Lancaster Farming - Lancaster Farming

Dealers on Alert After Rash of Equipment Thefts

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:59:04 -0500

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

The Northeast Equipment Dealers Association (NEDA) has alerted dealers to a possible equipment theft ring in the region.

Dealers across Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and New England have reported having large pieces of farm and construction equipment stolen in recent weeks.

Many of the pieces include skid loaders that can be used on farm and construction sites.

Dave Close, operations manager at NEDA, said a combination of factors, including lax security measures at some dealerships and a bad economy have made some dealers an easy target for thieves.

“I believe the economy has a lot to do with it. People are just out to make a quick buck,” Close said.

Now with Thanksgiving rolling around, he is urging dealers across the region to beef up security.

“It is a big problem. Obviously, there seems to be a ring going around,” he said.

Between 30 and 40 equipment dealers registered with NEDA have reported stolen equipment. Close said the association is working with at least a dozen police organizations on the case.

The thefts have cost some dealers tens of thousands of dollars.

Stark Bartron, owner of Bartron Supply in Tunkhannock, Pa., said his dealership was targeted three times in October, resulting in losses totaling $100,000.

Items stolen include a Bobcat bucket loader worth $65,000, a John Deere Gator utility vehicle worth at least $15,000, and other parts and accessories.

The last theft, according to the Wyoming County Press Examiner newspaper, occurred around Oct. 28.

“It’s continuing. Every week, I hear of something else being gone somewhere else,” Bartron said.

Since the thefts, Bartron said he has had to pay for improved lighting as well as surveillance camera upgrades at the dealership. He has also removed batteries from machines.

Arnie Miller, general manager of Rovendale Barn & Ag Equipment in Watsontown, Northumberland County, Pa., said two skid loaders were stolen from the dealership during the early morning hours of Oct. 19.

An L180 and an LS190, two of the largest skid loaders New Holland makes, according to Miller, were stolen. Together, the machines are valued at more than $40,000.

The pieces were parked in a row of skid loaders in front of the dealership.
Ironically, Miller said a group of men from out of state came to the dealership a week before the theft and had both machines priced for them.

Miller said tire marks found the next day indicate the thieves might have started the machines with a key and loaded them onto a truck.

Tony Grumelli, owner of Grumelli Farm Service in Quarryville, Pa., said three skid loaders worth a total of $100,000 were stolen from his dealership in October.

“They stole quite a bit of stuff,” including a Bobcat T190, Bobcat T300 and John Deere 280 skid loaders, Grumelli said.

Even though the pieces of equipment were fenced in, Grumelli said the thieves managed to break in without alerting neighbors or the authorities.

“We haven’t had anything stolen for a long time. We had to replace the fencing and it cost enough,” he said.

Jim Hurst, branch manager of Lancaster Bobcat along Rt. 272 near Ephrata, Pa., said two skid loaders were taken from the dealership sometime during the early morning hours of Nov. 1.

A Bobcat A300 skid steer loader with a bucket attachment and an S185 skid loader were stolen.

The skid loaders were parked in a row and appear to have been targeted.

“They must have specific reasons for them,” Hurst said.

The wiring in the machines parked in front of the dealership are disabled to a certain extent, Hurst said. “The average person would not know what to do,” but that didn’t stop the thieves. “They were clever enough to pull that out.”

Hurst said tire marks found the next day indicate the machines were either towed or driven behind a dimly lit building next to the dealership, Rhino Construction Company, where they were likely loaded onto a truck.

“They loaded them up behind his building which is pretty well isolated out there. We could see the dual wheel tire marks from some truck,” he said.

Close said the fact that most of the machines are being driven or towed from the dealerships with little or no evidence left behind indicates that the thefts may be the work of an organized group.

“They are definitely not amateurs. They know exactly what they are doing,” he said. “These trucks they are putting them in are enclosed. Also, with a lot of the tractors, one key will fire everything up,” unlike cars where each car has a unique key.

“It’s easy to get these keys. Those keys can be hanging up on the wall of a sales office, at farm shows and other places,” he said.

Reading Kubota moved into a new building in 2006, complete with enhanced security measures.

That didn’t stop thieves from stealing three utility vehicles and two commercial front mowers from the dealership in early October.

Ann Doberstein, general manager of Reading Kubota, found that the rings in the fencing that surrounds the building were actually cut, which prevented the alarm from going off. That alarm, if activated, would have alerted local police.

Since then, Doberstein said the owner has spent thousands in security upgrades including a new fence and more cameras.

“It’s more money you’re spending in a year when business has been soft,” Doberstein said.

Close said NEDA is urging equipment dealers be more vigilant by beefing up lighting and fencing-in equipment.

“Lighting is an issue at these dealerships,” he said.

Dealers can also purchase identification tags, which work through Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, and cost around $100 per piece of equipment.

These can be very useful to track a stolen item once it is taken from a lot.
Dealers who experience a theft are urged to contact their local police.

“Get the cameras out, light it up, fence it in. We’re trying to make (dealers) more aware and proactive about this,” Close said.

Farm Growth Limited by Health Care Costs

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:38:00 -0500

Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade
Special Sections Editor

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series on health care challenges in farm and rural communities.

“Americans who live in rural communities have a harder time finding the doctor they need and getting the care they deserve, and their health suffers,” says U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Americans in rural communities also face some of the nation’s highest rates of obesity and high blood pressure and they struggle to get affordable health care.”

According to HHS, one in five uninsured Americans — 8.5 million people — live in a rural area. Rural Americans pay for nearly half of their health care costs out of pocket. Most pointedly, one out of every five farmers is in medical debt.

As a result, rural adults are more likely than urban adults to put off health care because of costs.

According to several studies, rural Americans are more challenged to receive health care services, more likely to be uninsured and more likely to pay more for insurance.

In a recent study released by Ohio State University (OSU), farmers said that health insurance was their top business concern. The study “Agricultural Adaptation at the Rural-Urban Interface: Can Communities Make a Difference,” shows that to access affordable family health care, farm operators or their spouses often seek benefits through off-farm jobs.

The cost of health care has impacted farms, according to the OSU study. It has limited farms’ ability to expand and hire employees. Insurance costs have pulled funds away from farms.

“Two things are working against the configuration of the business. One is the rising land value and the other is rising health care costs that have completely gone out of control,” said an OSU study respondent, a commercial fruit grower who sells wholesale and through direct markets. “Health care costs are driving everything. Everybody is afraid to have any full-time employees for fear you are going to have to pay for their health care costs because nobody is able to afford it.”

Another respondent said after an employee was injured on the farm and sued, the farm was kicked out of its workman’s compensation insurance group and their annual workman’s compensation cost skyrocketed.

A USDA study called “Health Care Access of Farm and Rural Populations” said that farm operator households spend more on health care than other U.S. households, spending an average of $5,200-$10,000 a year.

Another USDA study noted one-third of farmers purchase their insurance directly from an agent, far higher than the national average of just 8 percent.

The end result of the shortcomings of rural health care is that rural residents have higher mortality rates. However, the USDA study pointed out that farmers tend to make more money than their neighbors, are more physically active and less likely to smoke.

The report also noted that “farming has one of the highest occupational fatality rates of all occupations, and farm children also have high fatal accident rates. Farmers are at high risk for work-related lung diseases, noise induced hearing loss, skin diseases, and certain cancers association with chemical use and prolonged sun exposure.”

Across many of the studies, the underlying message is that health care reform is needed.

“An affordable and accessible national health care program would free up time and resources for farmers at the rural-urban interface and elsewhere,” said Shoshanna Inwood, an OSU research associate. “It would allow them to more easily reinvest in their enterprises, households and local economies.”

Sources include press releases from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USDA and Ohio State University.

Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade can be reached at cshupp.eph@lnpnews.com.

Preserving Barns Through ‘Growing Soup’

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:33:05 -0500

Virginia Barn Finalist for Restoration

Jennifer Merritt
Virginia Correspondent

AUGUSTA CO., Va. — Campbell’s Soup is sponsoring a campaign to preserve five barns this year as part of their “Help Grow Your Soup” promotion. Sally Shomo hopes her family’s barn is one of the five. The Shomo’s have been farming their Century Farm for five generations. Along with 26-year-old grandson, Bryan, 78-year-old Charles Shomo runs a 75 head cow / calf operation and backgrounds 400 steers a year at Rollinghills Farm. They also raise corn, soybeans, small grains and hay on the 350 acre farm. Charles’ son Scott and grandson Justin, both former FFA members, lend an extra hand on evenings and weekends.

The barn, near Staunton in Augusta County, was built in 1915. It is a bank barn with an attached shed added in 1951 for dairy cattle. Today the barn is used to feed cattle and house hay, grain, and straw.

Sally Shomo is Charles and Shirley Shomo’s daughter-in-law and was the impetus behind entering Rollinghills Farm’s barn.

“First I had to convince my in-laws to let them paint the barn red,” said Shomo.

She went on to take photos and submit the application to Campbell’s Soup.

The Rollinghills Farm barn was one of ten barns chosen from nine states including Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Just Wait and See Farm in Union Bridge, Maryland, Providence Grove High School Farm in Climax, North Carolina, and the Neil B. McPhail Farm in Seneca, South Carolina were also chosen as part of the ten. Campbell’s will preserve five of the ten barns chosen by popular vote at their web site. Voting opened on October 1 and will continue through January 5, 2010. In addition to preserving the barns, Campbell’s will donate $1 for every vote up to 250,000 to the National FFA Organization. Voters can cast one vote per day for their favorite barn.

Shomo is the FFA advisor for Beverly Manor Middle School, an agriculture education instructor and the president of the National Association of Agriculture Educators. Along with her students, she has been rallying the community to vote, and she says the students are really excited about it.

“It’s been really neat to get the parents involved too,” said Shomo.

Students put together a “Help Paint Our Virginia Barn Red” brochure and hope to be doing a promotion with Wal-Mart and Kroger soon. Shomo has been encouraging her fellow agriculture educators in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and all over the nation to vote for the Virginia barn.

“We are spreading the news as much as we can,” said Shomo.

For now students are involved in getting out the vote, but if Rollinghills Farm’s barn is chosen they will get to help hands on with the painting and preservation. The barn painting process is a three day event. For Shomo, however, the benefit extends far beyond her own family’s barn.

“We hope to have our barn restored,” said Sally Shomo. “But if not, we’re still helping the National FFA.”

According to Campbell’s website, their motto is “Great soups come from great ingredients grown on great farms.” Campbell’s Soup says they are committed to sustainable farming because they care about the ingredients that go into their soup. The “Help Grow Your Soup” program is a way for the soup company to help preserve existing farms and support future generations of farmers.

To vote for the Rollinghills Farm Barn or any of the other barns, or for more information on the “Help Grow Your Soup” program visit http://www.helpgrowyoursoup.com/projects.aspx

Voting is open from October 1 through January 5, 2010. For every vote up to 250,000, Campbell’s will donate $1 to the National FFA. Participants can vote one time every day.

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Produce Marketing Strategies Focus of Workshop

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:26:29 -0500

Guy Steucek
New England Correspondent

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Having just worked with a difficult season, about 50 vegetable growers participated in a workshop on “10+ Marketing Strategies & Tips to Consider When Selling Produce.” Nada Haddad and Becky Sideman, UNH Cooperative Extension organized the day long workshop. Listening to farmers who have direct interactions with customers was most informative.

Rich Bonanno is the fourth generation at Pleasant Valley Garden, Methuen, Maine. They wholesale 40,000 boxes of produce a year with a third of it being lettuce. They set out lettuce plugs using a system they developed with home grown equipment that enables them to plant 30,000 lettuce plants in four hours. At one point Star Market took their entire product at good prices. With the merger of Star Market and Shaw Market, things changed; so they had to change.

Rich’s “goal was to be like California.” So he looked into bagged spinach and packed salads only to discover that anything ready to eat had to conform to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. Not ready to satisfy these regulations he found that any intact plants could be packaged without HACCP certification. They packaged romaine hearts with a Red Tomato trade mark that sold very well. Also they marketed baby lettuce and cabbages. According to Rich, “everything that is scary with lettuce happens in the last two weeks of growth, so harvesting the ‘baby’ plants is a way of avoiding problems.” While lettuce may sell for $4 to $9 dollars a box, baby lettuce sells for $20.

New crops such as maxixe, a relative of cucumber with an egg shape and spikey skin has been a great seller said Rich; “it looks awful, but tastes great.” Ethnic foods have a surprising demand in our local because of the diverse population. Chipilin or edible alfalfa is another ethnic plant that sells well in the Northeast.

According to Rich, diversity is the road to survival. Rich has just started a CSA and the main complaint they receive is that customers get too much. In the fall they grow 40,000 mums and they are sold before they are planted. “Know if you are making money. And have fun!” were the two parting comments by Rich.

“Farmers markets are an easy startup for the small farm” said Josh Jennings, Meadow’s Mirth, Stratham, N.H. He grows primarily for farmers markets, restaurants and a CSA. “How you display your product at a farmers market is very important” said Josh. For repeat customers consistency is also important.

“You need to get a product to the market every week!” We do well with carrots and always have some at market. “A website is a must if you plan to sell produce at farmers markets and a CSA; it is an easy way to maintain contact with customers” said Josh. Being listed on the local harvest website is a help (www.localharvest.org).

Finding the right chefs is the key to restaurant sales and Josh has noted two typical responses to his produce. If the chef says: “That is beautiful, I love it,” Josh knows he has made a sale. Conversely, if the chef first wants to know:

“How much do you want for it?” Josh heads for the door. Also, Josh noted that with restaurant sales, you can spend a lot of time on the phone.

The best time for restaurant deliveries is Wednesday.

Winter farmers markets are gaining popularity and Josh has sold at farmers markets over the past 12 months. Winter does have challenges. For example, freezing is a problem; one can not pack the truck the evening before a farmers market and drive off before dawn without the product freezing. Also, for a winter CSA one needs lots of storage; a root cellar worked well for Josh.

“The value of winter sales is that farmers maintain contact with customer all year” said Josh.

John Moulton, Moulton Farm, Meredith, N.H grows primarily for their farm stand. In the 1960s, the first day of corn season John Moulton put a sign up “corn 50cents/dozen” and took the sign down when they were sold out. In the 1980s they had a farm stand and sold only what they grew. With a new farm stand in the 90s, they were open from May 1 until December 24. Now they “do a lot of purchasing” because that needed to add other products the customers expected. John recommended that one should do marketing surveys every three years to see what customers want.

In 2002, they added a commercial kitchen to the farm stand and saw that it accounted for 23 percent of the sales. Local bakers could not keep up with the demand for freshly baked pies so they purchase oven ready frozen pies and can bake on demand, as many as 100 pies a day.

All items in the stand that they produce are labeled “our own” and customers can see the students working in the crops adjacent to the stand. “Foodies visit our farm stand and are informed, so it is best to respect their knowledge,” said John.

Presently, all items in the farm stand are bar-coded so they have lots of information of what is sold and when it is sold. The time of day and day a sale is made helps with harvesting crops and managing help. Now John just needs a little more time to analyze all this information.

Because of their location near Lake Winnipesaukee, Moulton Farm grows strawberries that bear as late as possible because the summer folk arrive at the tail end of strawberry season and are willing to pay $5.75/quart. They try to get corn in early because the CSA customers want it early. Displaying the farm production is very important and always gets top billing at the farm stand. “The first thing they see is what we have grown” said John.

“Farm signage is really important and it should be changed frequently,” said John.

Partnering is another avenue to success. When “Sal’s Sea Food” occupied a small corner of the farm stand, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, John noticed sales got a boost and Sal split his profits with John. Visit www.moultonfarm.com for more information; you may wish to purchase a pie on-line.

At the Spiller Farm, Wells, Maine, Anna and Bill Spiller have a diversified farm that has focused on apples, corn, strawberries, raspberries and recently vegetables. While they sell at several farmers markets and their own farm stand, a large portion of their crops is sold as u-pick. They introduce their u-pick market with corn and strawberry festivals at the farm.

“In effort to enhance the farm experience, we keep the farm rustic” said Bill.

They have cattle and chickens to give the visitor-customers the full flavor of the farm. A play area is necessary for families that bring children to pick crops, the children tire of harvesting and enjoy the play area with hay bales and “hens for listening to and looking at.” Hay rides are another attraction that gives customers the farm experience.

“In order to have a successful u-pick operation, you need lead crops such as strawberries, corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins. But don’t do sweet corn u-pick, because they pick the wrong stuff” said Bill. Anna noted that “getting people to different locations on the farm for u-pick takes a lot of planning and good signs. Also people need to be educated how to pick various crops. People management is the real issue with u-pick.”

Recently the Spillers have been pressed into a vegetable u-pick because of customer demand. “Why can’t we pick those beautiful vegetables?” a customer would ask. So they responded and learned that harvest techniques became more of an issue. “One customer picked a huge amount of inch-long zucchini and halted production for a several days” said Anna.

Branding was discussed by Michelle Chambers of the “Red Tomato” Trade Team, a not-for-profit marketing organization with focus on the Northeast.

"The “Red Tomato” trade mark helps consumers identify a product because they have too many choices” said Michelle. This enhances sales. For more information about the “Red Tomato” brand for Northeast growers, see www.redtomato.org.

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A Beautiful Relationship

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:19:18 -0500

Hanover Farmers Direct Market to Historic Inn

Tracy Sutton
Regional Editor

HANOVER, Pa. — Chef Andrew Little has a good thing going and he knows it. Little, executive chef at the historic Sheppard Mansion Inn in Hanover, Pa. serves a “farm-to-table” seasonal menu of organic local ingredients, most of which he sources from nearby farms.

“I like to go and meet the farmers and hear their stories,” said Little. “Nine times out of 10, it’s a great product. I see the great love they put into their work. I try it and I get excited.”

Little grew up in Hanover, the son of school teachers, and left to live in New York for awhile, attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. He also worked at the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, a renowned farm-to-table restaurant, where he learned to “use the countryside in the menu” as a “guiding force” — a philosophy he’s brought to the Sheppard Mansion Inn.

“I invite the farmers into the restaurant. It’s important to me to be invested in the product. To showcase it. Then we know where each other is coming from. It gives me a feeling for the whole experience.”

Little says he prefers to buy directly from farmers, rather than middlemen.

One of his farmers brings him seed catalogs in the winter to look at, so he knows what produce will be available the next season. “It’s a totally different approach than just ordering from Sysco.”

Little is impressed with the products he finds from the local farms he buys from.

“I don’t use them just because they’re local. Their products are on par with any products I’ve bought at any New York restaurant I’ve worked at. This competes with anything!”

Hanover-area farmer Beau Ramsburg sells pastured pork and chicken to Little. Ramsburg said he read about the chef and the restaurant at the inn and approached Little directly, inviting him to the farm. From there a beautiful relationship was born. Little now sources nearly all his pork and chicken from Ramsburg.

Ramsburg raises Tamworth and Berkshire pigs, which he rotationally grazes. He said he likes the heritage breeds for their foraging and mothering skills.

Ramsburg, who grew up on a local dairy farm, started pasture raising chickens and pigs in 2007 and has found success in direct market sales, through an e-mail membership list of customers, selling to the Sheppard Mansion Inn, as well as operating a stand at the Gettysburg Farmers Market.

“The keystone to success is direct marketing,” said Ramsburg. “Anything else is exploited on a scale. Big business comes in and saturates the market and ruins a good thing. That can’t happen with a direct marketing approach. That’s going to keep local food pure.”

Heather Sheppard Lunn is another farmer who works directly with Little. It helps that she’s part owner of the Sheppard Mansion Inn (a former residence of her grandparents).

Lunn’s family has been raising Scottish Highland cattle at Sheppard Mansion Farm for 30 years. They have 140 head and two breeding herds. Lunn says she prefers the Scottish Highland cattle, but does some cross breeding with Angus as well. Lunn says the rugged breed are surprisingly docile. “We like them because they’re easy. They’re very gentle and the meat is delicious.”

Other than grass, the cattle get corn and hay grown on the farm and a mineral mixture. Lunn is passionate about grazing livestock — the environmental benefits, as well as the taste. “Some people get wigged out by the yellow fat (that comes from a grass diet). But the flavor is amazing.”

“Everyone should know where their food comes from. Especially meat,” said Lunn.

Lunn also does direct market sales as well as operating a stand at the Gettysburg Farmers Market, where Ramsburg also sells.

Ramsburg, Lunn, and Little are part of “the story behind what’s getting on the plate,” said Little.

Little said he’d like to see more people discover the bounty that grows in this region and support local farms.

“I’m proud to say that southeast Pennsylvania is sustainably producing some of the greatest stuff anywhere."

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Cover Crop Field Day Part of Larger Statewide Study

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:02:35 -0500

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

MANHEIM, Pa. — So, what’s a better cover crop for this area — rye or triticale? What’s an optimum planting date — late August or late September? Could a mixture work best on my farm?

These are some of the questions pondered by a small group of people that came to a cover crop field day Tuesday at the Penn State Southeast Ag Research and Extension Center just outside of Manheim.

Jeff Graybill, extension educator in Lancaster County, and Charlie White, an extension associate at the College of Agricultural Sciences, led the tour, which began at the research center and ended at the nearby Kreider Family Farm.

The plots at the extension center are used to study more “exotic” cover crops from Europe and other areas of the world, which are currently being used by farmers such as Steve Groff in southern Lancaster County.

But the plots with more locally-based crops at the Kreider farm are part of a larger research project encompassing 11 separate sites statewide.

The purpose of this project, according to White, is to study the effectiveness of certain cover crops based on planting dates and location.

“This is the first time that a statewide study has been done to compare these crops around the state,” White said.

The cover crops being used in the project are more typical of the kinds being used by farmers in this area — like rye, wheat and oats, just to name a few.
Planting dates were in late August and late September.

Land from the 100-acre Kreider Family Farm was volunteered to Penn State for the Lancaster County research plot.

Graybill led the walking tour through two separate plots, which included the same cover crops planted at different times.

Results varied depending on the actual cover crop. Some varieties were growing well while others had little or no establishment.

There were several cover crop mixtures including ryegrass and crimson clover, which Graybill said has caught the eye of some farmers he has been working with because of its good growth with little or no manure application.

Given the wet weather this fall, he said soil compaction has become a big issue with many farmers asking what if any cover crop can be effective to break up compaction or if a little bit tillage may be necessary.

“Should I chisel that field up next year? Or should I apply a cover crop on it? These are the questions I’ve been getting,” he said.

Those in continuous no-till systems, he said, should probably allow the situation to take care of itself since the idea of a continuous no-till system is to build up the soil and let the natural process of the environment take care of those problems without tillage.

In a tillage system, or for farmers just starting out no-till, Graybill thinks a little chiseling may be necessary because deep compaction can take years to remediate itself.

“We need to keep our soils as productive as possible,” he said.

The Lancaster County plot was the first of the 11 plots White has visited since the plantings were done.

“I’m pretty impressed with them. They look pretty good,” he said of the plots.
After the field day, Graybill and White cut out portions of each plot to test the amount of biomass in the soil.

Anyone can keep track of the progress made at other plots around the state by going to the Web site of the Pennsylvania Cover Crop Network at pacovercrop.ning.com.

The site includes blogs and commentary from across the state as well as photos from the various sites.

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Citizens Group Holds Seminar on Future of Chesapeake Bay

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:59:42 -0500

Laurie Savage
Maryland Correspondent

JARRETTSVILLE, Md. — The Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group, Inc., says coming together in numbers is the best way to advocate for a better environment and local food systems.

“It’s about building support. Grassroots is very, very important,” said Maria Payan of the PBCCG. She said the group formed to fight a 4,400-head swine concentrated animal feeding operation that was proposed near the Pennsylvania township.

The PBCCG works to keep farming viable, preserve natural resources for future generations and protect communities by promoting socially responsible agriculture.

Citizens from Maryland and Pennsylvania were invited to join a discussion at the PBCCG-sponsored seminar, “The Chesapeake Bay: Our Bay, Our Food Production, Our Responsibility,” held Saturday, Nov. 7, at Jarrettsville Gardens.

Payan said voluntary, collaborative efforts by area states to clean up and restore the Chesapeake Bay have failed, and the bay remains in a dismal state. Steps now need to be taken to enforce the cleanup effort.

“EPA is not doing their job,” said Tommy Landers, a policy advocate for Environment Maryland who spoke at the seminar. President Obama recently signed an executive order to transfer leadership of the Chesapeake Bay to a federal level.

“Now is our chance, we need to get involved,” Landers said.

Payan pointed to agriculture as well as development as the culprits of polluting the bay.

“We know the cause and the cure, the question is do we have the political will?” Payan said.

Maryland Delegate H. Wayne Norman, Jr., (R-35A) serves on the Environmental Matters Committee and said his group is charged with critical areas.

“The environment is our main concern,” he said.

Everyone wants to blame farmers, but he pointed a finger at development, noting the green lawns he sees around Annapolis.

The delegate hopes to put in a bill this legislative session declaring a moratorium on taking female crabs from the bay.

Another environmental menace is sewage sludge, according to Norman. Some was applied to pasture ground at Susquehanna State Park near Havre de Grace. People who picnic at the park should be informed about the sludge application, he said.

“There’s not much science in Annapolis, there’s not much science in Harrisburg and there’s not much science in New York,” Norman said. “It’s who puts on the best case.”

He encouraged the group to stay abreast of bills, their sponsors and hearing schedules. Don’t hesitate to contact lawmakers.

“They love to hear from you,” he said.

Seminar attendees were asked to sign letters supporting Senate Bill 1816, The Chesapeake Clean Water and Ecosystem Restoration Act, a bill some farm organizations such as the Maryland Farm Bureau and Virginia State Dairymen’s Association say will put family farms out of business.

The group gathered at the seminar encouraged Norman to look into a Carroll County farm that entered into agriculture preservation in the late 1980s and is running a commercial business advertising for trash and sludge removal from several states away.

The farm does not pay industrial or commercial taxes while making several million dollars a year on preserved ag land, several Carroll County residents in attendance said.

Darree Sicher, president of the United Sludge-Free Alliance, a volunteer group dedicated to gathering information on sewage sludge, said there are numerous permitted sludge sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

“It’s no wonder that the Chesapeake Bay is having pollution issues,” she said.

Sludge is everything that goes down the drain and is not a fertilizer but toxic waste, according to Sicher. Farmers who use sludge on their fields are probably not given all the available information on its hazards, she said. They are led to believe that sewage sludge is natural.

“Lead is natural, and we don’t eat that. Arsenic is natural, and we don’t eat that,” Sicher said.

The Environmental Protection Agency only requires testing for nine elements in sludge, which is not tested for hormones, pharmaceuticals, H1N1 and other threats, according to Sicher.

“You put it on the land, the plants are going to take it up and that’s why we need to care about it,” she said, adding that dollars need to be directed to finding alternatives to land application.

Brady Russell, the Eastern Pennsylvania director of Clean Water Action, said his group focuses on getting people together around issues about which they care, such as water quality.

“Don’t buy in too readily that we have to wait until people start getting sick” before taking action, he said.

He related the story of a small group of women in central Minnesota who about 10 years ago fought against concentrated animal feeding operations moving into their area.

The women waited until the county fair and papered cars with fliers. The three numbers given on the fliers were inundated with calls of support.

They took air samples and started attending county commissioner meetings.

Not only did they endorse commissioner candidates who could help them, they let other citizens know whom they endorsed and why, later managing to turn over the board.

The group secured land use and setback rules as well as a ban on open-air manure pits.

Russell gave the following three organizing strategies:

• Form a mobilized constituency and function as a group,
• Fight for a specific issue, and
• Target a person who can help you get what you want.

Michael Helfrich, a Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, said chemicals in the water act like hormones, which cause intersex or sexual mutations in fish.

Lesions and gill deformations are symptoms of the problem, not problems in and of themselves.

He called the affected fish “transvestites who are okay with it because of all the Prozac in the water.”

Helfrich said more than 400 endocrine disruptors have been documented, and 10s of thousands of chemicals are not yet tested. Endocrine disrupting compounds have been found in some form in every water sample taken.

“Every bit of poison goes into the female’s ovaries,” Helfrich said. “Where are our next generations coming from?”

Major fish kills have occurred in waterways in the area that account for 87 percent of the water going into the bay, he said. Most of the waterways, he said, including the Susquehanna, Potomac and James rivers, lie in heavily agrarian areas.

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Tapping International Dairy Markets a Priority, Says Reed

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:55:52 -0500

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

CARLISLE, Pa. — Globalization is creating great opportunities and great challenges for dairy producers in the U.S.

Alan Reed, senior vice-president of U.S. manufacturing and ingredient marketing at Dairy Management Inc., told nearly 100 people at the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania Dairy Industry Forum last week here at the West Pennsboro Fire Hall that he believes the industry has no choice but to embrace the new realities of a global market if it hopes to grow.

“You can’t escape the impact of globalization,” Reed said.

Even though the recession has cut into the growth some countries such as China and India have experienced lately, Reed said the market will eventually rebound and that will mean more opportunities for U.S. producers.
But the key is creating something “they want” and at a high quality.

“We can’t keep doing what we’re doing. It will only get worse,” he said. “It’s not just the production. It’s turning the milk into a product the world wants.”

Exports, which were as high as 12 percent, have fallen to around 7 percent as the recession has impacted economies around the world.

When it recovers, Reed said he expects other players in the milk market to emerge. Countries such as Brazil and Belarus will likely enter the market and may be able to sell product for a cheaper price.

He pointed to a study commissioned by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy which found that the world’s middle class will increase by about 800 million consumers by 2030.

A lot of these consumers will likely begin to consume more sources of animal protein and dairy products as their financial situations improve.

In fact, demand is expected to exceed supply and increase by an equivalent of 7 billion pounds of raw milk by 2013, according to the study.

The question of whom will fill that demand is up in the air. The U.S., he said, is at a disadvantage to other countries like New Zealand and Australia because the quality of ingredients coming from those countries is better.

But the pasture fed system, which requires a lot of land in both countries, will have to transition to corn and silage, Reed said, if production is to increase.

Other emerging export countries such as the Baltic state countries and Brazil can produce product a lot cheaper than here in the U.S.

But questions about safety and quality are concerns.

Reed said U.S. producers will have an opportunity to tap in, but only with changes to the country’s pricing system and price support programs.

Dry skim milk powder is in very high demand around the world. But unlike non-fat dry milk, it is not made in the U.S. and can’t be sold to the Commodity Credit Corporation when excess product is on the market.

The country’s pricing system, he said, is confusing, out-of-date, and creates a lot of volatility, which is something foreign investors don’t like.

“We need to find a way to grow and reduce our volatility. We need to find a way we’re better than what’s on the world market,” he said.

The Role of the PMMB
The meeting also included a talk on the role of the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) in dairy pricing.

Right now, according to John Howard, staff attorney for the milk marketing board, the average blend price paid to producers is around $14.17 when you take into account the state’s over-order premium.

The minimum wholesale price of milk, which includes fuel costs and container costs and guarantees processors a minimum 3.4 percent profit, is $3.01 a gallon.

The minimum retail price, which includes the price of putting the milk on the shelf and guarantees a retail profit of 2.5 percent, is at $3.31.

Robert Schupper, dairy category manager at Giant Food Stores, said the PMMB has been a “godsend” when it comes to pricing dairy products in stores and that the chain fully supports the over-order premium.

He said the company operates on a profit of 1 percent or less on all dairy products, due to short shelf life and current low demand.

“We need to do everything possible to keep this industry viable,” Schupper said, adding the chain has entered into local partnerships to get milk from more local sources and it has changed its inventory system to allow stores to restock its inventory when needed instead of having scheduled deliveries.

In fact, “buying local” is what’s driving consumer demand these days.

“It gives us a big advantage over other retailers,” he said.

About 98 percent of fluid milk in its Pennsylvania stores comes from Pennsylvania farms.

But getting people to buy milk is still a challenge, especially when it competes against products such as Coca Cola and Pepsi.

“Milk consumption continues to decline as a beverage and that is a major, major issue in the industry,” he said. “We need to think about milk as a beverage.”

Pa. FFA Members Bring Home National Convention Honors

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:50:34 -0500

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding recently congratulated Pennsylvania FFA members on their recent achievements at the organization’s nation convention, held Oct. 21-24 in Indianapolis.

“The dedication of our FFA members to their personal growth, premier leadership and career success is impressive and appreciated because they are the future of the state’s agriculture industry,” said Redding. “I commend their efforts and congratulate the individual and team competitors who worked tirelessly to represent not only their chapters, but also their home state.”

Nearly 850 Pennsylvania FFA members attended the 82nd National FFA Convention, with many participating in Career Development Events, or CDEs, which are competitions designed to enhance members’ leadership, critical thinking and career skills. To qualify for the national competition, students competed first in county, area, regional and state competitions.

Matthew Stanton of the Northern Bedford FFA chapter received first place in the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity, part of the Dairy Cattle Evaluation CDE. Stanton was judged on his showmanship skills as he presented a dairy cow for evaluation.

The Oley Valley FFA team, comprised of Taylor Helbig, Amelia Howe, Damian Oswald and Kellsey Turner, bested 36 other teams to earn first place in the Environmental and Natural Resources CDE. Competitors tested their problem solving and decision making skills in topics including soils, water and air quality, waste management, environmental analysis and use of global positioning units.

Other top individual and team finishers from Pennsylvania were:

Individual
Agricultural Mechanics
• Josiah Rohrer, Lancaster Mennonite, Hans Herr FFA, 6th place
• Bryan Miller, Lancaster Mennonite Hans Herr FFA, 8th place

Agricultural Sales
• Casi Foster, Chambersburg FFA, gold recognition
• Joshua Funk, Chambersburg FFA, gold recognition
• Braton Moore, Chambersburg FFA, gold recognition

Dairy Cattle Evaluation
• Jennifer Aument, Solanco FFA, 6th place
• Matthew Aument, Solanco FFA, gold recognition
• Carolyn Lawrence, Solanco FFA, gold recognition

Environmental and Natural Resources
• Taylor Helbig, Oley Valley FFA, 2nd place
• Amelia Howe, Oley Valley FFA, 3rd place
• Damian Oswald, Oley Valley FFA, gold recognition
• Kellsey Turner, Oley Valley FFA, gold recognition

Farm Business Management
• Eric Kreiser, Manheim FFA, gold recognition
Floriculture
• Adrianne Huber, Garden Spot Grassland FFA, gold recognition

Food Science and Technology
• Megan Eshbach, Conrad Weiser FFA, gold recognition
• Erin Gramling, Conrad Weiser FFA, gold recognition
Forestry
• Cody Owlett, Wellsboro Grand Canyon FFA, gold recognition
• Taylor Sticklin, Wellsboro Grand Canyon FFA, gold recognition

Poultry Evaluation
• Charlie Himes, Garden Spot, Grassland FFA, gold recognition
Team
• Agricultural Sales – Chambersburg FFA, 9th place
• Agricultural Mechanics – Lancaster Mennonite, Hans Herr FFA, 10th place
• Dairy Cattle Evaluation – Solanco FFA, 4th place
• Food Science and Technology – Conrad Weiser FFA, gold recognition
• Forestry – Wellsboro Grand Canyon FFA, gold recognition

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Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Declines for 2009

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:45:20 -0500

American Farm Bureau Federation

WASHINGTON — Menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings dropped 4 percent in price this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

AFBF’s 24th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $42.91, a $1.70 price decrease from last year’s average of $44.61.

“As we gather this Thanksgiving for food and fellowship, it’s fitting to take a moment to recognize and give thanks, not only for the abundant food we enjoy as Americans, but for the hard-working farm and ranch families across our nation who produce it,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman.

The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10.

The cost of a 16-pound turkey, at $18.65 or roughly $1.16 per pound, reflects a decrease of 3 cents per pound, or a total of $.44 per turkey compared to 2008.

Milk, at $2.86 per gallon, dropped $.92 and was the largest contributor to the overall decrease in the cost of the 2009 Thanksgiving dinner.

“Consistent with the retail food price declines seen throughout the year, consumers will pay just a bit less for their Thanksgiving feast this year,” said Jim Sartwelle, an AFBF economist. “Consumers are benefiting at the grocery store from significantly lower energy prices and the effects of the economic slowdown. Again this year, the cost per person for this special meal is less than a typical ‘value meal’ at a fast-food outlet,” Sartwelle said.

Other items showing a price decrease this year were: a ½ pint of whipping cream, $1.55; a 12-oz. package of brown-n-serve rolls, $2.08; a 1-pound relish tray of carrots and celery, $.72; and a 12-oz. package of fresh cranberries, $2.41. A combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) also dropped in price, to $2.50.

Items that increased slightly (less than 5 percent) in price this year were: a 14-oz. package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.65; two 9-inch pie shells, $2.34; and a 30-oz. can of pumpkin pie mix, $2.45.

Two items, green peas and sweet potatoes, stayed the same in price at $1.58 for one pound and $3.12 for three pounds, respectively.

Sartwelle said despite retail price increases during the last year or so, American consumers have enjoyed relatively stable food costs over the years, particularly when adjusted for inflation.

The 4 percent decrease in the national average cost reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks closely with the organization’s 2009 quarterly marketbasket food surveys and the federal government’s Consumer Price Index, Sartwelle noted.

Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spending $50 and receiving a free turkey.

More than 200 volunteer shoppers from 35 states participated in this year’s survey. Farm Bureau’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.