More to Dairy/Ag Day than cows

David Hulse
Posted 8/21/12

HONESDALE, PA — Where would you go to talk to experts about Marcellus Shale, drones, Lyme disease and well-water quality?

You will find experts on all of those topics and a lot more at the …

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More to Dairy/Ag Day than cows

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HONESDALE, PA — Where would you go to talk to experts about Marcellus Shale, drones, Lyme disease and well-water quality?

You will find experts on all of those topics and a lot more at the Wayne and Sullivan counties Dairy Day/Ag Day at Honesdale High School, scheduled for February 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program is sponsored by the state cooperative extensions of Penn State and Cornell universities.

The Wayne County Commissioners on January 29 distributed a release about the program as they approved certification of $85,997 for the county’s 2015 ag-land preservation program.

Commissioners’ chair and dairy farmer Brian Smith said the preservation program funds the purchase of development rights as conservation easements, which guarantee open space properties remain available for agriculture.

The program is jointly funded by the county and the state, which reimburses closing costs. The landowners continue to own the properties and may use or resell their lands accordingly. The county inspects easements annually to insure easement restrictions are being followed.

Gas exploration is allowable, but the program website (www.waynecolandpreservation.org/) warns that legal advice should be sought. It says in part, “lease agreements used by the gas companies may lack certain language which would protect the easement and the landowner. Without this, landowners may unknowingly violate the restrictions of the easement deed.”

The Wayne County Agricultural Land Preservation currently lists a total of 45 easements including just under 5,600 acres.

In addition to topics of general interest, the annual joint Dairy Day/Ag Day program will introduce and highlight new and innovative agricultural machinery, technology, services, product lines and offer update programs and services.

At Dairy Day/Ag Day, you can take your questions about many topics to those in the know at the “Ask the Experts” feature. Resource people will be covering topics including: beekeeping, manure management, 4-H, drones in farming, well-water quality and testing, apples and stone-fruit growing, Marcellus Shale, agronomy, soybean production in Wayne, Lyme disease, chronic wasting disease in white-tail deer, and dairy marketing.

The program will also feature a Dairy Delights baking competition, and a Milk, Cheese, Ice Cream and Specialty Meats Bar featuring locally produced products to sample. Door prizes will also be awarded throughout the day.

For more information, call the Wayne County Extension at 570/253-5970, ext. 4110 or the Sullivan County Extension at 845/292-6180, ext 129.

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