—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 17,1970
12
Because of Accelerating Farm Costs From Many Directions:
Food Prices Must Rise, York Says
John C. York, general man- attention and suggest you
ager of Eastern Milk Producers examine the following factois
° .. . ... which will force food prices up-
Cooperative Association, Inc.,
recently released the following
‘‘open letter to the concerned 1. Agriculture s role in impiov
. ~ ing environmental quality will
uWlc • require restrictions m tlie pro
file 1970's will be a decade of cessing of food that will require
rising farm production costs, phenomenal investments.
and consequently, substantially plans tha( „. 0 discussed
lusher food prices it the farmer ]d forec a departure of one
is to continue and the world is , f f . pNIStSniJ f , rm p opu .
to be fed. I bring this to yom , Jt|on Iho nrxl U 1 years, to
say nothing of the effect of
urbanization and road develop
ment systems.
HOW
MUCH
MONEY
Are you
Losing By
Not Feeding
For Faster
Gains?
Gehman’s 35%
or
Gehman’s 60%
Beef Cattle
Supplements
PROMOTE MAXIMUM
GAINS.
Available with or without
Stilbosol
Booking Open
Until Dec. 1
GEHMAN FEED
MILL, INC.
Denver, Pa
Ph: 267-5585
( itiethylstilbestiol) EJ.inco
PioducU Co.
2 Fringe benefits required b\
Knii workers will represent .1
substantial impact on farm labor
costs.
What effect will this have on
all of us? Let us examine our
, present situation.
It is becoming more and more
stylish for farm workers to de- l. Last year consumers spent
mand fringe benefits in addition 16Vz per cent of their after tax
to cash payments. Such fringe income for food. This was the
benefits include free housing, lowest in history, and quite un
meals, garden plots, meat, elec- derstandably the lowest in the
tricity, milk and other items ot world. For example, Canada
benefit. Minimum wage laws, spent approximately 20 per cent;
unionization and broadened Japan 37 per cent; Spain 43 per
Social Security programs will cent: Soviet Union 50 per cent
add to farm labor cost
3, Demands set forth by Indus- buy, for example, 20 per cent
trial labor unions will be trans- more milk than it did in the
mitted in higher cost of items late 50’s,
used in the production of farm „ . .
nvnrtf.PK 3 - Last y ear farnl lncome P el
pl al ■ farm averaged a record high,
The current United Auto but still was only $5,401.
Workers strike against General 4 The cumulative effect of
Motors, if settled through higher r j sin g farm costs will result in
wages, will be reflected in high- e ifi ier the discontinuance of our
er costs. fanners and our capacity to pro-
Ironically, the public, includ- duce food, or an increase in food
ing farmers, are subsidizing the prices commensurate with rising
present strike through the Food costs of production.
Stamp plan. It is reported that The federal government just
striking U.A.W. members are recently rejected the application
receiving Food Stamps which of an escalator price formula
allow the striker to buy sub- for establishing farm milk
stantially more food than the prices. This formula would cause
purchase price of the stamps. farm prices to change with
Thus, the cheap food that changing economic conditions,
these consumers are buying including cost of production
through the Food Stamp plan items.
will be used as a subsidy to pro- Efficiencies in the production
long a strike for higher wages, of food cannot be depended upon
OXFORD
PICKLE
COMPANY
South Deerfield, Moss.
Invites our 1970 Cucumber Growers and all
other interested parties to attend a meeting
at the Fire Hall in Intercourse, Pa.
Thurs., Oct. 22- 7:30 P.M.
To discuss results of the past season'
For more information contact
HARVEY G. GOOD
PLANT FOOD STORE
Intercourse. Pa. Phone 717-768-8451
t
"Cucumbers are a proven cash crop"
which in turn will affect farm
costs.
4, Distribution costs such as
labor, new product develop
ment. convenience packages, ad
vertising and transportation are
being passed back to farmers
as a production cost item, thus
lowering the net return to farm
ers.
5. Deliberate neglect of rural
America will soon come to the
surface requiring much delayed
improvement in lighting, plumb
ing, education, and housing in
our rural areas, all of which
will mo\e farm costs up. up and
up
2. One hour of work today will
as the solution to the problem. $105,3 billion that they actually
Agriculture has made giant did spend,
steps in this direction. In 1930, , ~ ~ .
one U.S. farmer provided food ans wer to the problem is
for 10 people; in 1960, 26 " ot <> n A e of destroying agricul
people; and in 1969, 45 people, F e ' Agriculture is a $55 bil-
The 1970’s however will see llon customer in the American
severe limitations on further ad- 6 con <Hny. It is not only the
vances in farm production effici- largest industry in the state of
encv New York, Pennsylvania and
Vermont, but the largest in the
It is fair to conclude there- entire northeast.
fore that this decade will call The question is what do you
for consumers to spend 20 cents as a concerned legislator, a con*
out of every after tax dollar for cerned administrator, or a con*
food, compared to 16v 2 cents cerned citizen plan to do about
last year. If this had been the the preservation of this industry?
actual situation last year, con- Will you put this problem on
sumers would have paid $126.3 the top priority list of the proto
billion for food compared to the lems before us today?