Pa. Dairy Industry Must Have Profits,
“Does the consuming public in
the Commonwealth of Penn
sylvania understand the im
portance of dairying to the total
economy of this state,”
questioned John C. York, general
manager of Eastern Milk
Producers Cooperative.
Speaking before an audience in
Eastern’s headquarters recently,
the leader of nearly 4,000 milk
producers in the state of Penn
sylvania, concerned himself with
the stability of the dairy industry
and its impact on the Com
monwealth’s overall business
climate.
York predicted that, because of
the increased cost of living,
consumers are going to be more
selective in the purchase of food
items. Milk has a bright future in
terms of alternative food costs
The price of a quart of milk has
IN 1972
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increased less, over the past 10
years, than has the cost of nearly
every other item in the
housewife’s budget. Yet, milk is
still the world’s most perfect
food.
The share of the nation’s in
come going for personal ex
penditures for food currently is
only 16.1 per cent, compared with
20 per cent in 1960. Expenditures
for food at home comprise only
about 12.9 per cent of disposable
income, compared with 16.2 per
cent 10 years ago. This is the
lowest in the world.
Today’s supermarket offers
consumers 8,000 or more items to
choose from. Food items com
prise about 72 per cent of total
sales, a decline from 76 per cent
in 1963. Non-food items in the
market basket account for an
increasing portion of sales, from
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A. H. HOFFMAN SEEDS, INC.
• Landisville.Pa.
Purina Dairy Conditioner Special can prepare
cows for good production at low cost
Ph: 464-3431
West Willow
898-2261
If you’re not among the many good local
dairymen who have started mixing
Purina Dairy Conditioner Special with
your own grain to build a research
proved dry cow ration, it can pay you to
check into this low-cost way of feeding
dry cows.
Purina Dairy Conditioner is a 16 percent
protein ration, fortified with extra Vita
mins A and D plus phosphorus to help
guard against milk fever.
To help you save on dry cow feeding,
Purina Research recommends varying
feeding levels, depending on cow condi
tion and the quality of your roughages.
For example, if a cow is in good condi
tion and your roughages are of excellent
quality, you would feed less Purina dry
cow ration than if the cow were in only
fair condition and if the roughages were
of only fair quality.
•Reg. Trademark—Ralston Purina Co.
John B. Kurtz
Ph; 354-9251
R. D. 3, Ephrata
Ira B. Landis
Ph: 394-7912
1912 Creek Hill Rd., Lane
24 per cent in 1963 to 28 per cent in
1970.
Last year, consumers
disposable income rose six per
cent. This increase made it
possible for consumers to buy
their dairy products with only 2.3
per cent of their income. The
average wage earner had to work
only 75 minutes per week in 1970
to earn the dairy products m the
market basket of farm foods, the
same as in 1969.
York said everyone desires a
more stable economy. Dairying
in Pennsylvania is a multi-billion
dollar industry, generating
millions of dollars and thousands
of jobs It is reported that two out
of every 15 trucks seen on our
highways are connected in some
way with agriculture and that one
of every six is directly involved
with a part of the dairy industry
This does not take into con
sideration the hundreds of farm
machinery dealers and feed
companies as well as those en
terprises involved in the sale of
gasoline, tires, trucks and home
furnishings, to mention but a few
The tax structures of many of
our rural communities are
chiefly supported by dairy far
mers, he said
But where are we going in the
Northeast 9 On a per farm basis,
realized net income in 1970, stood
at approximately $5,374 or five
per cent below the 1969 level, is
not expected to show any gain
this year, and will remain steady
m 1972, only if there is a decline in
the farmer’s cost of production
York stated, “Dairymen are
going out of business at an
alarming rate. During the first
nine months of 1970, the milk
industry in the Northeast lost
about 2,186 milk producers in the
five Federal Order Markets or
about 273 producers per month
During the same period this year
we have lost another 1,376
producers or about 172 producers
per month. Milk distributors,
those who receive the raw
product, process and distribute
it, are also finding it nearly
impossible to continue in
business yvith such a low return
for their efforts. Employee wage
Eastern Manager Warns
negotiations have forced many
smaller proprietary handlers to
go heavily in debt or shut down
their operations entirely.”
What must be done therefore,
to keep this state’s economy, as
well as that of the dairy industry,
stable?
York said “Without a
reasonable profit for both the
dairy farmer and the milk
distributor, the collapse of one of
this state’s major industries is
inevitable Farmers need a sound
market for their product, one
which is able to remain finan
cially strong. The retail price of
milk has been at a standstill for
too long when the cost of nearly
every other food item has been on
the increase
“The Federal Order System
helps maintain stability in the
dairy industry in areas within the
Orders by establishing minimum
prices paid to dairymen of this
state
“Functions of, the Milk
Marketing Board are very
similar to the above system and
Southern growers have had a
problem making acceptable
profits because they all tend to
harvest between September and
November Then, the market is
overloaded and prices are low
Tank systems can avoid this
problem
Disease can be a problem,
Lomax admits And, disease can
sweep very quickly through
heavily-stocked tanks or ponds
Some chemical controls are now
approved by the Food and Drug
Administration
However, the biggest problem
for interested Delaware catfish
farmers will simply be getting
ponds or tanks stocked
economically
Catfish eggs can be shipped by
air from Louisiana, fingerhngs
are only available from the
midwest or the south Lomax
predicts both may be more easily
available within two to three
years Then production may rise
Using Purina Check-R-Mix* formulas we
can build you a low-cost dry cow ration,
combining Purina Dairy Conditioner
with your grain Or, if you’re feeding
low-protein roughages, it may pay you
to feed Dairy Conditioner “straight”
just as it comes from the bag.
More and more successful area dairymen
are proving that good dry cow feeding
pays off in extra cow condition and
extra milk production in the next lacta
tion. For example, 100 to 200 pounds of
additional body weight at freshening can
pay off in 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of extra
milk during the lactation.
Drop in soon and get your free copy of
the Purina Dry Cow Program folder
We’ll be glad to point out how Purina
Dairy Conditioner Special can help pro
pare your dry cows for good production
at low cost.
Jomes High & Sons
Ph; 354-0301
Gordonville
Wenger's Feed Mill
Inc.
Ph: 367-1195
Rheems
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 18,1971
Catfish
(Continued on Page 6)
covers the whole of the Com
monwealth. In other words, it not
only includes the areas covered
by Federal Orders but picks up
where that system leaves off.
Whereas, retail prices for milk in
Pennsylvania are higher in some
instances than those in New York
State, we must be ever mindful of
the fact that a margin of profit
must be maintained and nurtured
to protect this state’s economy ”
York concluded by warning
that “farmers in the Com
monwealth of Pennsylvania
cannot endure the future by
reduction of prices to the con
sumers. If this occurs, the
problem will come to rest on
farms and eventually the total
economy of this great state ”
Grant Voted
AFBF VP
Allan Grant, 65, Perry, Calif ,
president of the California Farm
Bureau Federation, and a
member of the American Farm
Bureau Federation board of
directors, has been elected vice
president of the Federation for a
two-year term by voting
delegates to the 53rd annual
meeting of the Federation
Grant succeeds David H Sloan
Jr, Marion, SC , former
president of the South Carolina
Farm Bureau Federation Sloan
was elected Federation vice
president in December, 1969
William J Kuhfuss, 59,
Mackinaw, 111 , livestock and
grain farmer, was re-elected
president of the Federation for a
two-year term Kuhfuss was
elected president of the
American Farm Bureau
Federation at the December, 1970
convention of the Federation in
Houston, Texas, to serve on-year
of the unexpired terra of Charles
B. Shuman, Sullivan, 111, who
retired at the 1970 convention
after serving 16 years as
president
Guernsey Calf
To Be Given
Immediately after the Guern
sey judging has been completed
at the Farm Show Monday,
January 10, the drawing will be
held for a calf which was donated
by Windy Hill Farms, Titusville
It was born 2-8-71 by Creekedge
Dolly’s Premier, out of Windy
Hill H Sandra 8572-428-305 2
years, milking in the 60’s in her
second lactation
ft*
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2111 Stone Mill Rd.
7