I ——
BA BB * # Hl
T n I hjl y
VOL. 15 NO. 19
Official Thinks Market Should Hold
Egg Prices Drop 12 Cents
Egg prices to producers col
lapsed over the Easter holiday
weekend.
Prices dropped about 25 pe>-
cent, Irom 49 cents just before
Easter to 37-38 cents through
Friday this week
A leading national egg market
ing official told Lancaster Farm
ing late this week that price
stablizathm efforts are underway
and current prices should hold
He thinks demand will be suffi
cient to clear the market at the
new price levels
(News analysis, a Lancaster
Fanning exclusive.)
But both the national official
and local egg producers said the
new price puts egg income for
the average producer at the
“break even” level and inefficient
producers or producers with old
er flocks are probably losing
money,-. ■.
Delano Discusses
Ray Delano, general manager
of the Northeast Egg Marketing
Association and a nationally re-
Farm Calendar
Saturday, April 4
9 00 am.-4.40 p m.—District 10
Youth Confeience of Grange,
Red Hill, Montgomery Co.
Uonday, April 6
Annual Meat Packers and Pro
cessors Semmai at Penh
State.
630 p.m.—Fruit Growers and
Honey Produce! s, annual
banquet. Meadow Hills Dm
ing House.
7-30 p.m. Elm-Penryn 4-H
Club, Penryn Fire Hall.
(Continued on Page 12)
Lancaster County vocational agricul
ture officials are shown this week planning
year-end FFA contests and programs at a
4 30 pern, meeting Wednesday at-Warwick
High School.
cognized authority on egg mar
keting, discussed the present egg
market with Lancaster Farming
by telephone from his New Ham
pshire office Thursday. Delamo
bad just finished conferring with
other egg marketing officials
across the country
While producers with young
flocks laying at an 80 per cent
rate can still make a profit at
current prices and average pio
ducmg flocks will about “break
even,” the older flocks are now
money loseis, according to De
lano
As a result, Noi theast Egg Mar
Guemsey Breeders To Tour
York, Adams Farms April 10
The Lancaster County Guern
sey Breeders’ Tour will feature
-visits to farms in York and
Adams Counties from 8:15 a.m.
rio 4:45 p.m. (Friday, April 10.
Cost is $3 50 pei person Visit
ors are asked to bring lunch
Reservations can be made by
contacting Melvin R Stoltzfus,
687-7340, Jesse G Balmer, 626-
8055, or Raymond F Witmei,
786-3526 by noon Apul 9
'The tour schedule is as follows
leave Conestoga Tiansportation
Company bus bams at 825 E
Chestnut St, Lancaster at 8 15
sharp, and visit the Harry Bles
sing farm, Wnghtsville at 9 The
90 cow stall bam has a dumping
station
The Lehman Bios farm is next
at 9 45 at Yoik RDII The stall
barn built in 1963 for 86 cows,
featuies panel side walls, pipe
line, and chain conveyor for sil
age feeding
At 11:30, the Lester Van Ars
They are: Jim Kerr, Warwick High
School vo-ag teacher; Mark Campbell,
Manheim Central High School vo-ag teach
er and county vo-ag teacher president, and
Henry Givler, district FFA leader.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 4,1970
keting early this week sent let
ters to more than 70 of its biggest
producers with flocks of more
than 150,000 birds telling them
to cull and sell the older flocks
Sale of these older birds, be
sides eliminating money losers
for egg producers, will help re
duce the supply of eggs and
hopefully help stabalize egg pric
es, Delano said
Othei price stabahzmg efforts
are underway.
Surplus Removal
Arrangements are being made
to sell 14,000 cases of eggs over
the next three weeks to mstitu
dale farm at Biglerville RD2 will
show a 68 .cow operation with
pipeline milker, a new controlled
environment free stall barn with
bunk feeder and chain conveyor
for manure loading. The herd is
divided into two groups which
alternate between free stall and
stall barn
At 2 p m , a tour of the Harold
Good farm at Airville RD will
featuie a 130 cow operation with
loose housing, stall barn, pipe
line milker and bunk feeder
The 2 45 p.m tour of the Mel
vin Wessel farm at Airville RD
will show 150 cow operation with
two pictuie window milking par
lois, fiee stalls with liquid ma
ma e and a heated calf bam
Animals from this herd have
been shown at the National
Show
The group will return by way
of the Norman Wood Bridge, ar
riving at the Buck by 4 pm and
Lancaster by 4 45 p m
tions as “breakers or frozen and
liquid eggs. “We have a surplus
removal program underway
now,” he said.
At the same time, Delano anti
cipates “a lot of promotions and
retail sales” and “retail sales
should really pick up.
“Our organization 'feels that
with the market at 37 to 38 cents,
eggs should be sold at retail for
not more than 55 to 56 cents ”
At this price, which compares
to recent sales in the 79 cent
area, normal consumer demand
should pick up and retailers can
be expected to feature eggs more
The combination of culled
flocks, lower consumer prices
and increased retail promotion
should stabalize prices at about
the present level acordmg to De
lano, who feels the market can
absorb the available eggs at the
lower prices.
Market Unstable
But will the maiket hold? He’s
not sure.
He said producers need from
/" '
Center To Hold Youth
Coop Meeting Apr. 14
The Youth Institute on Cooper
ative Business will be held from
9 am to 2-15 pm Tuesday,
April 14, at the Farm and Home
Center.
The annual institute sponsored
by the Lancaster County Council
of Farmer Cooperatives is pri
marily geaied to explaining and
encouraging farm cooperatives
Chaired by Henry Givler, vo
cational aguculture consultant,
the morning program is as fol
lows
9. get acquainted, refiesh
ments, 9 15, introductions; 9 25,
“Caieers in Agncultuie,” a tele
lecture by William Matson, man
ager of the Pennsylvania Rural
Electric Association, Harusbuig
9-45, “What Faim Cooperatives
Aie,” jointly by the Lancaster
County Cooperative Council,
Pennsylvania Association of Fai
mei Cooperatives, and Ameucan
Institute of Cooperation Also on
the piogiam is Boyd Gaitley of
the Inter-State Milk Pioduce's
Coopeiative
10 10 Youth Questions the Co
opeiative Panel Management
Lom Coopeiatives Youth Mem
beis, 11, As We Saw It, Linfoid
D Martin, AIC Scholar, and
Ruth K Biubaker, PAFC Sch
olar
Lunch is scneduled for 11 30,
followed by a film at 12 15 p m
on “Rewarding Caieers in a Dy
namic Industry,” Hal F. Doran,
Penn State agriculture business
advisor, will speak
A cooperative quiz will be giv
en farm youth at 1:15 and win
ners will be announced at 2:10,
$2.00 Per Yew
seven to ten days for the new
market situation to clear and to
see if the egg surplus which
brought on the price drop will
move.
But Delano indicated he’s not
sure if the present price will
hold long enough the seven to
ten days to see if the eggs
can be sold.
While Delano feels the present
market situation should stabalize
and that present prices possibly
can hold, he’s openly concerned
about long term trends toward
bigger flocks
Lancaster Fanning recently ra.
leased USDA figures showing
January layer hatch was up 21
per cent. More recent figures
show February hatch was up 17
per cent over a year ago. These
figures represent potential in
creases in lawer flock number
several months in the future
show February potential increas
es in layer flocks number seveial
months in the future.
(Continued on Page 9)
following a wrap up by Jay W.
Irwin, associate County agent,
and Mrs. Mary Enkson, FHA vo
cational consultant
Lancaster County Cooperative
Council officers are, C. P. Brant
ley, chairman, Atlantic Breeders
Cooperative bianch manager, and
Charles Cowan, vice chairman,
field representative of Inter-State
Milk Producers Coop.
Cooperative Council member
businesses are Agway, Inc.; At
lantic Breeders Cooperative;
Faim Credit Association; Inter-
State Milk Produceis’ Coopera
tive; Mount Joy Fanners Cooper
ative, and Produceis Coopeiativo
Exchange of Coatesville.
SCreider Farm’s
’Copter Featured
The helicoptei pictmed on the
fiont page of the Maich 1970 is
sue of “Nations Aguculture”
was photogiaphed while spray
ing potatoes on :he Noah Kieider
faim neat Manhe.m
Kieidei, who fauns in a tlnee
way paitneiship with his sons,
Noah Jr and Richard, has one of
Lancastei County's larger farm
ing opeiations
Page 10 of the issue explains
that use of helicopters for agri
cultural purposes is growing.
The paiticulai helicopter was
operated by Dr Carrol M. Voss,
who emphasized that properly
ti ained pilots are “of greater im
poitance” for helicopter farm
work.