Vol. 17 No. 14 Inter-State’s Dr. Honan Talks of ‘Politics and Milk’ or Vice Versa District 7 of the Inter-State Milk Producers’ Cooperative held its annual dinner meeting at Hostetter’s Dining Hall, Mount Joy, at noon Thursday. Jersey Calf Sale Set A Jersey calf sale to benefit 4-H and FFA work and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Jersey Breeders will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 1 at Top-O- Hill Farm, die home of the George Seeds family, Downingtown. In conjunction with the regular Pennsylvania State Jersey meeting, the sale will be the first of its kind in the history of the Jersey Association in Penn sylvania. Donald Koontz of Walabe Farm is chairman of the sale. Jim Boswell of Unionville will be donating his time as auctioneer. The calves are from dams with 10,000 pounds of milk or more and are from proven sires. Also included in the Saturday morning activities will be a tour of the New Bolton Center. Anyone desiring reservations for the Saturday, April 1 banquet, contact George A. or Mildred Seeds, 1208 Seeds Lane, Downingtown, 19335, or call 215- 269-0759 no later than March 20. New Egg Act Will Force Down Breakage, Birth The “main good” to come from new federal egg inspection regulations effective July 1 will be “to force farmers to reduce breakage” Kermit Birth, Penn State poultry marketing specialist, told local farmers Thursday night at the Farm and Home Center. Birth said he has seen some instances of breakage exceeding 13 per cent and even much higher. But he stated there’s “absolutely no excuse for it.” Birth showed slides and discussed numerous causes of breakage, nearly all of them involving improper handling of eggs or birds. In This Issue Ag Teacher Report 14 Classified Ads 32,33,34,35 DHIA Report 18 Editorial Page 10 Market Section 2,3,4 PEMA Report 12 Sale Register 28,29,30,31 Women’s News 24,25 Also see special reports on the Garden Spot Young Farmer banquet on page 16 and the Inter- State District 7 banquet on page one. Elsewhere, see reports on growing discontent by farm organizations with policies and programs of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Election of local officers and a talk by Dr. James E. Honan, Inter-State secretary and general manager, were among the highlights. Honan zeroed in on several issues facing milk producers including what he described as “prices and politics,” something which he said “happens every four years when milk prices get involved in politics and politics get involved im milk.” Honan said that in general he sees the recent action to replace the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture as “something that had to be done to move farmers back into the present administration.” Honan says he sees a number of things being done to improve U. S. farm prices. He noted that Senator Hubert Humphrey, presidential can didate, already is recommending price support increases for milk and Honan indicated he thinks the present administration may raise milk prices in the next three or four weeks. But Honan noted that the in terest of consumers is for lower prices. When federal order fodr (Philadelphia) is extended to include a larger area and more farmers, prices to farmers in these areas will be increased, resulting in higher prices for consumers. Honan said be (Continued on Page 20) According to Birth, “Some farmers who say they can’t af ford to spend more money to stop breakage may not have spent enough time pushing the pencil” to see how much breakage is costing them. Other discussion at the second of three Lancaster County Poultry Association education meetings at the Farm and Home Center revealed that it will be illegal to “sell inedibles” after Phase II of the new Federal Egg Products Inspection Act becomes effective July 1. When fanners inquired if this will outlaw selling of a few eggs at their farms to neighbors and others who stop by, officials explained that it will be illegal to sell inedibles and that it will be impossible to know if the eggs contain inedibles unless they are candled. Some fanners indicated they currently sell a few eggs without candling and that this would mean purchase of candling equipment will be necessary. In other discussion, it was indicated that responsibility for egg quality, except for farmer sales directly to the customer, will rest primarily with the processors and retailers. Further educational meetings are expected on the Egg Products Act to further familiarize producers and processors with Lancaster Farming. Saturday, February 26,1972 Among those appearing on the Inter- State Cooperative District 7 annual banquet program Thursday afternoon are: Daniel L Martin, District director; Dr. But Ail Farm Equipment Needs Emblem Pennsylvania State Police this week reported that the new slow moving vehicle (SMV) law does not apply to Amish buggies. Previous indications from State Police and other sources were that the law would apply to all vehicles traveling on public roads at speeds less than 25 miles per hour. But State Police reported this details of the new law. One such meeting has been scheduled by the USDA in Harrisburg on March 10. Also speaking were E. J. Lawless, Pennsylvania Depart ment of Agriculture chief of poultry and eggs division, and Richard Shockley, USDA. The meeting was chaired by Jay W Irwin, associate Lancaster County ag agent. Railroad Accepts Stock Yards Bid A high bid submitted by the Lancaster Livestock Exchange has been accepted tentatively by the management of the Penn Central Railroad for sale of Lancaster Union Stock Yards. A second bid of Bunarco Inc. for purchase of a 5.1 acre tract across Marshall Avenue from the stock yards, was also accepted. The Exchange bid $803,331 for the 22.9 acre stock yard site, which includes cattle pens as well as the Stock Yard Inn, at the corner of Lititz Pike and Mar shall Ave. Because Penn Central is operating under bankruptcy proceedings, the bids must now go through a complicated legal procedure before sale of the stock yards is finalized. Buggies Exempt From SMV Law week that the law is being strictly interpreted and that this in -erpretation excludes Amish buggies. The law will apply, however, to farm implements and machinery, including those pulled by horses. Present in dications are that the law will apply to Amish farm equipment on public highways, but not to the buggies. Sgt. Donald Hollywood, traffic sergeant at Lancaster Police barracks, explained this week that the official state slow moving vehicle emblem is required on “all farm machinery, implements of husbandry, in cluding all road construction and maintenance machinery designed to operate at 25 miles per hour or less traveling on a public highway, day or night.” Hollywood said, “The legislature did not include (in the SMV law) the horse and buggy being used by the Amish sect.” Says He noted that local State Police checked with the traffic Bureau in Harrisburg and “they con firmed it is not required on the Amish buggy.” But Hollywood added that farm machinery pulled by horses will be subject to the law, which required the of ficial triangular slow moving vehicle emblem. Previous reports in Lancaster Farming had indicated that the emblem would be required on all vehicles traveling under 25 miles per hour, including the buggy. Hollywood said his office has Livestock waste disposal will be the topic at an educational meeting at the Farm and Home Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday, February 28. A. Roger Grout, Penn State ag Extension engineer, will speak on “Manure Management and Disposal” and N. Henry Wooding, Penn State ag Ex tension ■ engineer, ■ will- discuss James E. Honan, Inter-State secretary and general manager; Robert Kauffman, District president and banquet toast master, and Andrew A. Marvin, fieldman. Waste Meeting Set $2.00 Per Year recieved numerous inquiries in recent weeks in regard to ap plication of the law to buggies. He acknowledged there was some uncertainty initially on whether the law would apply to buggies, but this has been resolved to exclude buggies. The law requires that the emblem be positioned as near as practical to the center of the machinery. The emblem is not required on vehicles being towed if the towing vehicle has an emblem which is readily visible. Hollywood also noted he has received some inquiries on how the law would apply if an emblem is on a vehicle which is being transported by a fast moving vehicle which exceeds the 25 mile per hour limit. Hollywood said that as far as he can tell there is nothing in the law to prohibit the transported vehicle from having the emblem, but he advised that as a practical matter the emblem should be covered in such cases Farm Calendar Monday, February 28 7:30 p.m. Waste Disposal meeting, Farm and Home Center. Farmers Union National Con vention, Houston, Texas, February 28 - March 2. Fulton Grange 66 meeting, Oakryn. Tuesday, February 29 7:30 p.m. Central 4-H Tractor (Continued on Page (19) “Liquid Waste Management.” In urging farmers to attend the meeting, Max Smith, Lancaster County ag agent, noted changing agricultural methods, growing pressures on farmers and the need to “become as knowledgable as possible in livestock waste management in order to .maintain good com munity relations.”