Eastern Shore Focus - Show # 16: The Farm Bill (Pt 2)

PRINCESS ANNE, MD –

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Show Information:

Show Number: 16
Subject(s): The Farm Bill and CHESSEA (Part 2)
Guest(s): Lynne Hoot - MD Grain Producers Assoc. / Bill Kenney - President of Wicomico Farm Bureau
Original Airdate: Saturday, May 26, 2007
Approx. Length: 29 minutes

Brief Synopsis:

Last week, we reported on efforts by area lawmakers and advocates to increase conservation funding in the upcoming Farm Bill - which Congress is planning to re-authorize for another five to six years. The goal is to encourage farmers and poultry growers across the Chesapeake Bay region to reduce the level of nutrients that run off their farms.

These nutrients come mainly from fertilizer and poultry litter - which scientists say eventually get washed into the bay and choke off life.

But Lynne Hoot, the executive director of the Maryland Grain Producers Association says that while bay conservation is good, it shouldn't be funded at the expense of other Farm Bill programs that protect farmers from unreliable market forces.

I'll also talk with local farmer Bill Kenney, who's farm is located in Pittsville, Maryland. He's president of the Wicomico Farm Bureau. We'll talk about the Farm Bill and the conservation measures being proposed in Congress, and what local farmers think about it.

Additional Links:

Farm bill will impact Delmarva agriculture industry:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1084750

Farmers: Conservation-- good, commodity funding cuts bad:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1087769

Questions or Comments?

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