—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 6.1968
12
Leader Says Government Already
Has Power To Keep Prices Right
A dtiiry cooperative lender has
reminded that the federal gov
ernment already has the power
to keep farm milk prices at nec
essary economic levels and has
uiged the support of a butter
subsidy bill in order to upgrade
declining American diets and to
bolster the subsistence of dairy
farmers now being forced out of
business.
John C York, general man
ager of Eastern Milk Producers
A r sn .is pointing out to the Sen
ate Agricultural committee in
a hearing beginning Wednesday
that the 10.000 dairyman organ
ization favors passage of the
proposed Mondale Bill which
would encourage movement of
butter into commercial domestic
consumption by effecting a re
duction in prices to consumers
fiom payments made at the
processing level on butterfat
used in butter
Mi Yoik is also recommend
ing to the Senate committee that
Title 1 of the Food and Agricul
tuie Act of 1965 be extended for
another four years Base plans,
as authorized by the Act, are
just now being actively develop
ed in the Northeast he pointed
out and if adopted would prob
ablj not be enacted until just a
few months before the Act is
due to expire This recommenda
tion does not necessarily mean
Eastern is endorsing a Class I
base plan, but some planning
should take place in order to
prevent confusion.
He also pointed out that East
ern is interested in seeing leg
islation that is simple and un-
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complicated which would per
mit across-the-table negotiations
between cooperatives and buy
ers of milk.
He emphasized that if Presi
dent Johnson's recent sugges
tion for collective-bargaining
legislation is intended to raise
prices to fluid milk producers,
then there is no need for new
legislation. The authority to
raise fluid milk prices already
exists in the Agricultural Mar
keting Agreement Act of 1937
. . and all that is needed is
the will of the government to
laise such prices. The federal
government also has the author
ity to raise the support prices for
manufacturing milk . ... but
needs the will to do it, he point
ed out
While commenting on collect
iv e bargaining for agriculture,
Mr. York noted, “We would pre
fer to see legislation enacted
along the lines of S 753 (a re
latively uncomplicated measure
permitting negotiations between
cooperatives and milk buyers)
before going on with collective
bargaining legislation modeled
after the National Labor Rela
tions Act
He noted that Eastern would
prefer a bill which did not pro
vide for any of the complicated
measures for referenda, produc
ers committees, and joint set
tlement boards which is envis
aged in current discussion of
collective bargaining for agri
culture
In urging support of the Mon
dale bill, Mr York emphasized
that butter price support of this
tjpe would help stop the farmer
exodus from dairying and the
migration to crowded cities, and
would help to halt the decline in
the consumption of butter which
has had unfavorable effects on
people’s health
He quoted a USDA study ol
food consumption in U S house
holds which showed a deteriora
tion in the diet of American fam
ilies during the years 1955-1965
He quoted Secretary of Agricul
ture Orville Freeman who not
ed, “Over the 10 year period
the number of Americans having
good diets dropped from 60% to
50%. Decreased use of milk and
milk products was one of the
principal reasons for this 10%
drop.”
The Eastern general manager
noted that under the Mondale
bill, payments would be made
whenever the Secretary of Agri
culture finds that purchases of
butter for price-support pro
grams will exceed for any mar
keting year the volume to be
utilized for domestic consump
tion. including the school lunch
program.
Although the bill does not in
dicate the rate at which pay
ments would be made, it is pre
sumed the rate would be at a
level sufficient to move the ex
cess supply of butter into com
mercial channels .. . perhaps in
the neighborhood of 10 to 20
cents per pound of butterfat,
said Mr. York.
While manufacturing milk pro
ducers would be the primary
group to gam from the payment
of a subsidy on butterfat, and
hence on butter, fluid milk pro
ducers would also benefit, point
ed out Mr York In the New
York-New Jersey milkshed, 7 6
percent of the output of milk in
1966 was used to make butter
In referring to the nutritional
drop in American family diets
of the past 10 years, Mr York
submitted tables showing that
domestic per capita consump
tion of butter has decreased
fiom 16 1 pounds in 1964 to 5 7
pounds in 1966 The cost com
pared to numerous cheaper sub
stitutes is considered the main
reason for this drop in consump
tion of butter
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State Farm
Price Level
Up Slightly
The March index of prices re
ceived by Pennsylvania farm
ers .increased 2 points (1 per
cent! from the previous month,
according to the Pennsylvania
Crop Reporting Service The in
crease was due mainly to an in
crease in fruit prices.
The index of prices received
for livestock and livestock prod
ucts was unchanged. Steers and
heifers, were unchanged at $25
per hundredweight, slaughter
cows were up-40 cents to $17.40,
calves were down 50 cents to
$34.50, lambs up $1.70 to $24.80.
sheep up -30 cents to $7 30 and
hogs down 30 cents to $l9 60
Milk cow price at $330 was un
changed from February. The
March milk price (preliminary)
at $5 80 per hundredweight was
5 cents below the February lev
el.
Grain prices were mostly low
er, with corn and wheat down a
penny to $1.20 and $1 29 respec
tively Oats were up a penny to
$ 83, barley down 3 cents to $l,
rye off a penny to $1 05 and
soybeans down 2 cents to $2.50
Alfalfa hay price was unchanged
RICHARD R. FORRY
BITS 0’ BUSINESS
The recent crisis in the inter
national gold market had far
reaching effects. For instance,
if you were in the market for a
garden hose with a gold-plated
nozzle, forget it. Because of the
crisis the manufacturer decided
against marketing it. However,
the company says if the gold
situation eases it will market the
hose. By the way. the hoes goes
or $495 .... Barbers in Trenton.
N.J. are charging 25 cents more
or a haircut because the popu
larity of long hair has hurt
profits.
One strip of new highway. 8.3
miles long, near St. Louis, cost
as much money as our govern
ment paid for the entire Louisi
ana Purchase, from which 17
states were carved—fifteen mil
lion bucks.
at $33 per ton while the all hay
figure was down 50 cents.
Poultry and egg prices were
unchanged from February.
The prices received index for
all farm products, a measure of
the change in prices received
by farmers, was 248 percent of
its 1910-14=100 base. This com
pares with 246 the previous
month and 255 for March 1967.
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397-0035
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