Stimulus Dollars Coming to Pa. Ag Energy Projects

Dick Wanner
Lancaster Farming Staff

LANCASTER, Pa. — The federal economic stimulus package will have a modest but real impact on Pennsylvania ag programs, according to Michael Pechart, deputy secretary of marketing and economic development for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Pechart was the speaker at the monthly ag issues forum sponsored by the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Farm and Home Center on April 8.

According to Pechart, the Obama administration is funding projects that 1) are shovel ready, 2) create new jobs, 3) save or create energy, and 4) cut health care costs.

Pennsylvania’s farm sector has plenty of shovel-ready projects, and a lot of them are focused on energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy has a long backlog of energy harvest applications from Pennsylvania agriculture. “Farmers have applied for a soybean crushing facility, solar fencing, solar watering troughs, rooftop panels, windmills and others,” said Pechart. “That entire backlog will be funded in the next three to four months.”

Pechart expects hundreds of millions of dollars to come into Pennsylvania for renewable energy projects. “I would encourage all farmers and agribusinesses to take a look at the stimulus package, and to contact the ag department if you’re interested in renewable energy. Funds are available for solar panels, gasifiers, windmills, methane digesters — anything energy related.

“There will never be a better time than this year and next to get help on an energy project. As time goes on, money for those projects will dwindle.”

Rooftop solar panels have been one of the hottest energy issues with Pennsylvania farmers. Panel manufacturers were the first companies through the door as the stimulus package unfurled, Pechart said. And, in response to a question from a listener, he said that through variance programs, 75 percent or more of the cost of a solar installation could be paid for with grants.

One commodity group that fared unexpectedly well in the stimulus package was aquaculture, said Pechart. The package includes $50 million to help fish farmers recoup losses from rising feed costs. Pennsylvania will be getting from one to two million dollars to divide among commercial fish farmers, who account for just over one percent of the state’s agricultural output.

The PDA received a million dollars in USDA grants for specialty crops which is anything that’s not combined or fed, according to Pechart. The crops could include grapes, nuts, fruits, vegetables and other products. Individual grants might include money, for example, for a winery to implement a marketing program. The grant application deadline is the end of May.

Organic farmers are the focus of a $500,000 grant program to help in transitioning from conventional to organic methods. That program would provide cash payments of $7,500 per year to help make up for yield losses, equipment modifications and other costs associated with transitioning. The program would last for four years.

Carbon trading holds income possibilities for the state’s farmers, Pechart told the group. A farmer who no-tills, plants cover crops and puts in soybeans, sequesters a lot of carbon. Carbon trading is in its infancy, but the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has instituted a program for farmers who are able to take advantage of it.

Pechart’s talk ranged widely, and included the threat that feral swine present in widening parts of the state.

He said it’s time for a total reform of the milk pricing system. “From 2004 through 2007, we lost 800 dairy farmers in Pennsylvania. At PDA we’re trying to help dairy farmers survive, but there is private credit available. You have to look for it, but it’s there.”

Biodiesel was another topic. By Jan. 1, Pechart said, all diesel fuel sold in Pennsylvania will have to include at least 2 percent biodiesel. That requirement was triggered by a law requiring B2 when the state’s annual production of biodiesel reached 50 million gallons. It currently is almost double that number, with more coming onstream.

“What strings are attached to the stimulus money?” a member of the audience asked Pechart.

“The only string is transparency,” said Pechart. “The Obama administration wants to know where every penny of the stimulus money is going.”