Crop Insurance

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Gov. Edward G. Rendell announced Pennsylvania's latest recommendations to Congress for the Farm Bill, a key piece of federal legislation that will guide agriculture and nutrition programs for the next five years. In a letter to Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation, Gov.Rendell said the state's top Farm Bill priority is support for its initiative to expand the renewable energy industry. Cellulosic ethanol and agricultural renewable energy production can produce 60,000 new jobs in the state, while reducing the U.S.'s dependence on foreign energy sources and negative environmental impacts.

Colleen Cashell, county executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency in Washington County, said producers who did not obtain crop insurance or Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage for 2008 can pay a buy-in fee through May 18 to become eligible for 2008 disaster assistance programs authorized by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. Producers who have not already taken the necessary steps to become eligible for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish, and the Tree Assistance Program are required to complete the following steps by May 18: o Pay a $100 "buy-in" fee per crop.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Running a farm involves much more than planting crops and milking cows. "Farmers are basically business owners," said Bob Wevodau, an agriculture program specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency. The decisions they make can be complicated, especially under the federal Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, known as the farm bill. Wevodau and Mark Rose, of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, spoke about parts of the bill on Monday at the Maryland Cooperative Extension office on Sharpsburg Pike, south of Hagerstown.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Farmers and agriculture officials on Monday continued to assess crop damage following a hail storm in the Middleway, W.Va., area Sunday. Hail shredded leaves on 40 acres of Larry Magaha's corn at the intersection of Middleway Pike and Darke Lane and Magaha said Monday he would probably have a better idea later in the week the extent of the damage. Magaha said he has crop insurance to protect against such damage and insurance officials are expected to examine the corn.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Farmers and agricultural bureaucrats from seven of the 14 counties in Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional District came to Chambersburg Tuesday to raise complaints and ask questions to U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster. Shuster, R-Pa., said he called the meeting to learn the problems of those who make their living in agriculture. He got an earful on subjects including imports, competition among farmers and others for water, crop insurance and the changing rules on pesticide use. "I came here to be educated and I learned that there are a lot of issues, big issues here," Shuster said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Farmers had more on their minds than the current dry spell when members of U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster's Ag Advisory Committee met with him over lunch Monday. Immigration policy, energy costs, international trade, biofuels, crop insurance and the American Horse Slaughter Protection Act were among the issues about a dozen members of the committee raised with Shuster, R-Pa. The congressman said he wanted to meet with the group to discuss farming issues as Congress prepares to draft a new Farm Bill in 2007.

Officials in Berkeley and Jefferson counties on Thursday discussed how to deal with increasing dry conditions and how it is affecting agriculture in the area. Berkeley County Commissioner William L. "Bill" Stubblefield said he wanted to hear from a member of the agricultural community about whether county leaders should request that Gov. Joe Manchin declare a drought emergency. "It's awful dry out there," Stubblefield said. Manchin on June 28 acted on recommendations from state Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglas to make such a declaration for 42 counties in the state, according to the commissioner's office.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Officials in Berkeley and Jefferson counties on Thursday discussed how to deal with increasing dry conditions and how it is affecting agriculture in the area. Berkeley County Commissioner William L. "Bill" Stubblefield said he wanted to hear from a member of the agricultural community about whether county leaders should request that Gov. Joe Manchin declare a drought emergency. "It's awful dry out there," Stubblefield said. Manchin on June 28 acted on recommendations from state Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglas to make such a declaration for 42 counties in the state, according to the commissioner's office.

MIDDLEWAY, W.Va. -- Thousands of dollars worth of crops were destroyed Sunday afternoon when a storm throwing down penny-sized hail crossed through the center of Jefferson County, according to farmers and a National Weather Service spokeswoman. In the Middleway area, the storm left behind "drifts" of ice along Middleway Pike and shredded corn leaves hanging on stalks. "It ripped it up pretty good," said farmer Larry Magaha, who has 40 acres of corn near the intersection of Darke Lane and Middleway Pike, also known as W.Va.

By BRENDAN KIRBY / Staff Writer photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer Jefferson County, W.Va., farmer Terry Dunn on Monday gave local and national politicians a first-hand look at the devastation wrought by what some have described as the worst drought in the Tri-State area since 1929. [cont. from front page ] Walking through fields of stunted corn on Dunn's farm near Charles Town, W.Va., U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman pledged the government would do everything possible to cushion the blow.