Agriculture

What industry gets a significant discount on property taxes funded by other taxpayers? Can you think of a business the price of whose products is supported by the treasury? Or a business that is paid from taxpayer funds not to make its products? Wouldn't you like to have a business that has access to cheap, guaranteed loans or casualty insurance subsidized by taxpayers? The only industry I know of that has available all of these entitlements is agriculture. Recently, the agriculture industry has profited from another publicly financed benefit.

Editor: Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has led to enormous growth in understanding the consequences we face if we do not take care of our natural resources. It has led to more action to protect our planet's land, water, air, wildlife and human beings, and it has strengthened farmers' and ranchers' already strong commitment to being good environmental stewards. Farmers observe Earth Day every day. Where asphalt and pavement turn to gravel and dirt, you will find men and women rising early, greeting the day and working the earth.

Md. Angus Women to hold basket bingo The Maryland Angus Women will hold Longaberger basket bingo Nov. 26 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, Smith Avenue, Westminster. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m. The evening will feature 20 games, a raffle for the Christmas collection and a winner-takes-all raffle. Food will be available. Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Maryland Angus Women's scholarship fund. Information: 410-751-1257.

I would like to add my support for the Maryland Agricultural Certainty Program, which is a balanced approach to protecting farmland for a certain period of time while recognizing the importance of environmental practices. This bill will provide farmers with relief that's badly needed as long as they're contributing to the clean-up of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing pollution from their farms. I've heard critics cite the number of farms being impacted by state regulations as "minimal.

What industry gets a significant discount on property taxes funded by other taxpayers? Can you think of a business the price of whose products is supported by the treasury? Or a business that is paid from taxpayer funds not to make its products? Wouldn't you like to have a business that has access to cheap, guaranteed loans or casualty insurance subsidized by taxpayers? The only industry I know of that has available all of these entitlements is agriculture. Recently, the agriculture industry has profited from another publicly financed benefit.

The Howard County Economic Development Authority is sponsoring several events in March. The Howard Tech Council networking event will be held Tuesday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Union Jack's Columbia, 10400 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia. The Central Maryland Women in Agriculture Forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 22120 Fairground Road, in West Friendship. Cost is $35 per person and includes lunch and light refreshments.

Richard W. Ganoczy, a retired draftsman and Coast Guard veteran, died Jan 21 of cancer at Homestead of Sun Valley, a Sykesville assisted-living facility. He was 73. Mr. Ganoczy was born and raised in New York City, where he graduated from public schools. After serving in the Coast Guard from 1958 to 1964, Mr. Ganoczy moved to Washington, where he worked as a graphic artist for WTOP-TV. During the 1960s, he attended District of Columbia Teachers College. He later studied at the University of Florida in Gainesville and earned a bachelor's degree from Frostburg State University.

You might not be thinking about farm-fresh produce in January, but the Maryland Department of Agriculture says now is the right time to check into joining a community-supported agriculture program. Members of a CSA pay an upfront subscription fee to farmers in return for a share of the season's harvest, which is usually provided weekly. Many CSAs deliver to central locations for pickup on a certain day of the week. Still others have special rates if the subscriber helps with the harvest on the farm.

A second straight winter of unnaturally warm weather so far in Central Maryland is extending the life of a handful of crops at one Howard County farm and forcing a rite of spring to occur early. Only last week on the rolling pastures of Sharp's at Waterford Farm in Brookeville, lambs cavorted near their mothers. Ears of viable popcorn lay scattered amid flattened, yellowed cornstalks. Nearby, brussels sprouts remained ripe for the picking. Still, even in the mildest of these colder months, farm-fresh foods remain scarce.

Last week, a federal judge in Baltimore issued a verdict in a lawsuit filed by an environmental group against an Eastern Shore farming family and Perdue. After nearly three years of litigation, Judge William Nickerson ruled that the evidence presented by the Waterkeeper Alliance did not demonstrate conclusively that contaminated water samples taken from the Pocomoke River could be traced to an adjacent poultry farm in Berlin owned by Alan and Kristin Hudson. The outcome was recognized by many as a victory for farmers and the poultry industry and as a setback for environmental groups interested in improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

I got a nice award recently - for environmental leadership, the inscription read - really, for just doing work I was paid for and that I often confused with fun. I've always been a little uncomfortable with awards. I got in trouble as editor of a military newspaper in the 1960s when I editorialized that medals were so common that if you didn't get one, it meant you must have screwed up. I was forced to cut my hair, shine my shoes and iron my uniform, all for a two-minute dressing down by the commanding officer (but of course I still received my Good Conduct Medal when I got out)

It's October, and for farms such as Baugher's Orchard, in Westminster, pumpkins and apples are ready to be harvested - and it seems many people are interested in that process. "This time of year is such a busy time," said Marjorie Baugher, owner of the orchard off Route 140. "So many people want to be out. We had eight wagons running constantly (last) weekend for people. " Those wagons run during the week, too, as the orchard hosts school groups from all around the area. An average of two or three tours are conducted each day during the week, according to Lynn Forman, a fourth-generation Baugher family member, and tour guide.