Rep. Jerry Stern

Remarks By Rep. Jerry Stern, Before the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, September 19, 2006

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to make a few brief comments about House Bill 2878 and the proposed REAP program before the invited panel of speakers begins.

As the Representative from a district where there is a large and viable agricultural sector dominated by family farms, I am very aware that the vast majority of these farmers put a high priority on managing their farm operations in an environmentally friendly manner. They have already voluntarily adopted many best management practices that are proven to be effective in managing nutrients appropriately and reducing nutrient and sediment loss.

Nonetheless, I believe we can document that there is considerable unmet demand from agricultural producers for financial assistance to support the adoption of additional conservation practices.

In addition to this existing demand, more and more farms are being subjected to environmental regulations as a result of recent changes to the Nutrient Management law, revisions to the CAFO regs, and to meet agriculture’s obligation under the state Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy.

All of this points to a critical need for new and innovative programs to assist farmers in their efforts to implement effective management practices on their farms --- practices that will ultimately benefit all citizens of the state.

Because of the desire to address this need and provide farms with the financial assistance they need to adopt additional conservation practices, I was very excited when approached by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation folks about the PA Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Tax Credit Program.

In brief, as outlined in House Bill 2878 and as you will hear more today, this program will provide tax credits for private investment in the implementation of a variety of proven and cost-effective best management practices including improvements to barnyards, pastures and riparian corridors, development and implementation of nutrient management plans, remediation of legacy sediments and other approved practices.

I introduced House Bill 2878 because I firmly believe that this new and innovative approach to encouraging the implementation of best management practices merits serious discussion by all stakeholders. But I also realize that, since it is a new approach, it will generate many questions and that it is important for committee members to gain a full understanding of the proposal before acting on House Bill 2878.

That’s why I asked the chairman to convene this informational meeting and I look forward to the discussions today. I encourage all our panelists and the committee members to engage in open debate and dialogue and raise whatever issues and questions you may have.

For instance, I already am aware of concerns about the amount of money proposed in the bill, both for individual projects and as annual total tax credits, and welcome further discussion of this aspect as well as any other.

Finally, if input received today means language in the bill needs to be amended in response, then I welcome that result since it means we will have a better final product at the end.

Again, thank you Mr. Chairman, and I look forward to this afternoon’s discussions.

Rep. Jerry Stern represents Blair County and can be contacted by sending email to: jstern@pahousegop.com or 717-787-9020

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