4 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 31. 1966
From Where We Stand,..
Congratulations To A
Master Farmer!
We heartily applaud the recent
selection of Amos H. Funk, Millersville
R 1 vegetable grower, as one of this
year's six Pennsylvania Master Farmers.
He will receive this honor during Farm
Show Week, at Harrisburg.
Amos’ unselfish contributions of
time and energy in serving statewide,
as well as local, agricultural causes are
well known. We can think of no more
worthy a Lancaster County farmer to
receive this recognition.
Amos Funk is one of the new breed
of business-minded farmers for which
Lancaster County is becoming known.
He has applied imagination and hard
w'ork in building one of the county’s
outstanding farm businesses, and has
still found time to unceasingly serve
his community.
Our congratulations to a Master
Farmer and “Master Citizen”!
Tox Land According To Use,
Not Location
We hope that 1967 will finally be
the year to bring tax equality to Penn
sylvania farmers In the face of con
tinually upward spiraling land values,
especially in such counties as Lancaster
with its increasing urban sprawl, taxing
land according to use not site is
the only salvation for farming.
This might seem to be an impossible
line to sell to the city dwellfer, but, for
a variety of reasons, they’re buying it
in mafty neighboring states.
Last year, the Pennsylvania Farm
ers’ Association proposed a constitution
al amendment which was introduced in
the legislature with bipartisan support.
It failed to pass. It was patterned after
similar- farmland tax relief legislation
which.' hqs become law J -in Maryland,
New Jersey and Connecticut.
Maryland, which pioneered this idea
in the 1950’5, assesses farmland accord
ing to its value for farming, instead of
its subdivision value That law has
helped keep farming an important in
dustry in Maryland. It had one weak
ness, however, which later New Jersey
and Connecticut laws avoided it
neglected to properly define a farm.
This led to confusion among tax assess
ors, and to many needless court cases:
New Jersey’s law spells out the
definition sharply, only actual acreage
under agricultural or horticultural use
qualifies, and five acres is the minimum
farm size, the land must gross an aver
age of at least $5OO a year, and it must
meet these requirements two successive
years before applying, finally, a farmer
must reapply for farmland assessment
every year
The savings to farmers from such
a tax break are readily apparent, but
what’s in it for the suburban and city
folks 9
PFA cited five advantages which
caused voters in Maryland, New Jersey,
and Connecticut to favor such legisla
tion
1 It would promote rural-urban
• Futures Trading
("Continued from Page 11
Futures tiadmg was most
active m soybeans, coin and
wheat The volume of trading
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’* Own Tar'-a
Weekly
P O Box 2GC - Bitit?, Pi 1 754’i
Ol lit. 22 10 Hun St ,
T.itit/, Pa 17543
Phone JO incaster 314-2047 or
Bill U C2G-2111
Don Timmons, Kditor
Eobcit r, Campbell, Advertising
I hi<itor
Bnb-t option puce- f 2 per \ eat in
Bimister County; $3 elsewhere
Established Xoiember 4, 19 "7
I’tiblishf d even Satunlai bj
I-.inc ister Fanning, Idlin'. Pa
S-fimd Cli=s Postage paid at
Litiu, P*. 17543
balance "by keeping some farmland
throughout the state.
2—lt would guarantee a supply of
fresh products by making it possible for
local farmers to meet local demands.
3 It would preserve the state’s
agricultural-agribusiness industry
this is the second largest industry in
Pennsylvania.
4 It would preserve the recrea
tional advantages, especially for sports
men, and
5 Above all, it would conserve
open space.
Such preferential tax treatment
might appear to put local communities
at a financial disadvantage, and unduly
burden non-farm tax payers. Neither
is the case apparently, according to a
recent article in Farm Journal.
In an eight-county area of Mary
land, the magazine found, farmland as
sessment cost each of the area’s 2.6 mil
lion people about $l.BO. This tax load
would have been considerably heavier
if farms had been allowed to go into
subdivisions.
Most of the farmland assessment
laws enable local governments to gam
lump sums of property tax income when
the land finally sells for development.
How much in actual savings could
such a law mean to Lancaster County
farmers? The article cites one New
Jersey fruit farmer who, prior to the
limited valuation law, had part of his
land assessed at $16,000 per acre The
new law puts a farmland value limit of
$4BO per acre, and this farmer now pays
an average of $lO per acre in taxes.
Some difference, huh?
When this amendment again comes
up for consideration and the climate
in Harrisburg seems more favorable in
the coming session than in the last
we urge you to lend it your complete
support.
<33
More Net- Profit For Farmers In '67?
Although it’s generally safest to
take one year at a time (and even that’s
risky unless one is talking about the
past year), the economic outlook for
agriculture in the next few years looks
good. Many “experts” expect a continu
ed improvement in farm income, ex
panding domestic- and foreign markets,
and a- considerable increase in total
farm output.
Rising production costs will tend
to temper this bright outlook some
what, resulting in a slightly lower net
farm income than the $l6 billion that
farmers shared this year.
However, farmers with inadequate
size businesses and insufficient capital
and management capacity will continue
to take employment in off-farm jobs.
This wilt enable farmers with better
than average production capabilities to
expand their businesses and increase
their efficiency. It will also leave fewer
farmers to share in the net farm in
come for 1967. So, although USDA pre
dicts a five percent reduction in that
net figure, it may average, nearly the
same as in 1966 on a per>farm basis.
in corn was at an alltime rec
ord of over 10 billion bushels;
wheat with trading volume of
71 billion bushels was at the
highest level since 1937; and
soybeans at 16 5 billion bush
els was under last year’s rec
ord total, but was the second
highest on record.
Other commodities with rec
ord trading volume included
soybean meal, with over 46
million tons, and potatoes,
with about 575,000 carlots.
Soybean oil, at 594,000 tank
cars will be about the level
of the record trading in 1965.
Trading volume in oats and
rye was also considerably
%
higher in 1966 "than m 1965
Trading was also well-main
tained in wool futures For the
year, trading declines were
registered in cotton, eggs,
wool tops and cottonseed oil
futures.
Alex C Caldwell, CCA Ad
numstrator, said that the
large trading volume increases
in the major commodities was
stimulated by reduced sur
pluses of farm commodities,
increased consumption at
home, and a step-up in de
mand from abroad.
“'Hedging by the’glair, trade
in carrying and merc’nandis-
Lesson for January 1,1967
employment of the church to
come a social worker. He too)
B«cVyr«und Scrlptur* Luke 3 1 through 4 is. believed that he had at last dia<t
D*v«ti«nal Rtadiny tsaioh 40 1 5. covered his true vocation. Both
Some parents today become” 1 '" stopped for . a moment, at
alarmed if their children had not is considered to bed rather
chosen their life’s vocation before J ate st ®K* 1
they complete high school. One JJ 1 ' v ° ice of G°d. Obedient to what
youth told me that his parents be*? 1 r h 114
gan to "hound’’ him to make up alt J llo that ca ‘ , .
his mind from the moment he iixfluence B that changed
entered tenth** 1 ® Galilean s life were thepreach
grade. "Hurry,” * n S of John, a period of searching '
they advised, "or prayer and meditation in quiet
it will be tooseclusion, a knowledge of th*
late!’’ ' scriptures, and an unwavering
Thus it is desire to do what God wanted,
hard for us to Might there not be people in your
conceive of a own life through whom God i»(
man who, at the speaking of your true vocation?
age of thirty. Would you be willing to open the;
would give a your mind And
Rev, Althouse g oo d vocation to through earnest prayer and medj
embark upon the uncertain life of Ration? And if the an swer cam®
an itinerant preacher. Jesus of to you» that God wanted to sene
Nazareth, a carpenter following y° u into a direction,
in the parental footsteps of would you have the* courage t<|
Joseph before him, did just that, follow?
Out Into Wilderness What God Wants •
One day the carpenter of Xaz- As Jesus himself experienced*
areth went out into the wilderness the temptations are many for
that surrounded the Jordan Kiver those who seek to use their liver
to hear and see John, the prophet- purposefully. The temptor is con
ic preacher and baptizer about stantly offering us short cuts*
whom everyone was talking. Re-} m -) us t means that he insists are
ceiving baptism at John’s hands, justified by righteous ends. How
the s'ign of a new beginning in skillful he is in using good inten
his life, Jesus the carpenter was tions to lead us into making thfc
conscious of being called to anew worst decisions,
vocation. Not that the new voca- At the age of thirty Jesus th*
tion burst upon him unexpectedly, carpenter began a new Vocation*
for we are led to believe that there Moses had begun his at-eighty»
had been other indications that It is never too late for a man t®
God w r as calling him to a special stop and listen to the voice of Goa
task. This time, however, he re-to find otit what hS really intend®
sponded, determined to gofpr us to do-with this life
wherever God would lead. God, given us.
he was sure, had a mission for cpyri. htw by th. Divt*,.#,
him to perform. af Christian Education, Nahanal Cauneil af ihfe
What kind of mission Ivas it to ch™, ,n it,, u. s a. Ht
be 9 So that he might discover ex- *""" n ' ly "* ,rvic *
actly what God wanted of him.
7 w
Jesus went off into the wilderness
for forty days to fast, meditate,
and pray. In the wilderness God
spoke to him, but so did some-
one else That '"someone else”
greeted him with attractive coun-
ter-offers that could not help but
catch any man’s eye. Theyoungf
Now Is The Time ...
To Repair Farm Equipment
The winter season is a very good time
to repair and service most farm equipment.
Many faun equipment dealers and service
concerns will welcome the work during the
winter and many will give special prices If
.'he equipment is put in top working condi
tion now, there will be less delay at planting
time next spring
To Attend Farm Show Meetings
The Pennsylvania State Farm Show is
mted for many things and is attended by
i housands of people, however, there is an
■ducational value that can he easily over
looked due to, the great attraction of new
aaehmery, exhibits, hot dogs, and baked SStltfi 1
•jotatofes Most, of the state- are dangerous to eVeryohe;
wide farm and home associa- one of the common abrasives
lions hold annual meetings or is salt that is used by street
banquets; many 1 helpful rec- and" highway departments,
c oimehdations and suggestions Property owners are, cautioned
j-e presented at these events, about Using salt because 5f the
Local farmers 'are urged to ob- danger to shrubs, trees, and
tarn a Farm Show Program grass, the resulting salt'"water
and attend the event in their will be caustic to most vege*
particular line 1 of - agriculture, tations and damage will result.
To Be Careful With Salt... We suggest-the use of Sand,
, Icy walks or steps around ashes, or phosphate in these
the home or other property areas. , 1
mg stocks has been expanding ® TobflCCO ShcfW
during 1966,” he said, “and from. Page «
... . . . , ’ next Thursday, the - Tobacco
voll continue into 1967, so Growers Association* wilt' hbld
long as domestic utilization its annual meeting!in .thf 'Say"
a'id exports continue to in- uk Company &ssbdia
(i ease.” tion officers nvill ""ge* -’elected
lor the coming yetr.
Novor Too Loti
By Mar Smith, Lancaster County Agent
f
M * *
iliiean, howlver, flood fSE 111
>uld do only what God «w>Ml
im to do, nothing else,
ie Acceptable Tima
Some people still And thilrtrul
icatlon when they are well past
tat appears to be the "accepts*
« time.” I recently spoke with A
m who in his early forties gave
a good Job as an accountant
to go to seminary and become a
clergyman. This, he decided, was
what God really wanted him to
do. Another man of my acquaint*
ance has recently left thf