State Potato Growers Report
Excellent Results Achieved From First Potato
An experiment on supplying its regular customers on a
year-round basis was tried with success this spring and sum
mer by the Pennsylvania Co-operative Potato Growers As
sociation from its headquarters office in Harrisburg.
Owen L. Barkley, general manager for the co-op, re
viewed the changing pattern in the marketing of potatoes
as a feature of the first annual “Potato Day at Potato City”
for members of the association on August 13.
In other years, Barkley standing display being an es
explained, regular Blue La- tablished new variety with
bel buyers had to find their especially high chipping
own supplies during summer qualities.
months at added cost and
loss of time and effort.
When Pennsylvania potato
supplies became exhausted in
April, Barkley responded to
pleas of several of the co-op’s
best customers and began lo
cating and arranging for de
livery of quality spuds from
other areas.
“So far, the experiment
has proven beneficial to the
trade and to the growers of
other areas,” Barkley told
nearly 200 Pennsylvania po
tato co-op members at their
mid-summer rally in the 34-
room modern Potato City
Hotel in Potter County.
“We kept supplies going
to nearly 100 retail distrib
utors They were not re
quired to find their own sup
plies and we had a ready
made market operation.
It was just a matter of de
livery and through this add-
ed service we were able to
render a continuing service
to our Blue Label buyers ”
In summarizing the grow
er discussion o n current
problems of the industry,
with emphasis on marketing,
Dr E L Nixon, the associa
tion's adviser and known for
more than a generation as
“Mr Pennsylvania Potato,”
in support ot the small or
family size farm operation.
declared
“Small farmers will be
squeezed out of the picture
farmers themselves
unless
are able to set their own pri
ces for products before they
leave the farmyard gate ”
“Doc” Nixon’s potato
breeding experiments on the
Potato City farm attracted
much attention He showed
results of many years of
ci oss breeding, the most out-
Lawn Rakes, 24 in
Lawn Grass
Lawn Fertilizer
25 lb SI 40
Roof Paint $1 10 $2 60
Roof Cement 25c-45c-$l 20
Red Oxide Paint
$2 50 - $ll 75
Barbed Wire, 4 pt $10.45
32 inch Cattle Wuo $29 60
26 inch Hog Wire
$2B 30 - $36 50
Poultry Wire, 1 in mesh
$9 45 up
$4 60 up
$1 25
2 in mesh
Harness Oil
Prices subject to change
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947 Harrisburg Pike Ph. Lane. EX 4-7715
Willis H. Weaver, Mgr.
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The asjociation’s president,
Leland W. Nixon, comment
ed on the fact that, as in oth
er states, Pennsylvania com
mercial potato growers have
been shrinking in numbers,
acreage and production fail
to show as great a decline
and Pennsylvania Co-operat
ive Potato Growers, Inc., “is
stronger than ever.”
The meeting heard reports
on 1959 potato crop condi
tion and outlook for Penn
sylvania, Long Island, Up
state New York and Ohio.
A good production year is
in prospect in the Keystone
Sta e, Barkley reported
At 46,000, the acreage is
down six per cent from last
5 ear and the USDA August
11 estimate was for a Fall
crop of 7,157,000 hundred
weight compared with the
revised total of 7,822,000
cwt in 1958.
Some areas had good rains
■while others not enough
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GREEN SAND AND
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THIS FALL.
Available in bags or
spread on fields.
BROOKLAWN FARM
118 Kreider Avenue
Lane. LO 9-1580
MERVIN McMICHAEL
Millersville
Ph. TR 2-4377
2 gal Artex motor oil
SEA -20—30 $1 38
Rabbit Pellets $5 15
SI 95
80c
Alt Dog meal
Prance Dog food
Horse feed
Roofing
Roofing nails
Wire nails
Staples
Poultry" Wire
Staples
20 % Hog feed
15% Hog feed
Special chop
16% Dairy
which made conditions in
general rather spotty over
the state. Quality is general
ly very good and harvesting
of late summer potatoes star
ted two or three weeks earl
ier than usual, in line with
the earlier planting that was
possible in most parts of the
state.
Barkley cautioned against
the possibilities of depressed
markets channeling more po
tatoes into processing plants
at low prices and the effect
on the Pennsylvania growers
should diversion programs
be in operation in the larger
producing areas of the Unit
ed States.
“Generally.” he said, “the
outlook m Pennsylvania is
more favorable than last
year. At present there are no
indications of a glutted mar
ket such as occurred in ’58.”
On marketing, the co-op
manager stressed the need
for growers developing an
active interest in their pro
duct after it leaves the farm.
“We need to create a busi
ness concept that will carry
clear through to the market
place. We cannot cut on
costs' of production and prof
its must come from the other
end ”
Conditions and outlook in
the Long Is 1 and potato grow
ing area were described by
Robert . Wheeler, manager,
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$8 25
$4 00
$1.95 up
20c lb
15c lb
18c lb,
18c lb.
$4 30
$3 90
$3 30
$3 40
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6 —Lancaster Tagging, Saturday, August 29, ig.
Suffolk Co-operative G L.F.
Service, Inc., Riverhead.
He said digging started
“two weeks too early” and
50% of the Cobblers had
moved off the Island. It was
probably the wettest season
ever experienced with more
than 20 inches of
causing some damage to tu
bers. Yields will not be" up
to average or last year.
H. J. “Red” Evans, George
town, New York, said the
Upstate New York acreage is
down, about equal to Penn
sylvania’s total.
He expects a lighter crop
than normal due to very
dry conditions in some im
portant areas with spotty
rains in other sections. Dig
ging started two to three
weeks earlier than usual.
A. J. Troyer, a Sfnith
ville, Ohio farm machine
manufacturer, who is famili
ar with conditions there, said
the outlook _was favorab’e
Growers had an inch of rain
per week tor six weeks. The
acreage is about the same as
last year. Digging is expect
ed to start Sept 10 or 15.
The “Potato Day at Pota
to City” program was new
this year for Pennsylvania
growers, replacing the field
days of other years. It was a
co-op member affair featur
ing the timely meeting of
growers and a number of en-
balanced, ftetulti cow* get more nourishment ,
feed . . . milk production utayi high and cow
it maintained over the tong runl
ir FEEDING DRY COWS Dry cows ore M*
the extra vitamin* and mineral* needed to bin
unborn calf and replenljh the covet' bodiei
eow* fed on Ihi* program will produce i
mere milk during the next leetofion p»rl»d.
yew dairy feeding , , . «eo ee tedeyl
tertainment f eat
ing a mixer,
watermelon “ Cllt ,,
before. Ut
The first state,
Pancake Race"
Pennsylvania Wa ,
outstanding f ea ,.
Thursday morning
Ten housewives
at the starting .
equipped with a
cake baked over
of the Duncan '
ed Potato City
10-inch skillet
Running over
course each woi,
quired to “flip” ‘ h(
on a complete t v
starting, twice
race and again at
line.
The winnei and
until next year
Miriam Stern,
Clinton County,
ceived the “go\
and 15 silver doll
the co-op
In potato picku.
the wixmer of the
ision was Arnold
Chester County i n
en’s picking race
was Mrs Ruth
high Couruy Wim
men’s contest \ v
Stern, Clinton Coi
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