VOT, 4. No. 4
NO BREAK in conversation on conservation was permitted during a coffee-break
at the Ephrata Conservation meeting. In the left foreground, Amos Funk, president
of Lancaster County Soil and Water Conservation District, shares in refreshments,
while answering questions of some of the farmers present for the meet. Eight new
cooperators have signed up for conservation practices on their farms as a result of
this meeting. —LF PHOTO
Milk Contol Comm. Puts 25-Cent
Rate Top on Bulk Milk Hauling
The Pennsylvania Milk
Control Commission has im
posed new regulations to pre
vent dealers from overchar
ging dairymen for hauling
milk from farm bulk storage
tanks.
The commission ruled deal
ers may not charge more
than 25 cents per hundred
weight (46 Vz qts ) for milk
by the dealers from
farm to the dealers’ plants.
The commission also froze
charges currently in effect
and below the 25-cent limit.
State dairymen have com
Winter Short Courses
Offered By Penn State
Several agricultural short
courses which will be of in
terest to many persons en
gaged in farming related
work will be offered by the
-Pennsylvania State Universi
ty this winter. These courses
which will all be given, bn
the Penn State Campus at
University Paik will be tau
ght by faculty of the College
of Agriculture.
. The College has announ
ced that enrollments are now
being accepted in the follow
ing courses.
Dec. 8-10 Farm Income Tax
and Social Security
Jan. 5-10 Testing Milk and
Cream
For Fruit Growers
Pruning Field Day Near
W. Chester on Wed.
A meeting for the discussion and demonstration of
pruning methods for apple, peach and cherry, trees is sch
eduled at 1:15 p.m., Wednesday at the Fairhope Orchard,
Tanguy, Chester County.
'The event is a Chester County Extension Service Field
Day, in cooperation with
Robert Balderston, owner of
the orchard, Cheter County
Agent Robert A. Powers and
Penn State University.
Carl'S. Bittner, PSU ex
tension fruit specialist, will
conduct the demofistration
and answer questions for or
chardists in attendance.
Powers reports this or
chard has been the site of
similar pruning demonstra
tions over the past three
plained that dealers encour
aged them to switch from the
old-style .milk-can system to
the newer bulk tanks, then
arbitrarily raised hauling ra
tes without due cause of even
explaining (their actions.
Dealer's who seek to raise
their hauling rates to the cel
ling in the future, must fur
n’sh “evidence that the ser
vices rendered, the conditi
ons under which the trans
portation is affected and the
costs incurred by the dealer
transporting milk on the par
ticular route warrent addit
ional deductions.”
Jan. 12-24 Ice Cream Mak
ing Course for Plant Men
Jan. 21-23 Rural Electrifica
tion
Jan 26 to Feb. 7 Market
Milk
Feb 2-7 DH.I.A. Supervis
or Training
Feb. 2-27 Dairy Farming
Feb 16-18 Grassland Farm
ing
March 2-4 Beef Cattle Herd
smen
March 16-20 Lumber Grad
ing
March 23-27 Dairy Herds
men
April 27 to May 1 Bulk Milk
Tank Weighers and Samp
lers.
years and growers will be
able to observe results of
past pruning practices.
Plans for a late winter
meeting with Dr. Bittner on
small fruit culture, including
strawberries, raspberries and
blueberries will be announc
ed at a late date.
The Fairhope Orchard is
located four miles southeast
of West Chester at the inter
section of routes 926 and
352.
Lancaster, Pa., Saturday, December 6, 1958
Farm Calendar
Dec. 6—County 4-H play,
Manheim Twp. elementary
school auditorium, 8 pm.
Dec. B—7 pm., Wash. Boro
Fire Hall. Tomato Meeting
Penn State specialists will
appear. Open to all.
Dee. 9 —26th Annual meeting
of "'Producers - Co-op Ex
change, Coatesville, Guern
sey Pavillion, 7.45 pm.
Dec. -10—4-H Guernsey Club
Christmas Party. Time and
Place undecided.
Dec. 10 6:30 p.m. Lan. Co.
Farm Equip. Dealers Assoc,
dinner, Hosletters, Mount
Joy.
Dec. 11 7:30 pm. Dairy
meeting, Q-ville fire hall,
Millport Roller Mills, spon
sor.
Dec. 11—4-H Holstein Christ
mas Party, George Rutt
home, Stevens HI.
Dec. 15—4-H Council Christ
mas Party, Betty Umble
home, 2350 Old Philadel
phia Pike, Lancaster.
Price Index Climbs
State Crop Round-Up
Harrisburg, Dec. s—The index of prices received by
Pennsylvania farmers in mid-Novmber for all their prod
ucts climbed three points from a month earlier, the State
Department of Agriculture announced today.
Group' indexes for both crops and livestock rose three
points in the 30-day period, the Pennsylvania Crop Report
ing Service said in its monthly survey.
The dairy products index,
which exerts the greatest in
fluence in the all-commodity
index, increased three points
because of the higher price
The Crop Reporting Ser
vice said the index for all
farm products stood at 241
on Nov. 15, seven points un
der the same date last year.
An index of 100 is equal to
the 1910-14 base price peri
od.
The increase in the crops
index was attributed to high
er prices received for pota
toes and apples as well as
slight gains in barley, rye
and hay prices.
Crops which suffered price
losses were com, down 26
cents from the previous
month, and soybeans 15 cents
less. These decreases result
ed from new crops of com
and soybeans on the market.
Increase in the livestock
index was the result of high-
County Meetings Draw
New SCD Cooperators
Lancaster County Soil Conservation District officials
are expressing hopes of expanded programs in two county
areas during the coming year following a pair of meetings
last month.
'Martin Muth, Soil Conservation Service work unit
conservationist, reports a number of requests for assistance
affable for those farmers
when they are vis’ted by peo
ple from the SCS office ”
“From the Ephrata meet
ing, we have signed up six
or eight moore cooperators.
This was a meeting organi
zed by Elmer Sensenig, SCD
board member, and there
were about 20 present, in
cluding several practicing
conservationists.”
“The basic purposes behind
both meetings were the
same ”
“The district wishes to
encourage more farmers to
cooperate in their efforts to
control soil and water loss
through halting erosion ”
The SCS is striving to ac
quaint the farmers with ser
vices provided to aid them in
building their farm programs
through conservation.”
Extension Tomato Meet
Set for Monday Night
'Harry Sloat, associate Lan
caster county agent, has an
nounced a special Extension
Service meetig Monday eve
ning at 7 pm in the Wash
ington Boro Fire Hall for dis
cussion of tomato culture.
Sloat urges all county farm
ers’ who are interested in
high-quality, early maturing
tomato varieties, with high
yields, ~crack resistance and
a high percentage of No 1
fruit, to attend this session.
Dr. B. L. Pollack, Penn
State vegetable researcher,
will discuss results of the re
plicated-variety test plots
grown on the Henry Heisey
farm last summer. Also, Uni
versity research results will
be presented.
J. Or Dult, extension vege-
er prices received for milk,
while price gains for beef
cattle and cows were offset
by lower prices for hogs
The index of prices receiv
ed for fruit jumped 24 points
to 281 because of higher pri
ces received for apples. The
vegetables index rose 13
points because, of higher
prices received for potatoes
in mid-November.
Potato prices rose from
$1 70 to $2 00 per hundred
weight in the 30-day period
but the Department learned
that the price dropped back
to $1 70 on December 1, pri
marily because of large ship-
ments of spuds into the Com
monwealth from nearby
States.
Nationally, the index of
prices deceived by farmers
dropped 4 tenths of 1 per
cent during the 30-day peri
od to 251 per cent of the
1910-14 average.
$2 Per Year
in making studies of conser
vation needs and prospects
on farms m the Lititz and
Ephrata communities as a
result of the meetings.
The meeting in Lititz was
sponsored by the Conestoga
Valley Association, Lititz
borough and the District.
“Basic purpose of this me
eting,” Muth reports, “was
to stir interest in erosion con-
trol in the watershed which
runs through Lititz There)
were 45 of the 52 farmers m
the watershed present at the
meeting ”
“So far, 18 of those pre
sent have asked for a con
servationist to come and lo
ok over their arms. The dis
trict had a map of the water
shed for their inspection,
which really drew the atten
tion We plan to have it av-
table gardening specialist,
will discuss- results of to
mato fertiliation, culture and
growing of tomatoes for ear
ly market.
Sloat reminded tomato
growers that plans for next
year’s crop should be in the
works now, and attendance
at this meeting would aid
greatly in making those plana
With increasing growing cos
ts, more competition from
other areas and consumer
pressure for quality; efficient
production of quality fruit
Will make the most satisfac
tory return.
Paes New Head
For County
Ayershire Assn.
Strasburg F;re Hall hosted
the Lancaster County Ayre
shire Breeders’ 1958 banquet
and meeting last Friday, as
the local purebred group met
with around 50 members and
guests in attendance.
John Paes, Strasburg RDI,
was elected to succeed Roy
Boutwell, Elizabethtown, as
assoc l ation president Bout
well was then voted in as
secretary-treasurer of the or
ganization.
Alice Mentzer, New Hol
land, was elected vice-presi
dent, with Leon Kreider, of
Quarryville, and Noah Wen
ger, Manheim RD 3, being
voted in as directors
Eli N. Martin, Stevens,
was named Ayreshire dele
gate for the Red Rose Daily
Herd Improvement Associa
tion, and David Haimsh, of
Quarry ville, became state dir
ector
Boutwell was named to
head a - 'committee to organ
ize the breed association's
spring sale in Lancaster Coun
unty.
A trio of awards for bre
ed championships at 1958
county fairs were presented
to: Paes, Lampeter Commu
nity fair; James Espenshade,
Q-ville, Solanco fair, and Ab
ram Flory, Manheim fair.