Lancaster Farming: Ephrata, PA
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Ohio Voters Favor Livestock Standards Board
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 12:12pm.Chris Torres
Staff Writer
A referendum that would create a livestock standards board in Ohio passed by a decisive vote on Tuesday.
Voters in the Buckeye State voted 64 percent to 36 percent to pass Issue 2, the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Amendment, which would create a 13-member board consisting of farmers, experts in food safety, the state’s veterinarian, and consumer groups that would be tasked with establishing animal welfare standards in the state.
The votes comes as a blow to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which had targeted the state for more sweeping reforms of its animal welfare standards.
Of the 88 counties reporting election results, only one county voted against the measure.
The idea of a livestock standards board was born out of a meeting earlier this year between HSUS and ag officials in the state, where HSUS made it known that they would be pushing for tougher livestock standards.
Last year, HSUS spent millions of dollars in advertising in California to promote Proposition 2, a bill that makes big changes to animal confinement standards in that state.
Critics of the measure have stated that the bill will put many farms out of business because of the cost of meeting the new standards.
Fearing that a similar referendum would be proposed in Ohio, ag leaders pushed forward with the idea to create the livestock standards board.
John Lumpe, president of the Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee, the main group that pushed to get the bill passed, issued a prepared statement on the election results Wednesday morning:
“Ohioans have spoken and clearly understand that a board of experts is the appropriate entity to make decisions on behalf of animal agriculture and food production in our state.
Federal Agencies Deliver Reports on Chesapeake Bay Cleanup
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 12:10pm.
Looking for Input from Farming Community
Ayleen Stellhorn
Southcentral Pa. Correspondent
GETTYSBURG, Pa. — An executive order that includes higher standards for continued improvement in the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay may have far-reaching implications for the 70,000 to 80,000 farms in the bay’s watershed.
At an outreach session here last week, federal officials presented an overview of Proposal 202a — draft reports that focus on the nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment levels in the bay and target agriculture and urban-suburban development for reform — and asked for input.
“We’re specifically seeking comments from the farming community because we realize that fulfilling these goals may impact their operations,” said Dana D.
Proposed Bypass Threatens 250-Year-Old Family Farm in Loudoun Co., Va.
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 12:06pm.
Andrew Jenner
Virginia Correspondent
PURCELLVILLE, Va. — Rooflines peak above the trees encircling Crooked Run Orchard. A row of townhouses sits just beyond the wood fence on the east edge of the peaches. On the north side of Main Street, opposite the entrance to the farm, which has been in the Brown family for 250 years, a billboard proclaims the coming of Purcellville Gateway — a bank, a restaurant and a grocery store gathered around yet another Loudoun County parking lot.
Of greatest concern, though, to Sam and Uta Brown, who run the 102-acre farm, is Purcellville’s proposed “Southern Collector Road” that would divide their farm in half and pave the way, literally, for even more construction and bustle on the eastern edge of Purcellville.
“We just don’t need more development,” says Sam Brown, walking along the dirt lane toward the back pumpkin patch.
Animal Power Field Days Draws Farmers and Foresters
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 11:59am.
Elizabeth Ferry
Vermont Correspondent
TUNBRIDGE, Vt. — The foliage was just past its peak and the north winds were hinting at their plans for winter on a mid-October weekend in Vermont. But that didn’t deter participation in the third annual Northeast Animal-Power Field Days (NEAPFD) on October 17 and 18.
About 1,000 people came to share experiences, trade advice, sell equipment, and enjoy each other’s company at the field days at the historic fairgrounds in Tunbridge, Vt.
According to the husband and wife organizing team of Carl Russell and Lisa McCrory of Earthwise Farm and Forest, “NEAPFD is a gathering of resource people, equipment dealers, educators, farmers, craftspeople, and practitioners who provide essential assistance to people interested in draft animals and renewable land-use practices.”
Russell and McCrory and their children are dedicated to living as sustainable and self-sufficiently as they can.
