Lancaster County Conservation District Holds Annual Banquet
Source: PAFarmNews.com, by Andy Andrews
March 22, 2008
NEW HOLLAND -- Congress is frantically working on a new Farm Bill before the April 18 deadline. Trouble looms, however, because of one proposal to take the $4 billion that’s been allocated to conservation programs, such as those that help conservation districts around the country, and to use it to fund a permanent disaster program.
Taking that money would be a disaster, according to Krysta Harden, National Association of Conservation Districts CEO.
Harden spoke to about 130 farmers, agri-industry representatives, and friends of the Lancaster County Conservation District during its 57th annual banquet Thursday evening at Yoder’s Restaurant in New Holland.
The NADC was formed 70 years ago as a national program to assist in the development and implementation of conservation work throughout the country and to lobby in Washington for the good of all districts.
While the programs have continued to benefit communities, to take part of the funding away could pose threatening to the work of many farmers, including her own father’s farm in South Dakota.
Harden believes that, instead of a full-fledged bill, a two-year extension may be the reality, which could make passing a bill even more difficult later on. She urged conservation district members and friends to petition Congress to stop using conservation funds for the strongly proposed disaster program.
At the banquet, the district honored farms and individuals for promoting conservation.
Lancaster Conservation District awarded Oregon Dairy Farm near Lancaster with the prestigious Outstanding Cooperator Award.
Oregon Dairy is a farm partnership formed in 2003 with George Hurst, his wife Mary, along with their daughter Maria, her husband Tim Forry, and George and Mary’s son Chad. The farm began in 1952 when Earl and Mary Hurst purchased 136 acres, which became known as Oregon Dairy Farm (near Oregon, Pa.). Employees of the Oregon Dairy Store called them Mom and Pop Hurst. Earl was an innovator, according to Lancaster Conservation District Assistant Administrator Gerald Heistand, who purchased one of the first no-till commercial corn planters, quick to move from 40-inch to narrow 30-inch row corn.
In 1966, the Rt. 222 construction project took 40 acres from the farm, so Hurst bought 40 acres of other land at the same price. Adjoining tracts were added in 1962 and 1971. The conservation practices of contouring and strip cropping have erased any trace of original property boundaries.
In 1974, the Hursts, including Earl and Mary and their son George and daughter-in-law Mary, opened a milk bottling store. Five years later, George and five of his brothers formed a partnership to start a retail store that has since become a full-service grocery store and 200-seat family restaurant. Several days a week, a truck moves some of the daily milk production over to the store for processing.
Just like today, in the early 1980s, noted Heistand, there was an energy supply crisis with rising prices. In 1985 George Hurst installed a methane digester on the farm to help offset electrical demand on the farm and store/restaurant.
The Hurst family acquired the Greystone Manor Farm, just north of the dairy, in 2004. The Hursts farm about 10 other tracts, bringing the acreage to about 1,000. The family milks 425 cows three times a day and houses an additional 400 young stock on the home farm.
The third generation on the farm is involved in various ag promotional efforts. Maria is a member of the Pennsylvania Dairy Task Force. In the past, she spent a year and a half with Tim, volunteering with the Mennonite Central Committee to do home repair work for low-income families. Chad has been a part of the Midwest wheat harvest crew for several years. His wife Nicole books weddings in the Greystone Manor barn.
Another dairy, the Kevin and Tammy Balmer farm, Elizabethtown, Pa., was honored with the Soil Stewardship Award.
The award recognizes the Balmers’ commitment to soil and water resource protection on the farm.
Also at the banquet, a former Lancaster County commissioner, Dick Shellenberger, was honored with the Conservation Service Award. Shellenberger, who is employed by Hi-Line Hatchery in Elizabethtown, Pa., assisted with guiding the district, a man who has “not only talked the walk, but has walked the walk” in advancing the cause of conservation, according to Don McNutt, Lancaster County Conservation District administrator.
The district also presented a Watershed Excellence Award to the Millcreek Preservation Association for its commitment to water resource protection and community education.
Wayne Carvell, ag engineer with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, was honored with the Conservation Agency Service Award. Carvell has more than 18 years of experience in best management practice design and implementation, helping landowners and district and NRCS staff.
Also, Brenda Williams, second grade teacher at Schaeffer Elementary School in the Manheim Township School District, was recognized with the Conservation Educator Award for her work to create an outdoor learning environment featuring a bird habitat. Ross Clubb, Lititz, was recognized for his dedication and volunteerism to the Lancaster County Youth Conservation School. And Bill Ansalvich, Mount Joy, was recognized with the Youth Conservation Service Award for volunteer work in the program.
H.L. Wiker, Lancaster, was presented with the Conservation of Natural Resources Award, presented to a building industry representative that helps conserve land, water, and related natural resources.
Photo by Andy Andrews: Lancaster Conservation District awarded Oregon Dairy Farm near Lancaster with the prestigious Outstanding Cooperator Award. From left, Tim Forry, Maria Forry, George Hurst, and Chad Hurst.
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