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Rural landowners are encouraged to participate in living fencesFarmers are being urged to help save lives and money through the use of living snow fences.A living snow fence is a row or rows of trees planted along a roadway to help combat against blowing and drifting snow, according to this month’s issue of Rock County Ag News.The planting of a living fence to hold the snow away from the roads creates several benefits including:
Reducing snow removal costs by half.
Improving driver visibility and safety, thus reducing accidents.
Preventing drifts on farmyards and in communities.
Reducing energy costs for heating and feeding costs for livestock.
Increasing crop yields for crops growing in areas protected from the wind.
Reducing pavement maintenance costs.If you are eligible for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP), you can sign up for 10 to 15 years with the landowners/operators to receive a weighted annual average rental rate based on soil type.If your land is along a state road, you will also be eligible for additional incentives.MN/DOT will pay an annual per acre rate for the drift area and downwind side of the snow fence for the inconvenience of farming around the shelterbelt.In some cases, land along county roads also qualifies for additional incentives.Who will be the next Dairy Princess?The American Dairy Association of Rock County is searching for candidates for this year’s Dairy Princess program.The primary duty of the princess is to serve as a goodwill ambassador for the dairy industry by appearing at promotional events, participating in parades and discussing dairy-related issues with consumers and the media.To qualify, you must be 16 years old but not yet 24 by July1, 2005.To participate in the regional competition, the candidate must be a high school graduate by July 1, 2005.The candidate’s parents or legal guardians must be actively engaged in the production of milk for sale to a licensed plant during the current year.Candidates also qualify if their parents are employed on a dairy farm in a dairy- related capacity.If you have any questions concerning the princess program, contact Philip or Theresa Raak, by Feb. 10 at 507-348-4850.Cut health care costs, or raise tobacco taxesShould we be looking at cuts in health and long-term care?Based on a recent survey conducted by AARP, the answer is no.The survey showed an amazing 79 percent of those surveyed favored a $1.00 per pack increase in tobacco taxes to avoid cuts in services for low-income families, older persons and people with disabilities.The number of people in favor of the tobacco tax increased by three percent in the past year.The additional $1.00 in tobacco tax would raise an additional$260 million per year for the state.Other ways the group approved of raising additional funds included:oincreasing the tax on beer and wine (81percent)oadding a temporary surcharge on the income tax for households with annual incomes above $200,000 (78 percent)oclosing business loopholes and exemptions (71percent)The telephone survey was conducted of 1,016 randomly selected Minnesota adults 18 years of age and older who identified themselves as registered voters.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com