GEARED FOR GREATER EFFICIENCY.

Guest Commentary

totaling 16.8 million acres. Nonindustrial private forest lands cover about 11.5 million acres in Pennsylvania which is owned and operated by more than 738,000 private forest landowners.

Forest Buffers and streamside trees are one of the most cost-effective BMPs for reducing pollution to Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams, while also providing benefits to wildlife, sequestering carbon and making streams resilient to weather extremes of flooding and drought. Through financial and technical assistance, and in coordination with partners, Pennsylvania is making significant steps toward a goal of maintaining and improving the health and resiliency of forested ecosystems on private forest lands. We highly recommend funding in the 2023 Farm Bill to address the health and resiliency of Pennsylvania’s forests.

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is another program geared toward providing incentives to restore and improve Pennsylvania’s water quality. It is a voluntary federal-state partnership allowing landowners to remove marginal land from agricultural production under 10-15 year contracts. In return, landowners receive annual rental, incentive, maintenance and cost-share payments.

Legislative changes in the 2023 Farm Bill removing barriers to enrollment and allowing states to easily take advantage of program improvements and incentives for landowners will help re-invigorate this critical opportunity to enhance the CREP program.

Please join PACD to support increased funding for these federal programs in the 2023 Farm Bill that benefit small family farms and landowners, and cleaner rivers and streams, and contact your United States Representatives and two United States Senators as they deliberate this critical piece of legislation. Thank you.

(Brenda J. Shambaugh is the executive director for the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., a non-profit organization. PACD primarily serves as the collective voice for Pennsylvania’s 66 county conservation districts. For more information about PACD, visit pacd.org.)

Take command of greater efficiency with the multi-award-winning Auto Command™ CVT transmission on New Holland T5.130 and T5.140 tractors. You’ll make effortless direction and speed changes with the intuitive CommandGrip™ handle that uses forcebased movement. You’ll find the exact speed you need from the nearest .06 mph (0.01 kph) up to 25 mph (40 kph) or 31 mph (50 kph). Even better, you’ll do it with the perfect balance of fuel economy with the efficient 4.5-liter engine, comfort with the Horizon™ cab featuring the SideWinder™ II armrest, and maneuverability that only a tractor of this size can provide.

PA Farm Link awarded grant

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania

Farm Link was one of 13 recipients of the new Risk Management Education for Meat and Poultry Processing grant.

Take command of productivity with a T5.130 or T5.140 tractor. Stop in today or visit newholland.com.

Take command of greater efficiency with the multi-award-winning Auto Command™ CVT transmission on New Holland T5.130 and T5.140 tractors. You’ll make effortless direction and speed changes with the intuitive CommandGrip™ handle that uses forcebased movement. You’ll find the exact speed you need from the nearest .06 mph (0.01 kph) up to 25 mph (40 kph) or 31 mph (50 kph). Even better, you’ll do it with the perfect balance of fuel economy with the efficient 4.5-liter engine, comfort with the Horizon™ cab featuring the SideWinder™ II armrest, and maneuverability that only a tractor of this size can provide.

Take command of productivity with a T5.130 or T5.140 tractor. Stop in today or visit newholland.com.

PA Farm Link was awarded $90,432 to fund training opportunities on MeatSuite’s Cornell Meat Pricing Calculator for Pennsylvania farmers. Charlotte Smith, of 3 Cow Marketing LLC, will coach farmers on improving their mindset, increasing farmer confidence to make necessary price increases as well as improving customer relationships.

In all $1.7 million was awarded to capacity across the food supply chain by supporting meat and poultry research, education and training at the local level. More information on this training opportunity will be available later this year. For further inquiries, contact PA Farm Link at farmland@pafarmlink.org or 717705-2121.