laughs about her comment, but it was no laughing matter when, within a 10-day period, their son Cody’s arm was ripped off when his coat sleeve got entangled in an auger, fire destroyed a grain bin on their farm, a driver who ran a stop sign demolished the family’s van and Jim had to have back surgery for a herniated disc. “I kept thinking, ‘what next?’” Sue said. “My pastor said I should be renamed Job,” Jim said, referring to the biblical character who lost everything within a few hours. Two months later, the Mussers cannot stop listing the many good things that happen despite their losses. Cody, 25, matter-of-factly recalls the events that began on Monday, Nov.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:20pm.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice last week filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Dean Foods Company, challenging its April 2009 acquisition of Foremost Farms USA’s Consumer Products Division. The department said that the merger eliminates substantial competition between the two companies in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, along with state attorneys general from Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, filed in U.S.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:18pm.
 Kathy Zimmerman
Reporter HARRISBURG, Pa. — The FFA Mid-Winter Convention was held on Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. in the large arena during the Pennsylvania Farm Show. During the convention, the state officers conducting the convention continued to use their year as state officers to live out their theme by going “Beyond the Blue.” Brittany Wilmer, eastern region vice president, said she saw many ways members can follow the state theme through FFA activities and their supervised agricultural experience programs (SAE).
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 12:15pm.
Steve Taylor
New England Correspondent BATAVIA, N.Y. — Coming off possibly the worst year for dairy producers in a generation, farm operators more than ever need to get serious about financial and production records so they can build budgets that will give them an idea of what the future will look like. That was the assessment of Gary Snider, vice president of farm business consulting for Farm Credit of Western New York, which recently merged to become part of Farm Credit East.
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