Good Weather Equates to Fine Apple Crop in Pa.

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

Apple pie on your mind? Maybe some apple dumplings?

There should be plenty of big, bright and locally grown apples for whatever your specialty.

Reports from Pennsylvania’s largest apple growing area, Adams County, indicate that this year’s crop is going to be a plentiful one.

“We have an excellent variety of highly colored, large apples,” said Tara Baugher, tree fruit educator at Penn State Cooperative Extension in Adams County.

Good late season weather conditions, including nice, cool nights, which can add to a crop’s color and taste, have contributed to the good crop.

Hearing Set on Controversial Leafy Greens Agreement

USDA hearings are under way on a proposal that would authorize the development of production and handling regulations for a long list of fresh vegetables, primarily leafy greens.

One upcoming hearing is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Statisticians Spend a Day Discovering Farm Life

Ayleen Stellhorn
Southcentral Pa. Correspondent

TANEYTOWN, MD — Their goal was to show a handful of statisticians from the big city what a day on the farm was really like.

But when Karen Hobson and Joanne Weant, two farm owners in northern Maryland, extended the invitation to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in Annapolis, Md., the RSVPs started rolling in from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in Washington as well.

"It just blossomed," Hobson said.

Researchers Encouraged by Biomass Crop Growth on Abandoned Mine Lands

But Costs Still Remain The Big Issue

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

PINE GROVE, Pa. — Nearly 180,000 acres of Pennsylvania mine land sit abandoned, relics of an old mining industry that used to dominate areas like Schuylkill County and an area of northeastern Pennsylvania referred to by many as “the coal regions.”

With much of the area’s land depleted of the necessary nutrients to support plant life, it has little use other than possibly putting buildings on it.

Now a group of researchers is hoping to prove that with some work, this land can be a possible source for growing the next generation of biofuels crops.

Representatives from Penn State, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and Red Barn Trading and Consulting hosted a field day Tuesday, which brought about 50 people to an abandoned piece of mine land in Schuylkill County.

The crowd included some local landowners, farmers, and representatives from state agencies, including the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Rick Stehouwer, Penn State professor of environmental soil science and Marvin Hall, professor of forage management, have been working on a small, privately owned plot a few miles off Interstate 81 just north of Pine Grove, Pa., for about four years.

The goals are to evaluate the effectiveness of soil amendments on abandoned mine lands, see whether or not the land can support growing biomass crops and determine if the crops are cost effective.

The idea for the experiment came after Stehouwer was approached by a representative of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council asking whether or not manure, of which 1.5 million tons is taken out of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed each year, can be used to help rehabilitate abandoned mine lands.

There are many challenges to growing plants on this land, according to Stehouwer.

Norz Named N.J. Outstanding Young Farmer

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher has announced that Rich Norz, owner of Norz-Hill Farm in Hillsborough, N.J., has been named 2010 Outstanding Young Farmer by the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture.

Norz, 40, will be presented with his award at the 2010 New Jersey Agricultural Convention early next year.

Congresswoman Seeks Grassroots Solutions to Dairy Crisis

Carol Ann Gregg
Western Pa. Correspondent

BUTLER, Pa. — When U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper hosted a dairy solution forum at the Butler Farm Show Grounds this past Monday, she did not come with a solution to the national dairy crisis.

Instead, she sought recommendations from a group of more than 100 farmers from the length and breadth of her district.

Dahlkemper, a “Blue Dog” Democrat, represents Pennsylvania’s District 3, which covers most of the northwestern part of the state.

Dairy producers, implement dealers, veterinarians, feed consultants and agricultural lenders were represented at the forum.

USDA Joins FDA on Food Safety

SILVER SPRING, Md. — USDA’s fresh produce chief will join FDA to help develop new food safety rules as part of a cooperative initiative between FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and the USDA. This week’s announcement came amid beefed up outreach efforts with key agriculture and safe food stakeholders to better share and exchange produce safety “best practices” and ideas.

Leanne Skelton, chief of the Fresh Products Branch of the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), has extensive experience working with the fruit and vegetable industry.

Mazes Are Not Just Corny Anymore

Sue Bowman
Southeastern Pa. Correspondent

NEW PARK, Pa. — There’s nothing corny about the popularity of corn mazes across the U.S. each fall. Just ask Hugh McPherson of New Park, in York County, Pennsylvania, who might well be characterized as the father of the modern corn maze — or “The Maze Master,” as he dubs himself.

McPherson didn’t invent the corn maze — he saw his first one in Shippensburg, Pa.

Competition Goes Beyond Show Ring

Lou Ann Good
Reporter

HARRISBURG, Pa. — For many years, Tom Colpetzer, Patty McMurray and Judy Whalen competed against each other in show circles with their prize-winning Guernsey herds. But emotions ran highest when they contended for items at the first All-Dairy Antiques Auction, Sept.