Unveils new partnership to identify uncounted farm practices improving Chesapeake Bay
HERSHEY, PA — Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) says the overall state budget agreement reached between Governor Wolf and Republican leadership appears to include necessary funding increases to support the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) and positive steps toward reforming an out-of-control pension system, but it falls woefully short in providing property tax relief for farm families. [Read more…]
by Hope Holland
My agricultural background rests firmly in the equine area. However, with the impending Thanksgiving holiday and the looming threat of bird flu I was pressed into service to find a turkey breeder willing to allow a stranger onto their farm to take a picture of a turkey for a cover.
I learned very quickly that in the face of not only the avian flu outbreak but also the possibility of animal rights activists, the breeders of turkeys, whose main crop after all will be greatly in demand at this time, are not welcoming of strangers. I can’t say that I blame them, come to think of it. I know that if I had a crop of fancy sales yearlings headed for a major horse sale I would be cautious too. But it did mean that I couldn’t just hit the Internet, call a few of the listed turkey farms and expect a welcome mat to be laid out at the end of the farm driveway. [Read more…]
by George Looby, DVM
The cause(s) of breast cancer in humans continues to elude researchers in their ongoing quest for answers to the many possible factors that may contribute to its development. This devastating disease has been recognized for many years with many of the world’s best and brightest minds searching for answers that will lead not just to a cure but more importantly to the cause. Here the question arises as to whether it is one disease or does it have many contributing factors which, when interacting, give rise to the condition that clinicians are trained to recognize. [Read more…]
by Tamara Scully
The “sustainability” equation has officially been disregarded by the USDA’s 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), much to the satisfaction of many players in the dairy and beef industries. The original request for “sustainability” to be included in the update to the Guidelines — which are mandated under 1990 National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (NNMRRA) and updated every five years — was ultimately denied.
HERSHEY, PA — Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) has selected Bill and Mollie Geise of Northumberland County as the 2015 recipients of the Distinguished Local Affairs Leader Award.
The award recognizes an outstanding individual or couple, whose local affairs efforts and activities have helped solve problems and improve rural living for county Farm Bureau members. [Read more…]