Poultry Meeting Topic: What to Do About Egg Prices?
Several local egg and hi oiler dustry’s current economic
producers were among the large squeeze and the waste disposal
state-wide group to attend the issue.
1971 Pennsylvania Poultry Fed- Q n eco nomic issue, speak
eratien meeting at the Sheraton ei g in( j ica t e( j that feed costs are
Harrisburg Inn Wednesday. higher, flock size is up, and pro
i Meeting theme was “Econ- duction is up, resulting in high
omics and Ecology” and most of er costs and lower returns
the discussion involved the in- Herbeit Becherman of Smel-
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kinson Bros , Baltimore, a mem
ber of the National Egg Pricing
Study Committee, repeatedly
stated that the egg industry has
a “stupid” pricing system He
noted that “you don’t sell one
more egg when you get 28 cents
than 34 cents.”
He also said that when prices
are good, production is always
increased until no one can
make any money.
But Becherman noted that
the present system of big pro
duction only staited within the
last 12 to 15 years Before that,
the industry primarily was
made up of many small produ
cei s The big production start
ed in the South without any
maikets.
Since “production without
markets,” there has been what
he teimed an industry-wide ef
fort to provide eggs cheaper
than the competition. When
eggs are too plentiful, there’s
no effort to cut production or
increase efficiency, the price is
simply cut, he said “What can
he more stupid than this’”
' The solution, according to
Becherman, is a two or three
cent a case check-off to pro
mote eggs’ and “to make sure
we answer when someone gets
on TV and says eggs are no
good ” Becherman was refer
ring to iccent TV shows m
which eggs were attacked as
detrimental to health.
Dr Jonathan Tobey, first
vice president, Chase Manhat
tan Bank, New York City, said
the industry continues to un
dergo major changes
He gave a pessimistic pro
jection on egg prices He said
he had toped that mid-1971,
would be g turn-around point,
as it was in 1968. “But there
are’ some' grave, question
More and more professional
managers are riding the tram.
BIG DUTCHMAN
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EASTERN BRANCH
215 Diller Ave, New Holland, Pa 17557
Ph 354-5168
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 19,1971
Betsy J. Ellsworth, Penn
sylvania Poultry Industry
Queen, comments at the in
dustry’s banquet Wednesday
evening.
marks,” including recent step
ped up moulting of hens, he
said
He also cited industry expan
sion in the midwest and Cali
fornia area.
He said the Northeastern egg
producers continue to have an
advantage m distribution and
service of markets Closeness
to markets is still the key for
local producers, he said.
But he noted that continued
higher prices for corn and
rising freight costs have re
sulted in trends toward moving
production closer to the souice
of feed m the mid-west.
He said the industry cannot
survive on the recent 30 cent
large New York egg market.
With a cost of feed and pullets
at $l4O each, the cost per
dozen eggs is now aiound 23
cents before other costs aie con
sideied, he said
Despite piesent economic
conditions in the egg industry,
Dr Tobey said his bank con
tinues to get requests neaily
eveiy day from all over the
country for capital to build
500,000 bud opeiations requir
ing roughly $3 million It’s “a
blessing in disguise” that
money has been tight and un
available for much of this ex
pansion, he said
He said the mdustxy knows
how many buds aie needed to
supply eggs at a piofitable
price, but eveiyone “wants to
expand” beyond this level.
He said his bank’s piesent
stringent requirements for egg
production expansion loans are:
the bonower must piovide 50
per cent of the money, have
proven management ability,
and a dependable market The
egg industry “needs a competi
tive market, but it doesn’t need
over expansion,” he said
Dr. Tobey also stated that
farmers have been telling con
sumers for too long about how
little food costs in relation to
total spending “Food is going
to cost more and we had better
start telling consumers they’re
going to have to pay moie for
it,” he said.
He noted that farm income
has been up 10 per cent since
1967 and costs up 18 per cent.
“If this trend continues, wc
won’t be in business long.”
7