4^ancaster,,F*rming ,Eebcuary.29,jl964 From Where We Stand. To Merge Or Within the past week and a half we have seen the merging of four farmer cooperatives into two huge organiza tions. One is a service cooperative while the other one is a purchasing coopera tive, but both are now big enterprizes. Last week members of the Eastern States Farmers Exchange and Grange League Federation voted to combine operations into one of the largest farm er-owned businesses in the United States. It will-be known as Agway, Inc. During the same time, and early this week, members of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Artificial Breeders Co operative voted to merge their assets and services with Western Pennsylvania Artificial Breeders -Cooperative. That organization is in the process of voting at district meetings, and preliminary counts indicate that the merger will be approved. If the merger takes place, business will be carried on under the name of Atlantic Breeders Cooperative. Furthermore, it was learned that the Central Pennsylvania counterpart of the other two breeding co-ops has put out feelers that indicate a further merger is not too far away. And while negotiations seem to be stalled at the moment, we understand that the merger of another feed com pany with the Agway co-op may still be in the works These two developments seem to be a continuation of the trend toward “the big get bigger and the little get squeez ed out’’ situation in so much of the economic community of this country We do not mean to condemn either of the mergers If better service can be rendered, or if it can be rendered cheap er, we are for the mergers However, bigness in itself is no guarantee of success Unless the manage ment grows in stature with the size of the business, the service can not con tinue to improve As cooperatives grow larger, they will be in more fierce competition with other businesses, and competition can either make an organization stronger or kill it completely. We remember a time, long, long ago, when we went crying to Mother after being tramped on in a football game, we didn’t get the kind of con solation we expected She said, “If you are going to play with the big boys, you have to expect to get hurt a little ” But she didn’t tell us to stop play ing with the big boys She knew that a few cuts and bruises are a necessary part of growing up It may be that farmer cooperatives are growing up It may be that the next few years will see some of the roughest play the cooperatives have ever been in, but those that survive may well be- • Interstate and tliu!v holdups that follow- apait” “While we aie not in (Continued tiom Page 1) e(i a foopeiatue fight m New Utopia,” he said, “We are the 'Uilk Bai gaming Cooperatise Jeisev- “You don’t want that obiect of envy in many parts does not need menVbeishio, but m nc aster County, he said ol the land is makiii"- the laids because ol Robert 'McKinley, Piesulent District dnectoi B Snavely ill feeling caused b> Inter- ol Dan l Council, Inc , told the Garber presented 25 year pins .state’s withdiawal Horn the " lou l ) - "dairy is fighting toi to 13 members Melvin Stoltz .igenc> last year its llfe ” the face of com- tus made the delegate’s re sile said Interstate with P'’ t,tlon - “ares, go-vernment poit on the annual meeting d.ew because telt thev Patei nahsmi, bad publicity, and District president, Melvin Bren tonld lepieseirt their mem- others who would tear us dle chalied the beis in the .Vow Voik nnlk shed as well as, or bettei than, .Metropolitan He said he fears that the competition between coopera tives would contuse farmers causing them to withdraw fiotn all cooperatives and be without i (‘presentation in the tnaiket iilac e ‘ Don't let co-opticide come to Lancaster Counlj.” he said “Vou have not lived long rnoiicrh to sec what , in go on w nen < oopei atnes gel them hcs into <c fight ” He told of barn hniiiuiKs • • Not To Merge come the guideposts of the industry. Businesses of all kinds are growing bigger. Private companies that sell to the farmer and service his equipment, and companies that purchase the farm er’s products are growing larger. Man agement (called power by those* who fear bigness) is being centralized in few er and fewer hands. For this very reason we believe the co-op mergers may serve a good, pur pose. We believe that it is better to see this “power” in a farmer-owned and operated business than in a business whose only interest in farming as the cash which comes from the farm. Untold numbers of farmer coopera tives have been formed and most of them have folded. Most of them were formed to serve a good purpose. Those which did not serve the purpose soon died a merciful death. Others died be cause they fulfilled their service and outlived their usefulness, but many others died because they were poorly managed or because they were organiz ed to do a job that did not need to be done We believe a farmer cooperative can serve a useful purpose, but when it no longer does what it was organized to do, we believe it should be discontinu ed If it continues to do the job, and do it well, it deserves the support of all members in good times as well as bad A cooperative big or small can not survive without such support At least that’s how it looks from where we stand The old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” seems to apply to Lancaster County. For too many years, county farm ers have relied on tobacco as practically the only cash crop. Now there is a frantic scramble to find a crop to replace tobacco which is becoming less and less “cash”. At a meeting this week, John Yo cum, Superintendent of the Southeast ern Pennsylvania Field Research Lab oratory near Landisville, reported on work with several new crops which may or may not have economic possibilities. After the meeting we heard one comment, “Most of that sounded way, way out ” Well, perhaps it was, but so what’ If anyone of the new crops could be used to take up the slack in an industry in trouble, we believe it is not too far out We believe it is not too early to ex plore any and all possibilities for an economic replacement for a sick cash crop. At least that’s how it looks from where we stand. Lancaster Farming jack Owen, Editor Lancaster County’s Own Farm Robert G. Campbell, Weekly P O Box 1524 Established November 4, Lancaster, Penna. _ , , , , P O Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. 1955 ’ flashed every Satur day by Lancaster-Faming, Lit- O dices; 22 E Mam St, Lititz, Pa. phone - Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 62G-2191 ★ ★ ★ At Least* Look Advertising Director itz. Pa, Entered as 2nd class matter at Lititz, Pa. under Act of March 8, 1879, * ' > *• uA\'v' A t l W Z ‘ 1 Suafty UM.n» \ E Head of the House Lesson for Starch 1, 1964 Baclcfround Scripture: Luke 10 3S-42; John 11; 1 through 13:11. Devotional. Beaibiijr; John II :I>ls. A PICTURE-MOTTO often seen, though it is many years old by now,-starts this way: “CHRIST IS THE HEAD OF- THIS HOUSE.” It usually shows a pic ture of Christ, but such pictures are the woik of imagination. 'What is not imagination is the motto, that is, when the household lives up to it. With the help of the Gos pels, let us see what it can mean to say truly, Christ is the head of this house, Dr. Foreman your house. In the Gospels Luke and John we are given glimpses of a home where Jesus was really the head of the household, even though that expression itself is never used. It was the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Seeing things his way That Jesus was the head of that household, that family group, does not mean that he interfered with their woik or their arrange ments We all dislike meddleis, and Jesus was not a meddler He would lean over backwards, so to speak, to keep from being one. When they had him to dinner, you remember, Martha got quite tned and cross working hard over the dinner. Jesus (had he been inclined to take over lunning the house) might have ordered Mar tha to put out tire kitchen fire and let them eat sandwiches for once. He might have demanded that she sit beside Mary and listen while he talked But he let them each do it her way, he did not put in his oar till the right minute. And when he did, it was in the most tactful and affectionate way possible He didn’t say Martha was wrong. What he said was that she was “anxious and txoubled”—unhap py, in short. He didn’t say Maiy Now Is The Time . .. sumimer, it is possible for some of the atrii- MAX SMITH zme* weed spnaj to remain m the topfeoU and nijuie the germination of the oats. Pioirln* will hel'p to eliminate this danger Oats ground should b* plowed and prepaied as early as weather conditions wild per* nnt. To Attend Dairy Day Program All Lancaster County dairy men are urged to be present at the annual Dairy Day Pro gram; this event is scheduled for Tuesday, March lOhh at the Guernsey Sale Pavilion. We have heen interested m this program for the past 12 years and recommend it as one of the most worthwhile days spent away from home for the dairy man The speakers will disteulss current trends and pi obi ©ms and will have something bene ficial for everyone. All dairy men are welcome, , ’was .betteMhkn MirfftS, - simply that -she had chosei, "good portion,” the "better p„ He was inviting Martha to l 0 t ) at things his way. Ten days, to years, half a lifetime alter tha dinner, Mary would remembe what Jesus had been raying, bu who would remember what th& had to eat? A glowing trui thought often remembered fa worth far more than, the fines foods perfectly served. See It mj way, Jesus said. ra E M His way ofdalng This was not the only occasloi Jesus worked with some*membei of the family to see things m he saw them. But consider an other point Jesus had his owi way of doing things, and be wai not being conceited when hi urged others,to do likewise. Taki the incident John tells of thii Mary’s pouring out upon Jesui an expensive box of perfume What a waste! Some of the men said. But Jesus did' not think it a waste. He himself was often known to do the same thing,— waste a great deal that was pre cious, out of sheer love. He told his disciples many things that they never remembered. He mads many a plea for understanding and support that fell on deaf ears. In time of death and sorrow It is particularly remarkable how Jesus dealt with the great trial and tragedy in that home. Don’t most of us feel awkward, embarrassed and silent in the time when death and great grief come to those we love? Jesus cer tainly did not talk to Martha and Mary, after Lazarus died, as if death were not real. He did not try to distract their attention by trite remarks—we all have to die sometime, we must re member what a good man Lazarus was, and all that. What Jesus did was to say m effect: “Think of Me. I am the Life.” He brought comfort by bringing—himself. Now maybe we can see a little better what it means to say “Christ is the head of this house.” A home where he is welcomed, ip spirit, every day; a home where every .one in it comes mare ancf more to see things Ms T?ay- and to do things as he would dd them; the home where “Love thy self last” is ( the daily rule; and above all, the home where in time of crisis and gnef, and even in the hour of death, Christ comes foremost in the mind, —this is the home where he is truly the head. (Based on outlines copyrighted bj the Division -of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ In the U. S, A. Released by Community Brest Service.) BY MAX SMITH To Plan for Early Pasture' Livestock producers that are a Wt short on. hay and silage supplies might consider the application of 50 pounds of actual nitro gen per acie on winter gram or straight grass pastures This extra shot oi nitrogen will force the grass to grow taster and make ii possible to graze the animals 10 days to two weeks early Permanent grass pastures should respond w ell to this treatment. To Plow AU’iyjLne-ti'ca.ted Coin Ground ■Growers of spring oats are urged t* plow their corn stalk ground instead oi disc ing. Due to the growth conditions of liafsH To Discard , Hybrid Tobacco Seecte Growers of Pennbel or Penn,- leaf hybrid toibiswtoo last se&soi should not attempt to keegp any of the seeds for this yearli crop. Since these two varieties are hybrids, the second-yew seeds will not hold true ta character and will produlce a* inferior tobacco plant. New, certified seeds should be pur chased jin i these ;<v«rist<n(B* : >
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers