The fun in farming.
PHOTO BY MARYANN KROMER Bestselling author Forrest Pritchard reads a passage from his book, “Gaining Ground,” Thursday at Sentinel Career and Technology Center.
When he graduated from college and returned to the farm in 1996, he was “an opportunistic kid” hoping to make a living from the land, as his father and grandfather had done; however, his dream proved to be more challenging than he expected.
“That year cured me.” He was determined to find other methods to farm that were less expensive and more environmentally friendly.
Consumers wanted more chemical-free produce, dairy products and meats, especially those grown locally.
He divides grazing areas with moveable fencing and provides water with a “rolling water line.” Shelters for the animals also can be relocated.
The meat is sold at six farmers’ markets in the area.
The animals also give back in the form of animal waste.
He calls the mixture of grasses and weeds a “medicinal buffet” for livestock.
This is more of a story,” Pritchard said.

■ Blessing in disguise Apropos our news story, ‘Accident victim saves 4 lives by organ donation’, dated March 30, our reader Sambhu Nath Chowdhury wrote to us, saying, “I salute Anandrao Sawant, who despite being subjected to the trauma of his wife Sangita Sawant’s death due to an accident, took the decision with the consent of his children to donate her organs for the sake of other patients.
The grieving Sawant family may find some solace in the heartfelt blessings of the kin of those recipients, who can now start a new life after being doubtful about recovery and waiting for organs.
Sangita has silently contributed to the body and eye donation movement, which essentially should be carried forwarded by one and all.
It would be only wise to create heaven on earth instead of taking the organs and tissues to the grave.” ■ Man up!
The violent incident drew flak from all factions.
Why should the public blacklist the airline?
The party really needs to reconsider its priorities.
Gaikwad, on the other hand, needs to stop bothering airlines by booking tickets under different identities.” ■ Be responsible Referring to our news story, ‘PCB awakens to burning issue of waste’, dated March 20, our reader Vinod C Dixit wrote to us, saying, “When it comes to waste management in India, little is done by the authorities as well as citizens.
Many municipalities simply dump the waste and claim them to be landfill sites.
Landfilling should be done only for inorganic waste after processing.

March Policy Round-Up: 5 Important Stories You May Have Missed.
Sonny Perdue, Donald Trump’s nominee to head the USDA (the only cabinet-level position yet to be filled), is moving through the confirmation process at a snail’s pace; he finally last week appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee for his first hearing.
The EPA is slated for the largest cut of any agency—a whopping 31 %—which would be achieved by completely eliminating 50 programs.
Though he was known for a few ethical lapses while governor of Georgia, which have been heavily publicized in recent weeks prior to the hearing, these didn’t even come up at the hearing.
Apparently, Perdue spent much of February and March taking steps to disentangle himself from his numerous agribusiness interests at the request of the Office of Government Ethics, which is why his hearing was delayed.
The budget proposes a 50 percent cut across the board to “discretionary funding”—essentially the money each branch of the USDA has available to spend as it sees fit to fulfill its mission—including programs related to food safety, rural development and conservation funding, research grants and international food aid.
Or so bee activists thought.
The decision, made in the twilight days of the Obama administration, was hailed by environmentalists as a major step forward in fighting the epidemic loss of pollinators nationwide, because once a species is listed as endangered the federal government is compelled to take measures to protect it—which could have far-reaching implications on matters such as pesticide regulations.
The rusty patched bumblebee, a significant pollinator of agricultural crops, was scheduled to officially join the ranks of the endangered species list on February 10th.
Food Safety Groups Band Together Against “Filthy Food Act” Republicans have long dreamed of a way to avert new government regulations that they see as a threat to the free reign of business interests.

Provincial Minister for Population Welfare and Environment Protection Begum Zakia Shahnawaz has said that the government is taking environmental issues very seriously and taking all measures in compliance with international environmental standards which ensure immense benefits to the economy besides controlling the number of deaths caused by pollution.
She said that compliance with environmental standards was a prerequisite for doing business with the developed world, therefore, the Environment Department was working tirelessly to educate the business community on these standards.
She said that compliance with environmental rules, regulations and standards would help enhance exports and help alleviate poverty.
The minister said that the unchecked discharge of untreated waste into waterways was a cause of pollution in canals and rivers, which could result in an increase in diseases like cancer and hepatitis.
Punjab Environment Secretary Saif Anjum said that environmental issues were of prime importance, therefore, industrialists particularly the export-oriented industry should tackle them on priority.
He added that the Punjab government would extend every possible help to the industrial sector in this regard and that the government was encouraging the establishment of low-cost water treatment plants to control the water pollution.
LCCI President Abdul Basit said that the Punjab Environment Protection Department should help the business community and create awareness about environment standards.
Abdul Basit said, “The fast-changing global economic scenario has provided us with an opportunity to increase our exports to the desired levels which cannot be achieved without having compliance with international environmental standards.” Faryal Ali Gauhar, dam lead consultant for Cultural Heritage Management for Diamer Basha Dam, said that deforestation was also one of the biggest reasons for environmental issues in Pakistan and caused a rapid rise in pollution levels and distortion of the natural order.
She said that environmental issues could be handled with a positive approach and tackled through public-private partnerships.
LCCI Senior Vice-President Amjad Ali Jawa observed that LCCI was taking all possible measures to educate its members about environmental standards.

Judge reverses ruling for two PA families in water contamination case.
SCRANTON, Pa. (WNEP) — Two families from Dimock, Pennsylvania will not receive the $4.24 million a jury awarded them last year over water contamination.
On Friday, a jury’s verdict from last year, that ordered Cabot Oil and Gas to pay the families, was overturned.
The Ely and Hubert families from Susquehanna County took Cabot Oil and Gas to court, claiming its drilling near their homes ruined their water.
A federal judge said irregularities were present in testimony during the trial that he called "troubling."
He also said there were missteps by attorneys in the jury’s presence, saying that $4.2 million in damages wasn’t a justified amount for the Cabot to pay.
"The judge appears to have ignored our expert testimony.
It is not clear to me why the court required an entire year to essentially rubber-stamp the companies’ position that they were somehow robbed of a fair trial.
There will be justice for these families."
Cabot issued a statement saying it felt confident that after a review of the scientific evidence and a review of the attorneys’ conduct, the flaws in the verdict would be understood.

Cost-share funding available to Dodge County farmers.
JUNEAU – Cost-share funding will be available again to Dodge County farmers for implementing a variety of soil and water conservation practices in 2017 through the Dodge County Land Conservation Department.
Additional money, $10,000, will be available for cost sharing nutrient management planning.
The rate of cost sharing on most practices is 70 percent.
Applications will be accepted throughout the year.
Cost-share funding will be awarded on a first-come first-serve basis.
To obtain an application form, or for more information, call the Dodge County Land Conservation Department at 920-386-3660, or stop in at the Dodge County Administration Building, 127 E. Oak St., Juneau, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Cost-share funding may also be available from the Dodge County Field Office of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
For more information about this possible source of funding, please the USDA-NRCS at 920-386-9999.
Dodge County farmers and landowners are encouraged to take advantage of these cost-share funding opportunities that can help them meet state and federal conservation program requirements, but can also benefit their overall farming operations.

Portman meets with Lake Erie advocates to hear Great Lakes success stories.
(Thomas Ondrey/Plain Dealer file photo) CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the first time in decades, yellow perch fingerlings have returned to the once reed-choked Mentor Marsh, an ecological benefit of the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The focus of the round-table talk was the recently proposed White House budget cuts, and the potential destruction the reduced funding would cause to Lake Erie and the rest of the Great Lakes if allowed to become law.
It’s all dependent on keeping up the fight, and the funding is critical for that."
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is the cornerstone of a network of programs designed to protect and restore the largest system of fresh water in the world, by combating water pollution, especially toxic algal blooms, to prevent and control invasive species, and to restore habitat to protect native fish and wildlife.
Over the past seven years, the Great Lakes initiative has provided $650,000 to the Nature Conservancy to help eradicate invasive phragmites at the Mentor Marsh and the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve; $3 million for a Cuyahoga River urban riparian restoration project; $15 million for restoration of the Black River; $175,000 to the Cleveland Metroparks for a stormwater project at Wildwood Park, and $500,000 for restoration work on the Chagrin River watershed.
"It finances grass roots cleanups of legacy pollution in some of the Lake Erie tributaries."
Frank Greenland, director of watershed programs for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, said Great Lakes initiative funds have been critical for at least five projects, and provides the primary funding for testing the Lake Erie beaches for bacterial level during the summer.
Kristy Meyer, managing director of the Ohio Environmental Council, said Great Lakes initiative grants have helped her organization to educate farmers in the Maumee Valley on the best practices for reducing their runoff of fertilizers and manure that feed the annual algal blooms in the lake’s western basin.
"This is about where we swim, where we fish, where we work, and most importantly where we draw our drinking water," Joyce said.

Water-boiling advisory still in effect for thousands in Northeast Miami-Dade.
A water-boiling advisory for thousands of North Miami-Dade County customers remains in effect at least until Friday afternoon, when officials will decide whether to lift it following a second round of tests.
NMBWater, which serves 170,000 customers in North Miami Beach, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach and unincorporated Northeast Miami-Dade, plans to update its advisory at 2 pm.
On Wednesday, customers were told to boil their tap water before using it after a minute-long power outage that day at North Miami Beach’s Norwood Water Treatment Plant that may have caused contamination.
“Therefore, as a precaution, we advise that all water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes be boiled prior to usage,” the utility, NMBWater, said in a news release.
The notice comes after “consultation with the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County,” according to the release.
For at least 48 hours, customers were told to bring their water to a rolling boil for one minute to remove any possible contaminants.
The “Boil Water Notice” will remain in effect until the utility is given the all-clear from the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade.
To view the water service area map or for more information, visit www.nmbwater.com.
A hotline has been set up for information: 305-777-2525.

I, the Waterwise column, pledged allegiance to the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. The Waterwise column took the pledge to be part of the nationwide campaign to conserve water, be mindful of unnecessary car trips and eat all food I prepare. In essence, it was a continuation of habits the Waterwise column routinely does. Yes, there are prizes involved as motivation. Those who pledge and register are eligible to win hundreds of eco-friendly prizes. The promotion’s grand prize is a new Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid.If the Waterwise column were to receive the top prize, it would make three Prius drivers in the newsroom — just sayin’. Three, which rhymes with tree, is such a good number. I took the pledge, accepting the invitation of Carlton Jones, the mayor of my fair city. In a statement, Jones said he wanted Tulareans to join in the pledge. “Water is our most precious resources,” he said. “When you save water in your home, at work, and in the landscape, you are also saving energy, because it takes energy to pump and deliver water.” Tulare residents can take the pledge at www.mywaterpledge.com. The registration…

Environmental reporter Tyler Treadway, columnist Gil Smart, photographer Molly Bartels and opinion & audience engagement editor Eve Samples will be at Ground Floor Farms in Stuart for the April 10 event to talk about the pollution in our waterways. Register at www.tcpalm.com/popuptickets. HANNAH SCHWAB/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS Wochit Journalists are known for keeping quirky accoutrements in their cubicles. Columnist Anthony Westbury has a viking hat. An adult spelling bee trophy is perched in our photographers’ neck of the newsroom. But TCPalm environmental reporter Tyler Treadway takes it to a new level. He has a collection of mason jars filled with algae on the ledge next to his desk. Each is labeled with the date and location where he collected it. The samples are a putrid reminder of last summer’s toxic algae blooms in the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. And we’re busting them out of the newsroom on…