Farmers

About 40 Eastern Shore chicken houses collapsed under the weight of the recent snows, and now the Maryland Department of the Environment is giving farmers the option to burn the wood debris instead of hauling it to the landfill. The several feet of snow that fell in Maryland during the storms last month damaged or destroyed at least 41 poultry houses at 29 locations, said Sue duPont, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. The average chicken house has about 30,000 birds, duPont said, but not all the houses had birds in them at the time of collapse.

State officials looking to clean up the Chesapeake Bay are weighing a series of new restrictions on how and when farmers can fertilize their fields — and on when municipal sewage treatment plants can spread their sludge on farmland. Draft regulations drawn up by the Maryland Department of Agriculture are drawing fire from farmers and local officials, who say the limits being proposed are onerous, costly and unwarranted. But one scientist said they are backed by research and needed to reduce the pollution fouling the bay. The rules, which have yet to be formally proposed, would, among other things, curtail the practice of fertilizing grain crops that are planted in the fall.

A bill moving through the General Assembly would give Maryland farmers a 10-year reprieve from new state or local environmental regulations if the state Department of Agriculture deems they're doing their part to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. To get the deal, farmers would first have to reduce pollution from their land more quickly than is now required – an important point, supporters say, since farm runoff is the largest contributor to the bay's...

Bobby Graves had misgivings about a pollution-control permit newly required for many farms in the state. But he applied, ready to detail how he's storing and disposing of the manure from his 110,000 chickens. Now, more than three months after seeking help from the Maryland Department of Agriculture in crafting a plan for reducing his farm's wastewater runoff — the final step needed for the permit — he's still waiting. And growing more frustrated with each passing day. "When I went in for my meeting with [a field service center]

Farmers in Anne Arundel County who lose at least 30 percent of theircrops to the drought can apply for federal low-interest loans and emergency haying and grazing privileges.The relief became availableMonday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated 18 counties eligible for disaster aid.Farmers seeking the 4.5 percent interest loans, which can be usedfor operating or living expenses, must apply to the Farmers Home Administration office in their area by April 9, 1992. Loans of up to $500,000 are available.

Farmers looking to buy or sell local produce are encouraged to attend a regional networking-style business gathering that brings together Maryland fruit and vegetable farmers and corporate produce buyers from Mid-Atlantic grocery, food service and wholesale suppliers. The meetings are opportunities for Maryland produce farmers to increase sales by introducing them directly to food purchasing decision-makers. Buyers also can find out what products are available from the state's farmers to meet consumer demand for local produce.

Farmers may be leery of anyone from the federal government promising help, but here's one offer that sounds too good to refuse. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service announced this week that it is making up to $315,000 available to "farmers, ranchers and forest landowners" in the Catoctin Creek watershed in western Frederick County. The offer is part of a new water quality initiative by the NRCS directing technical and financial help to 157 watersheds nationwide.

Most county farmers aren't making their way to bankruptcy court, butduring a recession, it helps to know the options."When we file for bankruptcy, it stops the world," an associate law professor from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University said Thursday.Bankruptcy is "a forgiveness. It allows us to go through the law and get a fresh start," said L. Leon Geyer, an associate professor ofagricultural law and economics.Geyer, 44, spoke at the Mid-Winter Farm Meetings at the Agriculture Center on the topic "Bankruptcy and the Farmer."