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DORRANCE TWP. — A couple state legislators and representatives of several other elected officials spent Monday down on the farm to learn what is being done to comply with state and federal regulations and to listen to concerns of farmers and farming officials.

Hosted by the Luzerne Conservation District and Luzerne County Farm Bureau, the event drew about 30 people who heard a presentation at the 300-acre farm owned and operated by Jeff and Barry Bloss. Jeff Bloss is a sixth-generation dairy farmer.

This was the first farm tour of its type in Luzerne County.

The farmers and legislators listened to officials explain the Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan and learned what they can do to help improve the quality of water runoff on their properties and what conservation measures they can and should take.

But the real discussion was about a recent push by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to have states increase their conservation compliance inspections.

Matt Balliet, district director of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said Monday’s event was an opportunity to get legislators on a farm to show them the conversation practices. Balliet said the EPA is forcing the state Department of Environmental Protection to do about 50 compliance inspections per year at Luzerne County farms.

“The EPA wants to make sure that the farms have their conservation plans up to date,” Balliet said. “The problem is that the conservation plan writers aren’t available — there’s a three-year waiting list.”

Balliet said the ironic part of the issue is that farmers already have the conservation practices in place. He said if a farm’s conservation plan is not up to date, it’s because of the unavailability of the plan writers, adding most farms have not changed operations and there is no pressing need for a plan update.

But if an inspection is made and the farm’s plan is not updated, fines could be imposed. Balliet said larger farms with several rental agreements could require multiple plans and the cost to update them all would be almost prohibitive. He said the cost to write the plans is about $95 per hour; some farms would require multiple plan updates that could cost thousands of dollars.

“The farmers have always been the stewards of the land,” Balliet said.

Balliet said much of the information used in the Chesapeake Bay model is flawed. Most farms have more conservation practices in place than what EPA shows and the water quality of the runoff on the farms is better than what EPA reports show.

“The work is already being done,” he said. “The required conservation practices are in place and they are working. The streams on farms are running clean.”

Balliet and others at the meeting said the EPA mandates are “ridiculous” and the costs associated with meeting the compliance regulations could put some farmers out of business.

He said prices for farm products like milk and grain are down and the cost for farmers to grow their crops are always there. But with the low pricing, the return to the farmers could be down by as much as 90 percent.

Add to that the cost of equipment to perform conservation tasks like planting cover crops and no-till crops while being unable to raise prices, farmers could face insurmountable financial issues.

“Farmers are all for conservation,” Balliet said. “We’ve got to come up with a reasonable plan.”

Josh Longmore, district manager for the Luzerne Conservation District, said EPA’s requirements “are just unrealistic.”

Balliet said state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, and state Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, agreed they will take the information back to Harrisburg and explore all options.

Representatives of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, state Sen. John Yudichak and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta were also in attendance.

Balliet
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm1_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgBalliet Fred Adams | For Times Leader

State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, listens to speakers at a farm tour on Monday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm2_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgState Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, listens to speakers at a farm tour on Monday. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Otison Masters, 14 months, eats a peach while his mother, Blakslee, listens to a presentation during a farm tour. The Masters are gain farmers from Sugarloaf Township.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm4_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgOtison Masters, 14 months, eats a peach while his mother, Blakslee, listens to a presentation during a farm tour. The Masters are gain farmers from Sugarloaf Township. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

A cow in the dairy barn was one of the sights on a tour of the Bloss Farm.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm5_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgA cow in the dairy barn was one of the sights on a tour of the Bloss Farm. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Jeff Bloss tells riders in a hay wagon about a method of farming helping the watershed as state Sen. Lisa Baker, right, and Bob Perhacs, Region 8 Farm Bureau director, seated next to her, listen.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm6_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgJeff Bloss tells riders in a hay wagon about a method of farming helping the watershed as state Sen. Lisa Baker, right, and Bob Perhacs, Region 8 Farm Bureau director, seated next to her, listen. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

State Rep. Tarah Toohil gets off a hay wagon at the the of a tour of the Bloss Farm.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm8_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgState Rep. Tarah Toohil gets off a hay wagon at the the of a tour of the Bloss Farm. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Aiden Bloss, 4, sits on the lap of his grandmother, Diane Bloss, as they ride in a hay wagon Monday on a tour of Bloss Farm in Dorrance Township.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_farm7_faa-1.jpg.optimal.jpgAiden Bloss, 4, sits on the lap of his grandmother, Diane Bloss, as they ride in a hay wagon Monday on a tour of Bloss Farm in Dorrance Township. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

By Bill O’Boyle

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Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.