Periodicals Division
Vol. 18 No. 42
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I FARM TRENDS I
A summary of market
and commodity news
for the past week
The freeze on beef prices ends September 12, and there
was a time when prognosticators were saying live cattle
prices would skyrocket when the freeze went off. The roman
candle predictions have dwindled to sparkler dimensions,
and some market seers are predicting very little increase
from the present levels of $5O to $52 for choice steers. The
majority opinion seems to hold that prices will go up
somewhat in the next few weeks, then level off or even fall
back a bit.
Hog prices have taken a wild roller coaster ride in the past
few weeks, way up to 61 cents, now way back to around 43
cents, and nobody seems to know why. Pork producers say
the price is getting dangerously close to a break-even level,
and some fear their hogs will become unprofitable if prices
continue downward. A return to 30-cent hogs would cer
tainly spell ruin for a great many farmers. Price fluctuations
have been so rapid, that the “ins-and-outers" don’t even
have time to get in and out anymore.
People Are Eating Less Meat
The American public has definitely changed its eating
habits in the past few months. Red meat consumption is
expected to be down nine pounds per person for the year.
Fish, chicken and cheese consumption moved up, but eggs
dropped a bit.
Few Restaurants Close Because of Meat Prices
A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association
says that he's heard of no restaurants closing solely because
of meat prices. “Our members have been able to maintain
their meat supplies," he said. “The big established accounts,
those who pay their bills on time, have been able to get 100
percent of their meat orders. Newer accounts, and slow
paying accounts, have been running into trouble.”
Restauranteurs are anxious to have the freeze lifted,
because it’s fouling up their normal profit computations.
Usually, a restaurant will triple its raw food price to arrive at
a menu price. For example, if the raw food price of a chicken
dinner is 85 cents, the menu price would be $2.55. Under the
freeze, a 15 cent increase in the raw food price to $1 means
an increase m the menu price to $2.70, instead of the $3.00 it
would be if restaurants were allowed to compute their
profits with their usual method.
Farm Family Hosts
Guest From Poland
A young agricultural scientist
from Poland is spending nine
months in Lancaster County,
learning as much as he can about
Americans and their way of life,
and about agriculture in this part
of the country.
Walenty Mazur, is a 23-year-old
Polish chemist who came to this
country as part of the Mennonite
Central Committee’s Exchange
Visitor Program for Polish
agriculturists. His nine-month
stay began last March and will
continue through December,
when he will return to Poland.
Exchange visitors can spend
their entire nine months living
and working with one host
family. Walenty, though, is
splitting his time between the
Wilmer Kraybill farm near
Elverson and Weaver’s
Greenhouse in Lancaster.
by Dick Wanner |
Wither Go Beef Prices?
Hogs Take a Beating
“I am glad to get to know two
different aspects of your
agriculture,” Walenty said one
recent morning in the living room
of the Kraybill farmhouse. “In
Poland, I work with agricultural
chemicals, testing them for ef
fectiveness These chemicals are
used both on the fields and in the
greenhouses, so I am finding my
stay here very interesting ”
Walenty lives with his parents
on a 30-acre farm in Upper
Silesia, one of the most heavily
industrialized regions of the
world. “There is always smoke,”
he said, “and a haze from the
foundries. But there is also a lot
of farming, and much of it is
highly mechanized.”
An indication of the degree of
mechanization can be seen in the
(Continued On Page 40)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 8,1973
Garden Spot Trio
Gets FFA Awards
This was award week for three
of Garden Spot High School’s
Grassland Chapter FFA mem
bers. It started last Friday at the
Mount Joy Vo-Tech School when
Ray Martin was named Lan
caster County Star Farmer, and
his classmate, Larry Ressler,
was named Lancaster County
Star Agribusinessman. Then, on
Tuesday it was learned that the
state proficiency award for
agricultural production had gone
to Robert L. Burkhart, a 1972
Garden Spot graduate.
Judges for the Star Farmer
award named Ephrata’s Paul
Horning alternate. The judges
were Robert Bucher, from
Commonwealth National Bank,
Robert Zook, Production Credit
Association, and Dick Wanner,
Lancaster Farming Newspaper.
Ray Martin - Star Farmer
Ray is deeply involved in the
brand new dairy operation on his
father’s farm at New Holland
RDI. Ray’s parents are Eli and
Kathryn Martin. When he
graduates from high school next
June, Ray plans to assume full
responsibility for the dairy
operation.
Actually, Ray has a large
Recruiting
Drive Set
By DHIA
A promotion program to at
tract new members was ap
proved at the latest quarterly
meeting of the Red Rose DHIA
board of directors. This will be
the second year in a row for such
a program, although this year the
promotion will span a longer
period of time.
During last year’s promotion,
18 new herds were signed up for
regular DHIA testing. The
promotion is aimed at dairymen
who feel they might benefit from
testing, but who want to try the
service before committing
themselves. These farmers will
have their herds tested once, free
of charge, by a regular DHIA
supervisor. They will get the
same service from the supervisor
and the same test results from
Penn State that other DHIA
members receive. If they like the
service, they can sign up.
Costs for the promotion are
being borne jointly by Penn
State, which will absorb
processing costs, and the local
DHIA, which will pay tester fees.
The program will be open from
September through December.
Association president Robert
Kauffman noted during the
meeting that the group had been
losing money for about a year,
but quickly added that this was
by design. “We found ourselves
with $20,000 in the bank,” he told
a visiting dairyman, “and we felt
this was more cushion than we
needed. So, the last time we
(Continued On Page 13)
Larry Ressler, left, and Ray Martin were named Lancaster
County Star Agribusinessman and Star Farmer, respectively,
last Friday in judging at the Mount Joy Vo-Tech school.
measure of responsibility right
now. His father is occupied much
of the time managing a beef
operation, so Ray does most of
the milking, feeding, record
keeping and clean up chores. He
also maintains the records, does
the heat detection and selects
sires.
Dairying is new to the Martin
farm. Beef and potatoes had been
the chief sources of revenue. Beef
is still the main factor, but Ray
and his father turned the potato
shed into a dairy barn.
The dairy operation is a 50-50
father-son partnership. The
partnership presently owns 18
grade and one registered
Holstein cows, 8 grade and one
registered Holstein heifer, and
Farm Calendar
Saturday, September 8
10:30 am. - Sire Power-NEBA
Open House, Tunkhannock.
Pennsylvania Dutch Farm
Festival, Kempton, Sep-
tember 8-9.
Flax Schutching Festival,
Stahlstown.
Sunday, September 9
34th Annual National Plowing
Contest, Don Bailey farm,
Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Monday, September TO
8 pm.-- Manheim Young Farmer
barn meeting, “Anhydrous”,
Luke Brubaker farm, Mount
Joy RDI.
Fulton Grange meeting, Election
of Officers, Oakryn
Tuesday, September 11
7 30 pm. -- Farm and Home
(Continued On Page4o)
S 2 00 Per Year
Bob Burkhart, winner of
the State Proficiency
Award awarded annually
to an outstanding FFA
member.
three registered Ayrshires.
Ray grows hay and corn for his
dairy operation, and does most of
' Continued On Page 4)
In This Issue . . .
Markets 2-4
Sale Register 32
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 36
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 22
Wheat Program Details 11
Vegetable Field Day 30
Mam Wins Berks
County Award 8