Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA




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USDA Announces New Framework for Animal Disease Traceability

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:39pm.

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced today that USDA will develop a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the United States, and undertake several other actions to further strengthen its disease prevention and response capabilities. 
“After concluding our listening tour on the National Animal Identification System in 15 cities across the country, receiving thousands of comments from the public and input from States, Tribal Nations, industry groups, and representatives for small and organic farmers, it is apparent that a new strategy for animal disease traceability is needed,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  "I’ve decided to revise the prior policy and offer a new approach to animal disease traceability with changes that respond directly to the feedback we heard."
The framework, announced today at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Mid-Year meeting, provides the basic tenets of an improved animal disease traceability capability in the United States.  USDA’s efforts will:
Only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce;
Be administered by the States and Tribal Nations to provide more flexibility;
Encourage the use of lower-cost technology; and
Be implemented transparently through federal regulations and the full rulemaking process.

Could Global Warming Impact Apple Yields?

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:35pm.

 Chris Torres
Staff Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. — Dr. James Shortle of Penn State had an interesting challenge at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Tuesday: trying to change growers’ attitudes about possible climate change in the future.
Judging from the reaction he got from producers when he asked how many believed climate change was real, he knew he had a challenge.
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Pacesetters, Others Recognized at Dairy Summit

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:34pm.

 Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade
Special Sections Editor
LANCASTER, Pa. — One highlight of the two-day Pennsylvania Dairy Summit is honoring distinguished dairy leaders for their work in the industry.
At the first day of the summit, Wednesday at the Lancaster Host Resort, three dairies were selected for this year’s Pennsylvania Dairy Stakeholders Pacesetters Award.
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Farmers, Regulators Still Intent on Finding Common Ground on Bay

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:33pm.

 Andrew Jenner
Virginia Correspondent
In 2009, after President Obama signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies to redouble their efforts at restoring the Chesapeake Bay, as the Environmental Protection Agency simultaneously began developing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for the entire watershed, it became clear that big changes were in store for agriculture in the region.
To Jim Baird of the American Farmland Trust, it seemed the wisest response was to confront it head-on.
“The best place for farmers is at the table, trying to effect how that change happens,” said Baird, mid-Atlantic director for the AFT.
Last summer, Baird helped convene a diverse group of farmers and ag industry representatives who began working with several federal agencies to address concerns raised by the development of a Bay TMDL — broadly, how to restore the Chesapeake Bay without putting farmers out of business.
One of the largest issues the group identified was whether the data the EPA used to establish nutrient limits in the draft TMDL accounts for all the conservation measures already in place on farms in the region, particularly voluntary measures that received no public cost-share funding.
“I think it’s a huge concern,” said Buff Showalter, a Rockingham County, Virginia poultry and cattle farmer who was among the group meeting with Baird and others.
Showalter said that areas like Rockingham County and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania have large Mennonite and Amish farming communities that often implement conservation practices but don’t participate in state cost-share programs.
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Report: Nutrient Loads Decreasing in Susquehanna

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:32pm.

 HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) this week announced that nutrient and suspended-sediment trends in the Susquehanna River Basin are improving. SRBC’s findings are based on analyses of flow-adjusted trends data from 1985 to 2008. Comparison of 2008 data with baseline data, collected from 1985 to 1989, also indicates reductions in sediment and nutrient loads.
Nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, are point and non-point source pollutants that impair water quality.
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Speaker Provides Spark at Veggie Convention

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:31pm.

 Chris Torres
Staff Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. — If people at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention needed a wake-up call, they sure got one Tuesday morning when Harold Lloyd, motivational speaker, showed up.
“You’ve never been evaluated so far as a leader,” he proclaimed to a crowd of a few hundred growers, industry officials and educators.
With high energy and sharp wit, Lloyd spent more than an hour revving up the crowd with stories about his own personal and professional life as he attempted to get people to answer the question “Am I The Leader I Need To Be?”
The question is actually the name of a book he wrote a few years ago and it inspired him to develop a point based “leadership quotient” to get people to think about factors he believes are the basis for great leadership.
“Whether you are born with a little or with a lot, you can make it more,” he said.
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Zimmer Brings Soil Biology Message to Lancaster County

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:30pm.

 Joyce Zimmerman
Southeastern Pa. Correspondent
NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — Gary Zimmer, dairy nutritionist and soil expert, spoke at a biological farming conference sponsored by Midwestern Bio-Ag here recently at Yoder’s Restaurant in eastern Lancaster County.
Midwestern Bio-Ag, Blue Mounds, Wis., is a biologically-based consulting company that helps farmers make profitable management decisions about soil fertility.
“All dairy nutritionists are the same.
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Loos Urges Farmers to Take Their Message to the Streets

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:30pm.

 Marilyn Hershey
Southeastern Pa. Correspondent
EAST EARL, Pa. — Trent Loos, a sixth-generation Nebraskan rancher and radio show host, challenged nearly 200 attendees to take a stand and defend agriculture.
Loos delivered his message Monday at a meeting sponsored by Renaissance Nutrition at Shady Maple Smorgasbord.
From his travels around the U.S., Loos said that most consumers “don’t have a clue that it takes a farm to make food.” He is often approached by people asking him if he is a “real cowboy.” He stressed the importance of our neighbors understanding that “everything lives, everything dies and death with a purpose gives full meaning to life.”
On the wake of an ABC broadcast that portrayed dairy farmers as cruel to their animals, Loos’s message held extra significance.
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It’s Winter and the Fish are Jumping!

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 2:29pm.

 Anne Harnish
Food and Family Features Editor
KLEINFELTERSVILLE, Pa. — Except for the occasional crack of expanding ice and the sounds of geese, fishing on the ice in the middle of a lake can be a serene way to experience the unique beauty of winter.
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Horse Owner, Trainer Ejected from Penn National

Submitted by Editor on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 9:51am.

Harrisburg, Pa. – To protect the orderly conduct of racing at Penn National Race Course, the Pennsylvania State Racing Commission today ejected horse owner Michael Gill and trainer Anthony Adamo from competing at Penn National.

In recent days, the commission has received multiple reports that the presence of Gill and Adamo at Penn National was causing a disruption of orderly conduct for racing.

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