Department Of Agriculture

You can see major movies that are "carbon neutral," buy any flavor of organic yogurt and even watch as Bob Costas recaps Sunday football by candlelight for NBC. With climate change increasingly at the top of people's minds - it was identified as a major concern for students at a recent round table of university and college presidents - big business is responding. In some cases, the effort is real; in others, it's what Garvin Jabusch, a former portfolio manager for the Sierra Club Stock Fund, calls "green washing."

Data collectors will be knocking on doors across Maryland in coming weeks looking for pigs, goats cows and other animals. Field workers will gather information as part of an annual nationwide survey on land use and agriculture activity. The survey is being done for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agriculture Statistics Services, which measures nearly every aspect of farming. Done each June, the study "is one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys conducted each year," said Barbara Rater, director of the service's Maryland office, which is in the state Department of Agriculture building in Annapolis.

A tentative agreement reached by negotiators in Congress would prevent Maryland's dairy farmers from joining a New England pricing cooperative, something they had sought in hopes of getting higher prices for their milk.But the agreement, which still needs congressional approval, would keep that cooperative alive for another two years. And it would not change milk prices as much as an earlier proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- a plan that local officials warned could drive many dairy farmers out of business.

The corn at Phillip "Chip" Councell's Eastern Shore farm is barely out of the ground and already he's mighty nervous."We haven't had a significant rain in five weeks," said the 39-year-old grain farmer who plants 750 acres in Cordova, in Talbot County.It's only the middle of May, but already Maryland grain farmers are nervous about a lack of rain. And weather is just one of the threats they are facing this year. Farmers are looking at receiving sharply lower prices because of surplus grain in storage.

The settlement of a discrimination suit filed by hundreds of black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week could reach back to farmers a generation removed from the land.Though no black farmers in Maryland are part of the suit, it's possible that some will come forward, according to lawyers in the case."You might have someone who is a factory worker in Baltimore, who grew up on that Southern Maryland farm, whose dad couldn't get the loan in 1981 so he had to close it in 1983," said Phillip Fraas, a Washington attorney representing the black farmers.

Maryland farmers will lose $72.4 million this year due to the drought and the resulting decreased crop production, state Department of Agriculture officials told two legislative committees in Annapolis yesterday.And when a projected $30.1 million in losses from depressed market prices are added, the state's farmers will have taken a $102.5 million hit, the officials said."This drought may be the straw to break the camel's back this year," Henry A. Virts, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, told the House Environmental Matters Committee and the House Ways and Means Tax and Revenue Subcommittee in a briefing.

New regulations designed to reduce farm runoff into the Chesapeake Bay will hit livestock and poultry growers the hardest and could cost them money by forcing them to buy special fertilizer, say farmers and state officials.All Maryland farmers would have to keep better records of soil testing and fertilizer application, and state inspectors would visit a randomly selected number of them each year, officials say."I may have to truck this manure, at my expense, to Lord knows where," said Centreville poultry and grain farmer Daniel Shortall, who relies on his birds' waste to fertilize his cropland.

New state regulations on manure and fertilizer could surprise non-farmers who may not realize they will have to comply.Anyone who owns the equivalent of 8,000 pounds of any animal -- even dogs -- should attend a public hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Westminster High School's auditorium, said David L. Greene, director of the Maryland Cooperative Extension in Carroll County.Farmers have been waiting anxiously to learn more about the nutrient management regulations that will govern what they do with animal waste and how much chemical fertilizer they can spread on fields.

A proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to discontinue publication of Maryland crop production forecasts during the growing season has angered the state's grain growers, who say the lack of information would put them at the mercy of their largest customers."

J. Daulton Feete,90, casket company ownerJ. Daulton Feete, retired owner and president of Warfield-Rohr Casket Co., died Sunday after surgery at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 90.The former longtime Glyndon resident had lived at Edenwald, a Towson retirement community, since 1990.He joined Warfield-Rohr in 1925 and retired in 1979. The family-owned firm was located downtown on North Calvert Street for years, and moved several years ago to new headquarters on West Patapsco Avenue.Warfield-Rohr, the oldest casket maker in Baltimore, was established in 1870 and purchased by the Feete family in 1907.

The equine herpesvirus scare at Laurel Park appears to be over. The Maryland Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that "all 25 horses in Laurel Park's Barn 1 have tested negative for the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus [EHV-1] on a second round of tests." The results conclude a situation that began two weeks ago, when a 2-year-old filly showed signs of the condition Nov. 12 and tests confirmed she had the disease. The filly was euthanized Nov. 15. Yesterday's announcement of the favorable test results was accompanied by the lifting of all restrictions on horse movement at Laurel Park.

Based on preliminary information from pest management officials with the state Department of Agriculture, the shade trees in your yard are less likely to fall victim to voracious caterpillars next year than in the recent past. The state reports that a naturally occurring fungus caused by wet spring weather, along with the Agriculture Department's effective suppression program, has resulted in a decline in gypsy moth defoliation this fall as compared with last year. State officials also expect less of an attack by the leaf-eating caterpillars next year.

Based on preliminary information from pest management officials with the state Department of Agriculture, the shade trees in your yard are less likely to fall victim to voracious caterpillars next year than in the recent past. The state reports that a naturally occurring fungus caused by wet spring weather, along with the Agriculture Department's effective suppression program, has resulted in a decline in gypsy moth defoliation this fall as compared with last year. "We will not know for certain until our egg mass surveys are completed in December, but we expect less of a gypsy moth problem next year," said Sue DuPont, a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has confirmed the spread of a voracious ash tree-killing beetle to a wooded region of northern Charles County. Previously, the pest, commonly called the emerald ash borer, had been limited to a site south of Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County. In recent years, the beetle has been blamed for the destruction of 25 million ash trees, including about 25,000 in Maryland. The latest detection is in a wooded area of Charles County just over the border from Prince George's.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has confirmed the spread of a voracious ash tree-killing beetle to a wooded region of northern Charles County. Previously, the pest, commonly called the emerald ash borer, had been limited to a site south of Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County. In recent years, the beetle has been blamed for the destruction of 25 million ash trees, including about 25,000 in Maryland. The latest detection is in a wooded area of Charles County just over the border from Prince George's.

Aquaculture boosts the state's economy I appreciate The Baltimore Sun's support for aquaculture and recognition of the important role that the shellfish industry plays in improving water quality in our treasured Chesapeake Bay ("Moneymaking on the half-shell," editorial, Aug. 24). Maryland's shellfish aquaculture industry employs several dozen people and generates approximately $3 million for our economy. Under Gov. Martin O'Malley's leadership, the Maryland Department of Agriculture is working to implement aquaculture enterprise zones, which will help streamline the permit process for aquaculture projects in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal bays, provide incentives to catalyze private investment in leasing operations and encourage commercial fishery experts to transition to aquaculture.

The state's effort to become home to a Mid-Atlantic animal import-export center has taken a step closer to reality. A recent feasibility study has recommend that a proposed $60 million animal quarantine center be located near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The center, which would primarily serve the horse industry, would be like a holding pen where animals coming into or leaving the country would stay for three to five days while being checked for diseases.

The state's continuing effort to become home to a Mid-Atlantic animal import-export center has taken a step closer to reality. A recent feasibility study has recommend that a proposed $60 million animal quarantine center be located near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The center, which would primarily serve the horse industry, would be like a holding pen where animals coming into or leaving the country would stay for three to five days while being checked for diseases.

Harford County is building on the trend to buy local with giveaways, a revamped Web site and a painting contest. The recent incidents of contaminated beef and vegetables that made national news, the high cost of gas and a growing consumer awareness of how food travels from the farm to the kitchen table may all have a bearing on the increases in sales of locally grown products, officials said. As part of an intensive effort to keep that trend going and encourage more Harford residents to buy from area farms, the county's Department of Agriculture has retooled its harfordfarms.

The corn's been selling out before closing time. The heirloom tomatoes disappear, too. This summer, farmers' markets have emerged as consumer-driven havens for decidedly local foods sold in a setting of tell-all candor. In a summer vexed by food safety worries and gasoline-cost anxiety, farmers' markets are mushrooming. Growers also report favorable weather conditions as boosting this summer's harvest - as well as increasing attendance. Consumers say they are shopping for price and assurances that the food comes from farms no more than about 50 miles away.