Mary K. Bettendorf, Librarian AcRICIUJUnAL LIBRARY Agricultural Library COLLEGE Vol. 111. No. 18. Brucellosis-free Certification For Lancaster County Requested With brucellosis testing com pleted m Lancaster and Brad ford counties and the announce ment this week that Cumberland county has been certified Bang’s free, the state is nearly ready to be certified brucellosis free. Qualifications for certification for Lancaster and Bradford coun ties were sent Thursday (yester day) to the United States De partment of Agriculture which makes the certification The brucellosis eradication program in Pennsylvania is ex pected to reach its climax on March 21 when the Pennsylvania Dairy and Livestock Health com mittee holds a banquet marking certification of the entire state. Cumberland county was certi fied when only 22 of the 23,981 head of dairy cattle and beef cat tle in the county reacted to tests applied 'by veterinarians There Lancaster Stock Yards Ranks 25th Nationally in Salable Receipts Lancaster Stock Yards ranked twenty-fifth in the nation in the number of salable receipts dur ing 1957, according to figures Te leased by the Agricultural Mar keting Service. The local yards ranks 17 in cat tle, 18 in calves, 34 in hogs and 31 in sheep and lambs Receipts were down in the cat tle division last year from 1956. Luring 1957 only 245,849 head were handled compared with 262,- 314 in 1956. The calf department, too, saw fewer receipts. The 1956 figure v.as 52,144 head compared with 47,732 head last year. Hogs shared the decline with 19 795 fewer head being received. But in sheep and lambs the fig ures show that there were 3,729 more head received in 1957 than in 1956. The Baltimore Union Stock \aids ranked 26 in cattle, 32 m Higher Prices for Meat Animals Push Up February Price Index HARRISBURG, Mar 7—Higher pnces paid to Pennsyvania farm cis in mid-February for meat ani mals played a contributing role in a higher index of prices re ceived on the farm, the State De partment of Agriculture reported today. The Pennsyvania Crop Report ing Service said a one point in crease in the mid-February price index over the same date a month, earlier placed the overall farm index at 255 per cent of the 1910- 14 base level. Last month’s index was 12 points above a year ago. According to a statewide sur vey, Pennsylvania farmers m mid- I'cbruary averaged $l.lO more per hundred pounds hveweight for beef cattle than a month earli er, 70 cents hundredweight more for hogs; 90 cents per hun dredweight more for lambs and SI per hundredweight more for calves. Farm chickens were up Quarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday, March 14, 1958 were 17 infected herds of the 1,351 tested in the county. Testing was begun in Cumber land county in early 1957 and (completed in November. Testing in Lancaster county was completed only recently. It was m Bradford county that vet ennarians took to sleighs to make their rounds during the (heavy snowstorm The banquet will be attended by representatives of the States livestock industry, including far mer members of county brucello sis committees J. Lewis Williams Umontown, is president of the state committee. William D. Knox, editor of Hoard’s Dairyman, will be the principal speaker Next on the brucellosis agenda is the certification of the state swine herds. It is now being car ried on voluntarily. ca’ves, 26 in hogs, and 43 in sheep and lambs. The big market for cattle was Chicago with 2,365,97 head being received. Omaha was second with 1,901,606 head. South St. Paul, Minn., was the largest calf market. A total of 486,070 calves was received dur ing 1957. Milwaukee was second with 353,167 head. National Stock Yards (East St Louis), 111, retained its lead in the hog receipts. More than three million head of hogs were re ceived during the last year. Sur prisingly enough, South St. Paul was second with 2.5 million head and Indianapolis and Chicago were third and fourth. Most sheep and lambs were re ceived at Denver, with a year’s to tal of 865,369 head. Ft. Worth and Omaha were nearly tied with the former totalling 658,123 head and the later 642,585. Lancaster has been the leading market in the East for a number of year. one cent and broilers advanced one-half cent a pound Lower prices were received in mid-February for corn, rye, soy beans, hay, turkeys, eggs and wool. The most significant de crease was noted in eggs which dropped more than two cents a dozen from a month earlier. There was no change in the average price received for wholesale milk at $5.20 per hundred pounds. Nationally, the farm price index was five points above the mid- January period and 18 points higher than mid-February of 1957. Primarily responsible for the na tional index boost were higher prices for meat animals, potatoes, oranges and snap beans. Pennsylvania farmers In mid- February paid virtually the same price for gram feeds as they did in mid-January. Baled alfalfa hay at $42.5 a ton was up one dollar a ton from mid-January- Lancaster C of C Seeks To Improve Ag Relations ASSGNED THE TASK of making recommendations to the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce for a renovated farm program are these four men They are, left to right, John E. McGrann, Lancaster; L H Brubaker, Lancaster; Robert E. Best, Lancaster; and Walter Dunlap, Jr., Lancaster. (LF Photo) Declining Farm Population Means Less Support, Dairymen Told The declining farm population is resulting in a shift in legisla tive support for agriculture, ac cording to Dr. James Honan, as sistant general manager of In ter-State Milk Producers Coop erative His remarks were heard Tues day night at the annual meeting of District Seven of the coopera tive held at the Leola Memorial Building. The shift of legislative support means that farmer cooperatives will have to do more of the work of marketing farm products This in turn means that the co operatives will have to have greater strength and support for their memberships, 'he remarked. Honan also predicted a some what greater surplus of milk in the coming year. Dealers have not begun asking for milk quotas Southeastern Pennsylvania Fanners May Sell Twin Calves to USDA Scientists of the U S Depart ment of Agriculture want to buy several pairs of identical-twin calves of beef type for nutrition and breeding studies at the USDA Agricultural Research . Center, Eeltsville, Md. They are looking for purebred, grade, or crossbred animals less than five months old, born after Dec. 1, 1957, and prior to June 1, 1958. Both heifers and bulls are needed. To keep .shipping costs down, the animals are being sought within a radius of about 250 miles from Washington, D.C. It is hoped that the calves needed can be found in Maryland, West Vir ginia, and southeastern Pennsyl vania. on their purchases, he said The surplus means only that some milk will be slightly “more dif ficult to sell.” Two 25-year membership awards were presented. Receiv ing them were Mrs Ida B. Worst, Gap, and Ira B Mast, R 2 Gap B Snavely Garber, R 1 Wil low Street, presented the awards Some 30d members attended the dinner Also on the program was James Martin, R 2 Denver, winner of the FFA Region 1 speech con test The title of his speech was “Tomorrow Together.” He stress ed the importance of farm co operatives in efficient and profit able production County Agent Max Smith gave some hints on the control of weeds in spring pasture and m pushing pasture for earlier spring growth Producers willing to sell twin calves that meet the USDA speci fications should write to E. J War wick, Acting Chief, Beef Cattle Research Branch, Animal Hus bandry Research Division, Belts vfile, Md. An inspector will be sent to check the calves before purchase. Identical-twin calves are rare. Developed from a single cell, they are always of the same sex, look \ ery much alike, and react in much the same way. Characteris tic markings may be repeated on the same or opposite sides of the two animals—where right and left side markings are reversed, the lesemblance is described as a “mirror likeness.” S 2 Per Year Ideas to Be Sought by 4 Man Group As a part of the Chamber of Commerce develpoment progarro bemg carried on the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, a general overhaul of the agricultural in terests and programs of the Chamber is bemg considered. In the first ot a senes of meet ings held Tuesday at the Bruns wick in Lancaster, a task force w c .<’ appointed to study changes in the agricultural pxograms. The committee was charged with finding answeis to these three questions One: Do you believe that the program of activities of the Chamber should be strengthened in the area of agriculture 9 Two. What are the principal agricultural agencies, including youth groups with which the Chamber should maintain some form of cooperative relationship? Three: Are there any special events of concern to agricultural interests in which you believe the Cnamber should participate or of fer cooperation 9 According to Tom Carroll of the public relations firm of Harry Krusz and Co, Lincoln, Neb., which is assisting the Chamber in its development program, city lines and township bounds do not exist for a Chamber in a city such as Lancaster. One reason is that the metro politan population of Lancaster is chiefly outside the city limits, rather than inside as is the case vith most cities. He feels, then, that the Cham ber of Commerce of Lancaster probably should be as much con cerned with events in the county as m the city. Other Chambers of Commerce in cities in large agricultural areas usually have at least one farmer member of the board. The Chamber cooperates in such pro jects as Farm-City Week, Na tional 4-H and FFA weeks, in the promotions of county or local fairs and farm shows, and m giv ing recognition to outstanding agricultural activities A study by the Kunsz organiza tion says, “The Lancaster Cham ber’s agricultural program is not extensive although the commun ity is in the heart of one of the greatest agricultural areas in the United States. A number of the service clubs conduct certain agricultural activities. The Cham ber maintains friendly liaison with an excellent County Agent. Considering the location of the community, it would seem this program would need strengthen ing ” And in the proposed program, for improvement of Chamber ac tivities, greater attention to agri cultural problems is given prior ity just after downtown develop ment and improved transporta tion. Lester Brubaker, 350 Strasburg Pike, Lancaster, is chairman of the fact finding and recommend ing committee Other members rre Robert E. Best, editor of Lan- (Continued on page 13)
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