-li or ary / /
VOL. 16 NO. 14
Broiler Men Should 'Localize' Their Product, Speaker Says
A stable broiler market is at
least 15 years away, according
to Dr. Filmore Bender, Univer
sity of Maryland agricultural
economics specialist, who made
the projection at a meeting of
the Lancaster County Poultry
Association at an educational
meeting at the Farm and Home
Center Thursday mght
To avoid the worst aspects of
the depressed markets which can
be expected as a result of pres
ent practices in the broiler in
dustry, Dr Bender urged broil
er producers, to “localize” their
product
He noted that Pennsylvania is
a deficit production area that
imports considerable poultry
While this ties Pennsylvania‘to
the national .market, every
locale- has “preference pat
terns.” -
- Local producers should study
these -preferences in areas such
as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and
determine, how
theyt
i h^^l&r^ioul^y/;
they '.serve'- bet tfer. : th an-any.--
one eJSe.” This ‘practice (-gives
theses firms a special- place irT
the‘v market and mikes' price
Among those participating in a Veteri
nary-Nutrition Forum at the Colonial Res
taurant, Denver, this week are: left to
right, Paul M. Herr, veterinarian at Gap,
past president of the Forum; Jere Hess,
nutritionist with Young’s Inc., Roaring
Spring, Biair County, program chairman,
No-Till Corn Is Discussed at Soils Day
Willis L, McClellan, Penn
State extension agronomist,
speaking on no-till farming,
said when he first heard of no
till he was “sure it wouldn't
work," Bis current assessment:
“It can work if you know how
to work A ’ he said at the an
nual Crops and Soils Day Tues
day at-the Farm and Home Cen-"
ter.
But-he emphasized that no
till farming is “not a cheaper
method of growing corn.” The
fluctuations for them less seveie,
Dr Bender explained
Possibilities for localizing
buds include, by skin color,
which can be regulated by
changes in the diet: weight; de
livery schedules, foim of de
livery, and packaging
These extra and specialized
services cost the producer more,
Dr Render emphasized, but
added that the advantage is that
the producer is “isolated from
the market” and doesn’t get huit
as much during the market
gluts.
Jay liwin, associate Lancas
ter County agricultural agent,
pointed out that the Lancaster
County does have some specializ
ed processing. “I believe this
is one reason poultry is on the
upswing in Lancaster County,”
liwin added.
Irwin also said he thinks that
more and more industry demand
will go toward a “further pro
cessed product..We have good
■markets'-’and' I v think, this- is
swfiere iwe’re '.-going?' tpwmoVe,”
Lwimstated.-v.;,,,
;
.for. ’
. '.. r " ■
-’Noting that many"pqultry r or- "■
ganizations liave been calling for
i method relies heavily on her
, bicides Herbicides help make
, continuous corn' under the no
■■■ till method workable, he said
He also explained that when
“a new practice,” such as no
till, first starts, there is “no
basis for predicting failure. It’s
important to learn what not to
do,”.he said.
' Experience in recent years is
• beginning to supply some neces
■ sary information on the
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 27,1971
a stabilized market. Dr Bender
slated, “unfortunately, there’s
nothing on the horizon that will
change the unstable industry.
There is going to be good times
and bad times ”
Most of the efforts toward
stability so far have emphasized
yoluntary lestramt, gentlemen’s
agreement and social responsi
bility in which the producer
agrees to a voluntaiy cutback
This is easy to talk about but
haid to enforce, largely because
mavericks who go against the
general trend of the restraint
tend to reap the benefits
While no one really knows
why the broiler industry goes
through “singes” of giowth in
which the industry grows as
much as 10 per cent a year, some
factors, according to Bender,
are.
A history of growth since 1948,
including new technology which
led to decreases in costs; this
has built up a psychology of
-continual-.expansion. .At the
same time, there--, haye>,been,.tre :; ;
;--,lt’sjeasy: r .baHh'ard
to cut baek. ' Onee expansion in’a
' productive capacity has - been
achieved, it’s difficult not to use
and Dr. Emmett I. Robertson, director of
nutrition for John W.' Eshelman and Sons,
and immediate past Forum president. The
organization is designed to give its mem
bers up to date information on animal
health and nutrition.
“don’ts” associated with no-till,
he indicated.
„c in a a four-row
planter must ha = e at least an
extra 1 000 nounds of weight for
exu a i.uju pounas oi ror
successful planting This is
necessary to make sure that the
seed is planted deep enough.
There’s a big problem with
no-till if the seed isn’t planted
deep enough. Experience shows
that pheasants will walk down a
row and get nearly every seed
Dr. Filmore Bender
‘Localize' Broilers
Tt-.l Also, /mce the. hatchery, flock
,
y A^widely'accepted' practice'of
“cash basis accounting”, encour
ages' poiultrymen to spend money
for expansion - during boom
periods.
Demand is seasonal. With con
stant output there would be a
price swings of five and a half
cents per pound, with prices
being higher in summer and
lower in winter
Some industry sources have
seen a trend toward bigger and
better financed operations as a
Farm Calendar
Saturday, February 27
Tovoca FFA Chaptei (Browns
tovvn Vo - Tech) Bowling
Parly, Leola Lanes
Slate Grange Regional Institute,
Loysbuig Blau County
Monday, March 1
First day to sign up ioi U S
wheat and feed grain pro
gram, ASCS office, Farm and
Home Centei, runs through
April 9
1 p m-3 30 pm Regional
Young Farmers Leadership
Training Confeience, Eph
rata High School Vo-Ag De
partment
7 30 p.m—Garden Spot Young
Farmers recoids meeting,
(Continued on Page 4)
if it isn’t covered, he noted
-With no-till, experience also
shows that the roots tend to
lun up and dovn the iow rather
tha n spreading out as in con-
nlowin® makin" it
'entionai piowin a . mawn» it
essler t° r kirds to pull out the
young shoots.
The farmer must also be extra
careful to make sure that the
vegetation on his no-till seed bed
is killed. Much of the problems
farmers encounter with no-till so
$2 00 Per Year
means of centralizing industry
control and enforcing stability.
But Dr Bender discounted this
as an immediate solution to the
industry’s price problem. He
noted that the trend toward cen
tialization of the industry has
slowed considerably in recent
yeais and that the smaller pro
ducers remaining in the indus
try today are financially strong
ei than in the past The little
produce! s often are able to
weather low price cycles as
readily as the bigger producers,
he said
Because of these and other
factors. Dr Bender said he
thinks price stability is not a
near term solution, but is at
least 15 yeais away
Also speaking was Dr An
thony Stemberger, Penn State
poultry specialist, who outlined
the responsibilities of the poul
try grower. Dr. Stemberger
emphasized that the poultryman
must keep a constant and close
check on has aroilers, being par
ticularly alert for diseases and
.Tfie,>se'cret-'to' success Is -loti
of T'.L.C.' (tender loving (fate]
at all times. “We'have a tdndel
little product that seems to ~dt
better if it gets this TLC all
the time.”
Two Feed Firms
To Join Mar. 15
The proposed consolidation of
Miller & Bushong, Inc., Rohrers
town, and D E Horn & Co.,
Inc, York, moved a step closer
to leahty Wednesday when the
Internal Revenue Service ap
proved the formal intent to
bring the two well-known Penn
sylvania agricultural marketing
companies together
Ernest Hom Sr, president of
D E Horn and Robert Graybiß,
piesident of Miller & Bushong,
in a joint statement said that the
effective date of the consolida
tion will be March 15
A new company name and cor
porate symbol will be announced
in a few weeks, according to the
statement issued by the two
company piesidents Plans call
for the maintenance of all pres
ent plant and mill facilities, with,
the new corporate headquarters
to be located in Lancaster.
far, he said, have stemmed fron
inadequately killed vegetation,
He recommended that farmers
ratner man aicerwaru, so
tliat they Wlll have an °PP° r<
.. ~l d
unity o O o over e
second time ii neces y.
One of the major benefits of
no-till, he said, is that conven
tional plowing results in about
(Continued on Page 4)