Tuesday, June 23, 2009

PA State Grange Awards More than $12,000





PRESS RELEASE
PA STATE GRANGE
Date: June 22, 2009
Release: Immediate
Contact: Carl Meiss
Public Relations Dir.
RE: PA State Grange Awards More than $12,000 in Scholarships and Loans
Lemoyne, PA-The PA State Grange has awarded scholarships and loans to twelve Grange members to assist them in their future academic endeavors.

Receiving the PA State Grange Foundation Scholarship of $1000. and a $500 Santee Student Loan was Constance Anderson of Saltsburg, Westmoreland County. Constance graduated from Kiski Area High School in 2007 and is a sophomore at Penn State University where she majors in Animal Science with a minor in Equine Science. She is the daughter of Robert and Barbara Anderson and is a member of Bell Twp. Grange #1756 in Westmoreland County.

Rebecca Roan is a senior at Penn State University majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. She received the PA State Grange Foundation Scholarship of $500 and a Santee Student Loan of $1000. She is the daughter of John and Linda Roan of PA Furnace and is a member of Baileyville Grange #1991 in Centre County.

Jennifer Nauss, a junior at Penn State University majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Special Education and Human Development and Family Studies, received $1529 from the Grange Scholarship Endowment at the Pennsylvania State University and $500 from the Santee Student Loan. Jennifer is the daughter of Bradand Ann May Nauss of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County. She is a member of the Valley Grange #1360 in York County and the Penn State Grange #2105 in Centre County.

Receiving $500 from the PA State Grange Foundation Scholarship and $500 from the Santee Student Loan Fund is Brandy Oakley from Nicholson, PA. Brandy is the daughter ofWayne and Debbie Oakley and will be a senior at Keystone College where she majors in Organizational Leadership. Brandy is a member of Lawsville Grange #1455 in Susquehanna County.

Awarded $400 from the Leonard Rhone Scholarship Fund and $1000 from the Santee Student Loan Fund is Ashley Casner of Petersburg. Ashley recently graduated from Juniata Valley High School and is entering Penn State, Harrisburg Campus where she plans to major in Elementary Education with a minor in Childhood Development. She is the daughter of Glen and Mary Casner and is a member of Baileyville Grange #1991 in Centre County.

Another Penn State freshmen, Brett K. Sattazahn of Womelsdorf, Berks County, received $400 from the Leonard Rhone Scholarship
Fund. Brett is majoring in Environmental Soil Science and is the son of Kevin and Sherri Sattazahn. Brett is a graduate of Conrad Weiser High School and is a member of Marion Grange #1853.

Also receiving $1000 interest-free loans from the Santee Student Loan Fund are James Hawn, Allison Waltemyer and Heather Smith. Recently graduated from Juniata Valley High School, James Hawn will be attending Penn State Main Campus to work towards a certificate program in Turfgrass and Agricultural Equipment Repair. James is the son of Bill andLisa Hawn from Petersburg and he is a member of Baileyville Grange #1991 in Centre County. Allison Waltemyer is the daughter of Earl and Denise Waltemyer from Wyalusing. She just graduated from Northeast Bedford Junior/Senior High School and will attend Penn State Wilkesbarre in the fall where she plans to major in Animal Science. Allison is a member of Wysauking/Sheshequin Grange #58 in Bradford County. Heather Smith will be a senior at Mansfield University where she has dual majors in Respiratory Therapy and History. She is from Galeton, Potter County where she graduated from Galeton Area High School and lives with her mother Carol Jean Smith. Both are members of Carter Camp Grange #1563 in Potter County.

Other recipients of $500 from the Santee Student Loan Fund are Marshall Horne, Jennifer Rudy and Zachary Knight. From Greenville, Marshall V. Horne, son of Ivan and Carol Horne, graduated last year from Greenville Area High School and is attending the Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Academy of Culinary Arts aspiring to receive a certificate in Culinary Arts with a minor in Advance Baking and Pastry arts. Ivan and Carol Horne are members of Atlantic Grange #344 in Crawford County. Jennifer Rudy is a 2006 graduate of Halifax High School and has attended Harrisburg Area Community College where she majors in Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education. She hopes to go on to Penn State for her degree in teaching. She is the daughter of Fred and Linda Rudy from Halifax and is a member of Community Grange #2048 in Dauphin County. Hailing from Oxford, Lancaster County is Zachary T. Knight. Zachary's parents, Dave and Elaine Knight are members of Fulton Grange #66. He is a 2006 graduate of Solanco High School and is attending the New Jersey Institute of Technology where he majors in Architecture.

The PA State Grange Foundation Scholarship was established by delegate action in 1996. Eligible Grange members must seek higher education in any field at any institution of higher learning, entering their Junior or Senior year.

The Leonard Rhone Scholarship Fund was initiated in memory of Leonard Rhone, third Master (President) of the Pennsylvania State Grange. This scholarship is a $300 grant available to Grange members pursuing a four-year study in Agriculture or Human Development and Family Services at Penn State University.

The Santee Student Loan was established by the late Ellis M. Santee, a country doctor from Shickshinny and an active Grange member. This loan consists of a $500 per year, interest-free loan and is available to Grange members or their children.

The Grange Scholarship Endowment at the Pennsylvania State University was established to provide recognition to outstanding undergraduate students (Grange members) enrolled in at least their sophomore year at any College or campus of the Pennsylvania State University.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Yesterday I attended meetings of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The House Ag Committee approved 2 bills to amend the Clean and Green Law to make it easier for farmers to lease a portion of their land that is enrolled in C&G without paying huge amounts of roll-back taxes. This would include leasing for windmills, Marcellus shale natural gas, solar, and all other "Tier One" alternative energy sources.
The Senate Ag Committee approved a similar bill. Both committees also approved amendments allowing quarrying for blue stone on C&G parcels involving less than 5 acres without roll-back taxes.
The Senate committee also approved a bill amending Animal Cruelty provisions prohibiting dog owners from performing tail docking and ear cropping on their dogs, and granting authority to dog wardens to enforce certain provisions of the animal cruelty statute in counties without a court-appointed humane society police officer.
Following all this heavy stuff, I joined in the June is Dairy Month celebration on the Capitol steps with a giant ice cream sundae!
Betsy Huber, State Master

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

PA Grange Member Testifies Before PMMB

PRESS RELEASE
PA STATE GRANGE
Date: June 3, 2009
Release: Immediate
Contact: Carl Meiss
RE: PA Grange Member Testifies Before Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board
Harrisburg, PA - In an effort to preserve the "opportunity for an eighth generation to work our farm, if they choose to do so," Matt Espenshade, a seventh generation dairy farmer from Lancaster County, presented testimony today on behalf of the PA State Grange, requesting that the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board "extend the $2.15 over-order premium payment."
Matt works with his father, on their Lancaster County dairy farm which has been in the family since 1867. They milk 80 cows, with a 21,000-pound rolling herd average, and raise their own heifers. They have no hired help to assist in the daily operations of the farm.
Espenshade told the PMMB, "During the past 142 years, our farm has weathered many storms...the Great Depression, a failed attempt at 'going organic,' threats of eminent domain seizure for development. However...at no time have we been as close to a breaking point as we are now." He continued, "In many ways, my farm's current situation is representative of many farms in Lancaster County, and across Pennsylvania."
He explained that, "We estimate our overall costs to be approximately $17.00 per hundredweight," and continued, "In March, we were paid $11.27 per hundredweight of milk. This includes 79 cents worth of premiums and bonuses that we have earned by our efforts to produce a quality product." "Our feed costs per hundredweight stood at $7.93, leaving just $3.34 to pay for every other expense on the farm, a mere 32 cents for every gallon of milk sold."
Matt, who is the President of the Elizabethtown Area Grange #2076, said, "I have many non-farm friends, and we speak often about our jobs and the challenges we face. Many cannot understand how [dairy farmers] can operate for such a small portion of the price of milk on the shelf. I am reminded of these numbers each week when I go to the store and pay more than three dollars for a gallon of milk, my milk, for which I was paid 88 cents."
He told the PMMB that in 2008, his farm paid over $131,000 to purchase feed, compared to $80,000 just five years ago. This is an average increase of $10,000 a year for approximately the same number of cows. The Espenshades have not been able to afford to use fertilizers on their fields for three years thus reducing their forage output.
Matt's wife must work off the farm to supplement the family income and provide for health insurance for the couple and their two young boys. But this then necessitates paying for day care for their children which takes another $11,000 a year chunk from their income.
Mr. Espenshade told the PMMB, "Every successful dairyman will tell you that routine hoof trimming is an essential part of maintaining a healthy herd. Every aspect of milk production is reliant on the mobility of our cows." He went on to say, "We have not been able to afford a hoof trimmer to tend to our cows in almost a year. Now, we are seeing more injuries, laminitis, and other associated problems than ever before." He stressed, "Cows are leaving the herd before their time, and all the money we have invested in raising and maintaining these animals is being lost."
In an effort to become better dairy farmers in the 21st century, both Matt and his wife, who grew up on a Wyoming County dairy farm, received ag-related college degrees, Matt at Penn State and Charlene at VA. Tech. Matt said, "My alma mater has the distinction, besides being a top agricultural institution, of having the highest in-state college tuition. How do you encourage a college graduate, with more than $20,000 of college debt, to return to a farm that would struggle to pay a fair wage? My wife, ten years after graduating, is still paying off college tuition, and that's with off-farm jobs."
Matt stated, "The money you choose to invest in the over-order premium is not just supporting the local farmer, but the businesses they depend on as well. To be honest, the premium you approve today will not spend much time in the pockets of the average farmer."
In asking the PMMB to at least maintain, if not increase, the $2.15 over-order premium for milk sold in Pennsylvania, Espenshade said, "As a seventh generation dairy farmer, in the end, I want only one thing in life: that there be an opportunity for an eighth generation to work our farm, if they choose to do so. The decision you make today will have a direct impact on my family, and other farm families across the state. Thank you for your assistance to dairy farmers in the past and your consideration of the matter before you today."