10—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11. 1971
No Cutthroat Milk Pricing, Please
We noticed Pennsylvania Secretary of
Agriculture James A. McHale in an
Associated Press photo recently. with
Governor Milton Shapp and a Philadelphia
barber. They were, the story said,
dramatizing the governor’s opposition to
Pennsylvania’s system of pricing milk.
While Secretary McHale looked on,
Governor Shapp held a gallon container
marked $,1.28, representing the price of
milk m Pennsylvania, and the barber held a
container marked 95 cents, the price of
milk "at a discount dairy store about 300
yards into New Jersey.”
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania egg producers
recently have been concerned about some
Pennsylvania retail stores which use eggs
as “a loss leader ” This means the stores
take a loss on the eggs in order to get
customers into the store; the store's belief,
borne out by experience, is that the
customer will buy enough other mer
chandise that the store can still make an
adequate profit.
Unfortunately for the egg industry, retail
stores which use eggs as loss leaders
generate a large volume of egg sales; in
order to minimize losses on these sales,
these stores use every trick in the book to
keep their price to the farmer down.
At the same time, the competition from
these “loss leader” markets is felt by
competing retail outlets, which also feel
compelled to keep egg prices down and
prices to the farmer low.
It has long been understood in the egg
industry that the weakest seller and the
lowest priced retailer have an over
powering influence on the trend of egg
prices They keep the price low for
everyone, every egg producer suffers as a
result of them
Actually, according to representatives of
the Pennsylvania Egg Marketing
Association, there is a state law against
selling products such as eggs at prices
lower than the cost of production As with
many other laws, the problem is in en
forcing it
A similar situation exists with broilers
Many retail stores in Pennsylvania sell
dressed, whole broilers for prices ranging
from 21 to 29 cents a pound. No one
believes these birds can be grown,
processed and sold at these prices
profitable They're “loss leaders,”
profitable for the stores because of the
customer traffic which is generated, but
extremely costly to the poultry industry by
keeping overall prices low.
As we understand it, one of the primary
jobs of the Pennsylvania milk pricing
system is to eliminate just this type of
cutthroat competition
Because milk is closely associated in the
public mind with motherhood and babies, it
represents the greatest potential loss
leader of all the farm commodities. So it’s
easy to understand why discount stores
LANCASTER FARMING
Lancaster County’s Own Farm WeekJj
P. 0. Box 266 - Lititz, Pa. 17543
Office: 22 E. Main St., Lititz, Pa. 17543
Phone; Lancaster 394-3047 or Lititz 626-2191
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising Directoi
Zane Wilson, Managing Editor
Subscription price: $2 per year in Lancastei
County: $3 elsewhere
Established November 4,1955
Published every Saturday by Lancastet
Farming. Lititz, Pa.
Second Class Postage paid at Lititz, Pa
17543.
Member of Newspaper Farm Editors Assn.
Pa. Newspaper Publishers Association, and
National Newspaper Association
What we don’t understand is how the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
can justify a low-priced milk policy, a policy
which can seriously damage dairying, The announcement to the shep
mnct imnnrfant farm herds Of the birth Of JeSUS is also (»asod on outlines copyrighted by fha
Pennsylvania S most important tarm . f T, Se „ __ Division of Christian Education, National
a hymn, this time by an angelic cound of th. Church.s of Christ in tho U.S.A.
prOQUCt. multitude (Luke 2:141: Roioasod by Community Pros* Sorvico.)
would favor elimination of the milk pricing
system,
While consumers would benefit initially
from low-priced milk, it's certain that retail
stores must maintain their profit margins.
What’s lost from milk sales must be made
up from other products.
The real loser in making milk a loss
leader and in allowing milk sales wars will
be the individual dairymen and the dairy
industry.
Possibly the only dairymen who will be
able to survive low milk prices without
major losses will be those who have their
own retail outlets. Dairymen who have high
marketing costs, we predict, would feel the
squeeze as marketing costs gradually took
a bigger share of their milk checks. A major
squeeze of this nature on the dairy in
dustry would soon force many small
operators out of business and greatly
accelerate the trend to large dairy
operations, we predict; as the egg and
broiler industries have shown, only the
large and well-financed operations can
survive constant price wars.
Actually, the above points, as vital as
they are to the local dairy industry and
Pennsylvania agriculture, are not the most
important in regard to the trip by Penn
sylvania’s governor and secretary of
agriculture into the supposed milk haven
across the New Jersey border.
The most crucial point—as dairymen
know full well, but Philadelphia consumers
obviously do not—is that the governor and
secretary weren't comparing, so to speak
apples with apples. They were comparing
Pennsylvania retail milk prices with New
Jersey discount milk prices. A valid
comparison would have pitted Penn
sylvania retail prices with New Jersey
retail prices; and Pennsylvania discount
prices with New Jersey discount prices.
Our sources of information within the
milk industry indicate that regular New
Jersey retail milk outlets price their milk at
levels very comparable with, possibly a
little higher than, their counterparts in
Pennsylvania. At the same time, com
parable “discount milk" is available at
comparable prices in Pennsylvania directly
from the farm or “jugger” operations This
Pennsylvania jugger milk is readily
available in most areas directly from the
farmer at prices of around 95 cents to $1 a
gallon, very comparable to the “bargains”
found in New Jersey.
The milk issues facing Pennsylvania
include Can we afford to discount the
entire Pennsylvania dairy industry, an
industry which accounts directly or in
directly for nearly half of the dollar volume
of Pennsylvania agriculture 7
In our rapidly changing farm economy,
which already includes many pressures
resulting from costs which constantly rise
faster than prices, the prospect of opening
milk to use at the retail level as a “loss
leader” should be viewed by alarm by all
farmers and non-farmers alike
We can understand that the prospect of
low-priced milk is politically attractive to
the state’s urban citizens, who won’t im
mediately realize the long-range impact of
such policies. But we think most urban
citizens would join farmers in opposition to
low-priced milk if it meant the ruin of
Pennsylvania’s important dairy industry.
HOW IS
THE TIME..
By Mu Smith
Lancaster County Agant
To Control Internal Parasites
For many years both sheep and
hog producers included internal
parasite control as one of their
major practices for good gains
and healthy animals. As the
livestock population increased,
these stomach worms became
more common in cattle, both beef
and dairy. With the heavy con
centration of cattle in
Southeastern Pennsylvania, it is
strongly recommended that both
dairymen and cattle feeders treat
their young animals for stomach
worms. Feeder calves that have
been brought in from areas south
of Pennsylvania may have high
worm infection due to the war
mer and more humid climate.
Fecal samples submitted to the
local veterinatian will reveal the
extent of the worm infestation.
Treatment at the beginning of the
feeding period, or when six to
eight months of age, will produce
more efficient gains and more
desirable market or replacement
cattle.
To Excercise Milking Herd
Dairymen with stanchion or
comfort stall bams are urged to
permit the milking cows daily
exercise, if at all possible. There
are many good health reasons
why the cows should get out of the
stalls daily, including breeding
efficiency and the condition of
their feet and legs. In extremely
bad weather this may not be
practical, but the other 90 per
cent of the time it is best if the
cows have a chance to get outside
for at least 15 to 20 minutes; do
not permit them outside too long
or they may lie down on the cold
ground and do udder damage.
A GOD WHO ACTS!
Lesson for December 12,1971
lackgreund Scripture Luke 1 5*80; 2.
25 35
Have you ever been so excited
about something that you’ve felt
you just had to sing about it?
That’s the way the writer of
Luke apparently felt about the
birth of Jesus Christ. In the first
two chapters of this gospel he
uses four stirring
-hymns to express
both the depth of
meaning and feel
ing stirred by
these events.
First, there is
Mary’s beautiful
and humble re-
sponse to the an-
Rev. Althouse gelic announce-
ment that she will
be the mother of Christ (Luke
1 46-55). We call this hymn, the
“Magnificat” (“my soul magnifies
the Lord ..
“Mine eyes have seen ..
Then in Luke 1:68-79 there is
Zechariah’s ecstatic response to
the revelation that his newborn
son, John (the Baptist), will be
the prophetic forerunner of the
Messiah. Because it begins with
the word, “blessed,” it is known
as the Benedictus.
To Move Silage in Cold Weather
It is becoming a common
'practice to store surplus silage in
a horizontal silo, or a pile, until
some has been fed out of the
tower silos and then refill from
the temporary structure. It is
best if this transfer of silage is
done during the winter months
when air temperatures are below
50 degrees in order to keep
heating and spoilage to a
minimum. Too often the job is not
done until warm weather arrives
in March and April and more
heating takes place. The silage
should be moved as quickly as
possible and no preservatives or
water should be needed. The
feeding of this silage through the
tower silos is recommended
because of the mechanical
unloading and feeding equipment
that is a part of most upright
silos. It may be fed directly from
the horizontal silo if handling
equipment is available.
To Practice Good Sanitation
The farmer’s image will be
improved to everyone if good
sanitation prevails on every
farm. This is especially true with
dairymen due to the handling of
fluid milk; the cows should be
kept clean as well as the barn and
milk house. Many infections are
brought home to the farm by the
farmer himself or on some of his
equipment. Trucks and feed bags
have been sources of infection.
Footwear that is worn at a public
yards or auction should not be
worn into the barn with livestock
or poultry unless it has been
thoroughly cleaned and disin
fected. Stray dogs, cats, and
birds should be kept to a
minimum because of the danger
of spreading disease.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among
men
with whom he is pleased!
The fourth of these great lyri
cal testimonies comes shortly
after the birth of Jesus when he
is brought to Jerusalem for the
rite of presentation in the temple,
(2:30-32). Here an aged and faith
ful Jew realizes that this infant is
the answer to Israel’s hopes. His
life is fulfilled: “Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace
according to thy word; for mine
e> es have seen thy salvation . .
This ecstatic testimony is often
known at the "Nunc Dimittis,
(“Now lettest. ..”).
Action verbs
If you examine each of these
songs closely, you will see, how
ever, that they are not specula
tive in nature. There are no spec
ulative, philosophical ideas about
who or what God is. Rather, they
are recountings of what God has
done and is doing! These are not
passive verbs, but action verbs.
They speak of God’s activity in his
world. For example in Zechari
ah’s “Benedictus,” (1:68-79): God
has “visited,” “redeemed,”
“raised,” “spoke,” “to perform,”
“to remember,” “swore,” “to
grant.” This is no absentee God,
but one whose presence is evi
dent in the dramatic work he
performs.
The verbs describing the re
sponse of Mary, Zechariah, and
Simeon, are also active. What
each has to testify comes, not
through idle contemplation, but
observation of what God is doing.
The God of Mary, Zeohariah,
the shepherds, and Simeon was a
God who acts. So is ours, if we
will open our hearts.