Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 4:02pm.
 Younkers Named Berks County Grange Farm Family of the Year Charlene M. Shupp Espenshade
Special Sections Editor FLEETWOOD, Pa. — For the Younker family of Kirbyville Holsteins, the list of accomplishments in the dairy industry is impressive for a family that only got their start in dairying in the 1990s.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 4:00pm.
Laurie Savage
Correspondent LEBANON, Pa. — One year ago this month, dairy farmers gained a unified voice in the effort to protect their right to use what they believe is safe, approved technology. “It was frustrating dealing with the bST issue by myself,” said Tom Krall, who hosted a meeting at his dairy farm July 10 for other farmers who felt the same way. In October, he joined American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology (AFACT), a nationwide, farmer-led organization with over 1,000 farmer members. Liz Doornink, AFACT co-leader and Wisconsin dairy farmer, said producers were focused on what was being taken away instead of what they could offer. More and more, processors and retailers are requesting farmers refrain from supplementing cows with recombinant bovine somatatropin (rbST). But supporters point out that the technology increases the efficiency of dairy cattle and is proven safe for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:57pm.
Nearly $4 million Owed to Farmers in Pa., N.Y., Va. Chris Torres
Staff Writer Even though no formal complaints have been received as of yet, the Pennsylvania Securities Commission is looking into the dealings of Pigeon King International, according to information received from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office this week. Nils Fredericksen, deputy press secretary at Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office, said Wednesday that information that “warranted review” had been forwarded to the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. The commission is in charge of investigating cases relating to investment fraud and deceptive investment practices in the state. Fredericksen did not indicate if any formal investigation was ongoing or if any complaints had been received by the office.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:54pm.
 Make Whopping 5,600 Bales of
Hay in One Day for Cancer Survivor Sandra Lepley
Southwestern Pa. Correspondent MEYERSDALE, Pa. — For the second time in the past year, neighbors from Larimer Township united together to help a neighbor in need. Last Saturday, more than 100 workers from rural, southern Somerset County communities dropped their own work to help Richard “Dick” Sines, 52, who has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer and had surgery in May for a tumor. “They came out to help us when they could have been at home getting their own hay crops in,” said Sines, who has a construction business and also operates a small beef farm with his wife Kathy at his home farm off Kennell Lane.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:47pm.
Monsanto Rep Co-Authors Report Cornell Chronicle
Producing milk uses large quantities of land, energy and feed. But cows that receive a biotech product called rbST give more milk, easing natural resource pressure and reducing environmental impact, according to a Cornell study. The carbon hoofprint is being reduced by a biotech product used on American farms for nearly 15 years called recombinant bovine somatotropin. The Cornell-funded research found that giving rbST to one million cows would enable the same amount of milk to be produced using 157,000 fewer cows than in a non-supplemented population.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:45pm.
Charlene M. Shupp
Espenshade
Special Sections Editor LANCASTER, Pa. — In January, the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission issued the first allotment of tax credits for farm best management practices. The first round of $10 million was distributed in just a matter of 10 days.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:43pm.
Chris Torres
Staff Writer MANHEIM, Pa. — With its lack of cold hardiness, blackberries have always been a difficult fruit to grow in Pennsylvania. But that doesn’t mean you should forget about it altogether. Tim Elkner, an extension educator from Lancaster County, has been growing blackberries with some moderate success here at Penn State’s Southeast Agriculture Research and Extension Center. He shared his experiences at a Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) field day held last week. Elkner attended a meeting in Arkansas several years ago, where he gathered information on various varieties of blackberries and decided he wanted to do a trial of his own close to home. After receiving the necessary funding, he started the trial in 2005, with 13 different varieties of blackberries. Results were mixed, as seen in Elkner’s report that was handed out to the 30 or so attendees at the meeting. He judged each variety based on its thorniness, cold hardiness, vigor and other factors, including it’s susceptibility to Japanese beetles. In the end, the best variety appeared to be the “Illini Hardy”, which was developed several years ago by the University of Illinois to withstand cold temperatures.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:41pm.
 Laurie Savage
Maryland Correspondent WINCHESTER, Va. — A summer fruit tour visited two farm markets that each operate differently yet evolved to meet customers’ wants and needs. Maryland fruit growers headed to Virginia and West Virginia with stops at fruit farm markets and research facilities.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:37pm.
 LANCASTER, Pa. — Several tobacco fields throughout Lancaster and Chester County have been found with significant infestations of the foliar disease blue mold, according to Jeff Graybill, Lancaster County Extension agronomy educator. It is believed that the windborne spores arrived here from southern regions around the first of July.
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 3:34pm.
Grazing to Be Allowed in Flooded Counties Judge John Coughenour of the Western District of Washington Federal Court in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order July 8 against USDA, forcing the agency to halt efforts to open 24 million acres of CRP lands to expanded haying and grazing beyond what current guidelines allow. The proposal would have allowed CRP acres to be opened up with payment of a $75 fee but no reduction in the rental rate paid by the taxpayer.
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