Ben Allnutt's family has been farming since 1763 in Maryland's Montgomery County but, he told a county planning board meeting in April, "It just takes one bad business decision to slam the door, put the 'For Sale' sign up and you're gone." Allnutt's farm is part of the county's 93,000-acre agricultural reserve, one of the country's most successful farm preservation efforts. The photo shows one of their more picturesque pastoral vistas. Although the county's farmers are in a perfect position to take advantage of the farm-to-consumer movement, they must deal with the sometimes brutal realities of economic cycles. A county task force is looking into the increasing conflicts between farmers and suburban residents, according to reporter Morgan Tierney. You can read her report on the Washington Post website here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/12/AR2010051203032.html

     Corn planting is ahead of schedule from New York to the Virginias, thanks to a warm April and excellent conditions for field work. A cold spell and even some frosty nights put the brakes on a bit earlier this week, but growers throughout the Lancaster Farming readership area report a good start. Staff writer Chris Torres reports in tomorrow's edition that 54 percent of the Pennsylvania corn crop has already been planted, nearly double the 28 percent that was in the ground last year at this time, and well ahead of the 47 percent five-year average. In New York, 40 percent of the crop has been planted, and in Maryland  and Delaware, the figures are 74 and 82 percent, respectively. And, as you can see from staff photographer Stan Hall's photo, haying has already commenced in much of the region. You can read the story online here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/2957


     Yeah, but how good are they at fixing a top unloader? http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/sky-high-roller-coaster-fix/26vawwmj