Luke Judge

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Monday 09:00, February 21st, 2011

There are many reasons to start pursuing organic farming, ranging from health benefits to tastier products, but profitability is not one of them.

Sustainability may be a newfound term in corporate dictionaries, but it definitely isn’t in agriculture. Conscientious farmers have long been using methods to ease the burden on the environment, and among the various cultivation practices, organic is the one that best promises to preserve natural resources. Compared to intensive farming, however, it involves a number of difficulties and is often less profitable.

Fortunately, profit is not the number one driver of farmers committed to this way of cultivation. László Berkesi, the head of Grip Kft, a company producing organic foods and oils, turned to organic farming after working as an engineer designing medical devices. it didn’t come as a drastic change though, as Berkesi and his family had always led a healthy and eco-conscious life. “Having seen how much fitter and energetic I was compared to my peers, there was no question about the correctness of this mindset.”

He now grows, processes and sells organic plants like pumpkins, rapeseeds, sunflower seeds and grapes, and also produces salad and vegetable oils from them. Of 250 hectares of land, 40–50 is pasture to protect crops from pests and the rest is cropland. another 1,000–1,200 hectares are in contractual production. Most of the crop is exported as 3–4 months of payment delays often occur. “Organic farming is not lucrative anyway, so it doesn’t hurt to have some funds and a well-off family,” added Berkesi. “Especially since we haven’t seen much support from the state in the past few years.”

It was not state stimulus that made one of the country’s leading wine cellars switch to organic, either. since 2010, Gere Winery has been cultivating all its cropland organically. “Triggered by the good results we had during two years of testing on a limited area, we decided to go fully organic,” Andrea Gere told the Budapest Business Journal. thanks to its southern location, Villány is particularly suitable for organic wine-growing, she claims. the number of sunny days is high. Rain, which creates perfect conditions for diseases, is less frequent and is quickly dried up by brisk winds.

Unfortunately, climate itself won’t protect crops entirely. “Organic farming does require more labor, which definitely raises costs,” Gere admits. “Still, we are doing it as a courtesy to nature.” They are probably right as, in return, they will get truly fine wines. “The omission of pesticides allows the character of the soil to manifest clearly, resulting in more complex and exciting wines.” it may be tasty wines that have convinced many winegrowers in the region to follow this path. Among them are representatives of the younger generation such as Andrea Gere, who are badly needed in this sector.

“The community of organic farmers is aging. People are less willing to take risks or learn something new,” Berkesi explained. “When the government recently announced funding for organic cultivation of field crops, many didn’t apply because they didn’t want to deal with the administration or learn to use a computer.” Farmers won’t pass down this tradition to their children either. “No one wants their kids to have a tough life,” Berkesi said.

Even so, he is optimistic. Farmers expect more support from the current government and the EU, and changes in legislation are also likely to boost this method of cultivation.

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HARRISBURG — before opening its 2010 session, the state Senate named Patrick Browne as majority whip, which forced Senate Republicans to backfill a series of positions.

Browne, R-16, Allentown, had been the Senate’s Finance Committee chairman, and filling that vacancy created another open chairmanship. the process ended with state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47, new Sewickley Township, named as chairman of the Senate’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

Vogel said that as a first-term senator, he didn’t expect to receive a committee chairmanship. But he acknowledged that his experience as a dairy farmer might have influenced the selection.

“There are a lot of agricultural issues coming up, and to have a real live farmer at the controls is a good thing,” he said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati III, R-25, Warren, said in a news release Tuesday that Vogel’s status as a farmer was one reason he was named chairman. the committee holds hearings on agriculture-related matters and oversees regulations proposed by the state Department of Agriculture.

One key piece of legislation Vogel will be working on focuses on farm equipment sales. Under current rules, equipment dealers are locked in with a major tractor manufacturer, much as car dealers are.

In both cases, if a dealer wants to expand outside his or her particular make of equipment, that dealer has to build a separate free-standing structure. But Vogel said there is a crucial difference between automobile dealers and tractor dealers.

“It’s not like a car dealership where you might sell 10 cars in a day,” he said. “You don’t sell 10 tractors in a day. Some places don’t sell 10 tractors in a year.”

Vogel said the dealers would like to sell smaller equipment and accessories that might not be made by the major manufacturers they are associated with, but the manufacturers, predictably, are opposed to the move.

The regulation had been before the Senate last session, but never came to a vote.

Vogel said he understands the concerns of both sides in the equipment dealership legislation and hopes to help craft regulation that both sides could support.

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The Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission, which is expected to decide soon on the racing license application by a company looking to build a gambling complex in Lawrence County, is an agency of the state Department of Agriculture.

The state Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, with its newly appointed chairman Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., oversees the Department of Agriculture.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Vogel has increased clout in making sure the track and casino are built in Mahoning Township, which is in his district.

“I’ll still have my say,” Vogel said.

The state Harness Racing Commission is expected to rule soon on the application by Pittsburgh-based American Harness Tracks for the state’s last harness-racing license.

American Harness Tracks bought the license rights from Centaur Gaming in October in bankruptcy court. Company officials have expressed a commitment to building a gambling facility in Mahoning Township, and the commission said the license is still locked into the Lawrence County site.

But last month, in lame-duck session, state Sen. John Wozniak, D-35, Johnstown, introduced legislation to separate the casino license from the harness-racing license and open bidding for the more-lucrative casino approval to the entire state. that proposal died at the end of last year’s legislative session.

Even though Vogel said his new chairmanship doesn’t give him any more say when the new session opens on Jan. 18, he guaranteed from the highest level possible — Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati III, R-25, Warren — that any legislation to lift the casino license from Lawrence County wouldn’t go anywhere in the Senate.

At a meeting earlier this week, Scarnati said, “The license in Lawrence County isn’t going anywhere,” according to Vogel.

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JACKSON COUNTY — nearly everyone in Jackson County knows of someone who has been hurt while working in a field.

Ask around and you’ll hear stories about close calls on bush hogs or lost limbs to farming machinery and accidental deaths.

Farming is “really one of the most hazardous occupations you can have,” said Bud Maddox, the manager of the Jackson County Agriculture Center. he then told a story about a man he knows who got trapped by farming machinery and lost an arm.

“It isn’t safe work and it never has been,” Maddox added.

Indeed, farming and ranching, usually rank in the top 10 of the most dangerous occupations year after year in surveys done by several different groups. Business Insider recently ranked farmers and ranchers at 5 just behind iron and steel workers, pilots, loggers and fishermen. It was a point that was brought home last weekend when two men were killed and a woman was injured in two separate accidents in Jackson County.

On Saturday, Nov. 13 at 547 Satellite Road in Graceville, when John Mcentyre tried to start a tractor while standing beside it. The tractor had been left in gear during the attempt to start it, causing it to lunge forward and run over Mcentyre killing him, officials said.

On Sunday, Nov. 14. Robert Larry Morris was attempting to use his truck’s battery to jump off his tractor on Morris’s farm on Seay Road while his wife, Alice Morris, was sitting on the back of the tractor. However, the tractor was already in gear and when Morris got it to start, it immediately jumped forward throwing Alice Morris into the machinery, The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said. Larry Morris was on the tractor but was not able to get to the controls to get it stopped. The tractor eventually threw Morris off and ran over him, killing him. a neighbor discovered what happened. Alice Morris was taken to a Dothan hospital where she is listed in stable condition.

“People take too many chances,” said Charles Brasher, an extension agent in Jackson County. he knew of two other accidents in the past few years. in one, a man hurt his leg on a bush hog and in another a man drowned when his tractor overturned into a pond. Jackson County officials put on farm safety days every so often, but those are mostly geared toward children.

“Most farm tractors have warning stickers attached to some point near battery or starter electrical connections to warn against “jumping” tractors without proper safety precautions, such as being seated on the operator’s seat,” Brasher wrote in an e-mail to The News Herald. “It is sad to hear of these occurrences, especially to people we know in the farming business. I can only encourage tractor operators to read and obey safety warnings on their farm equipment on a daily basis. When a person loans or rents farm equipment, as I was told that happened in one of these accidents, it is a joint responsibility of the owner, and the one who is operating the equipment, to read and follow the rules of safe operation of the piece of equipment.”

Bob Sowell, the owner of Sowell Tractor in Panama City, said his employees do what they can to educate buyers. a good percentage of his business comes from people who have bought a large amount of land and have never used a tractor before.

“New people don’t understand center of gravity is critical,” Sowell said, adding that he almost tipped a tractor over while building a shooting stand several years ago.

“I knew I had messed up,” Sowell said. “It’s scary.”

However, Sowell and other local tractor dealers say they go over the machine with each customer before the sale is completed. Kubota, a tractor manufacturer, offers a pamphlet called the 10 Commandments of Tractor Safety. The commandments include, “know your tractor, its implements and how they work,” “be familiar with the terrain,” “never get off a moving tractor or leave it running” and “keep children away from the tractor and its implements.”

Most modern tractors have safety features that should make it impossible for someone to start a tractor from the ground or for the tractor to keep running if the driver is thrown off, said Sowell store manager Mike Davis. However, a decent electrician can override those features and they sometimes do, he added.

“you just cannot be careful enough around this kind of machinery,” Sowell said.

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What is better pick? used dump trailers or new dump trailers. Okay, so you made the decision to obtain a dump trailer, but at this point you just can’t decide, should you actually get a used trailer or completely new one. both options have positives and minuses.

Let’s look at the new dump trailer pluses. the main reason many buyers like brand-new models is in which most people know precisely what you are going to get, You really don’t have to get worried concerning the past owners maintainance routine, another excellent reason to purchase brand new trailers is that the majority of of the time you find a far better finance rate on new dump trailer then on a used unit.

The issues with the new trailers is usually the cost, any time you buy new, an individual should assume increased monthly payments and depending on the model you find, you would also have to be concerned about a break in period.

So, now let’s take a take a look at the benefits on a used dump trailers, the most significant positive, is the preliminary cost / financial commitment. Lower monthly repayments and no break in time period. used trailers can produce a greater profit from the get go and if you have enough work, then in no time the trailer may pay for it self.

The particular problems of used dump trailer, is that you really just can’t be 100 pct sure what exactly you receive. the former owner could of flipped the trailer or bought a lemon and is hoping to get rid of it. in the event a person understand what you are buying and not even totally clueless about trailers wear and tear, then the used preference will probably deliver the results for you. used is also the choice of the smaller companies and independent contractors. one other thing which a consumer should really take in to account, is the extended warranty. the warranty usually is a big difference in between brand-new and used models.

Whatsoever way an individual choose to go, make sure you do correct investigation and the internet is the perfect application. You can pretty much find any style, size, color, kind on the internet and the majority of will have photos. Also, when buying all over, attempt to obtain something local. it could be much better to spend a very little more and actually view the used or completely new Dump Trailer, then purchasing online as well as having to pay out $1000 driving it home.

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Balfour Beatty Invests in New Fleet of John Deere Tractors2010-07-19

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, one of the UK’s leading utility solutions providers, has invested more than £1.3m in 33 brand new John Deere 5M and 6030 Series tractors, all equipped with front loaders.

The machines have been purchased to support ongoing overhead line projects and increase operational capacity.

The company uses tractors extensively whilst installing and renovating overhead electricity lines. The new tractors will be equipped for one of two key roles; as either winch or tow machines.

The winch tractors will each be fitted with a 2000kg winch to enable them to raise and lower insulators and other equipment to teams working on towers. Tow tractors are used to move equipment around sites as well as towing tensioners – machinery used to raise and tighten the main power cables – to and from site.

In a change from the traditional green and yellow of John Deere tractors, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions’ machines have all been finished in the companies’ distinguishing blue, giving them a unique and smart presence at sites around the country.

Rob Sonnex, Mechanical Plant Manager for Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, said:

“We always buy the best when it comes to our plant and vehicles, and this investment is no exception. John Deere has an excellent reputation for quality and safety, whilst the technical support and dealership back up offered by the company and its dealer, Agricultural Industrial Services, made our choice clear. The new tractors will increase our capacity for overhead line work and therefore give significant benefits to our clients, especially on projects where time is a factor.

“When it came to purchasing our new tractors, we needed machines which would stand up to the stresses and strains our important work puts on them. We take safety extremely seriously in all of our work, so this was also an important factor when choosing a manufacturer.”

John Deere’s agricultural marketing manager Chris Meacock said:

“John Deere and AIS are delighted to have won this important contract to supply our tractors to one of the country’s major utility businesses. It underlines our continuing efforts to provide market leading technology solutions to a wide range of customers.”

The investment in the tractors comes only a few months after Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions invested in a fleet of 700 Mercedes Sprinter vans to improve safety for its entire workforce.

New Mobile Feed Mixing Service for Pig and Poultry ProducersJohn Deere Gator Gets New Olive LiveryNew Era for John Deere Apprentice Training

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Hello! Today when I was surfing the web, I ran across this farm tractor for sale. Here are the details:

John Deere M tractor. This tractor is still being used around the farm to move empty wagons and such. It is a nice little tractor for that, but I am building a house and need the money so I it is time for it to go. The sheet metal on the tractor is mostly straight, it has orchard exhaust on it. The transmission is noisie and the front end is a little loose. It has a near new seat on it, the front hood is good but there are a couple of spots near where you would put a crank in that are a little rough. The rear rims are good around the valve stems but the other set of mounting holes are bad. The fenders are rusted at the bottom. The rear tires are older but still have a lot of tread on them. It has good oil pressure. If you have any questions please email or call 724-255-6193.

If you are looking for a place to advertise a farm tractor you have for sale, contact us. We will place your ad FREE!

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Remarks by Carey Leonard at the Rotary Club of Freeport, Freeport, Grand Bahama
July 22, 2010