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Periodicals V'
Vol. 18 No. 48
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I FARM TRENDS I
A summary of market
and commodity news
for the past week
Record Harvest Forecast
The forecast of Pennsylvania’s production of corn for grain
remains at 84.8 million bushels, according to the Penn
sylvania Crop Reporting Service. Average yield per acre is
expected to be 80 bushels. If this year’s forecast
materializes, the Commonwealth’s corn crop will be 31
percent larger than it was last year.
Potato production in Pennsylvania is forecast to be 6.8
million cwt, an increase of 34 percent from last year’s
production of 5.1 million cwt. Average yield is forecast to be
220 cwt. per acre, compared with last year’s yield of 170 cwt.
Total production of hay in Pennsylvania is expected to be
4.4 million tons, an 18 percent increase over last year’s crop.
Alfalfa hay comprises 2.2 million tons of the total. Average
yield per acre of all hay is forecast to be 2.16 tons, and of
alfalfa hay, 2.70 tons.
Pennsylvania’s commercial apple crop is expected to be
410 million pounds (9.8 million 42-pounds equivalents). This
is 2 percent more than last year’s crop of 400 million pounds
(9.5 mHlion 42-pound equivalents), but 19 percent less than
the 1971 crop.
Grape production in Pennsylvania is expected to total
40,000 tons, 6 percent more than last year’s production.
Pennsylvania’s seedleaf tobacco production is forecast to
be 23.8 million pounds this year, a 31 percent increase over
last year’s production. Average yield is expected to be 1,700
pounds per acre, compared with 1,400 last year.
The United States corn crop is forecast to be a record
5,763 million bushels, 4 percent higher than last year’s crop.
A record United States soybean crop of 1,588 million
bushels is forecast. This is 24 percent more than last year’s
U.S. soybean production. A record yield of 28.3 bushels per
acre is expected.
Production of fail potatoes in the U.S. is forecast at 252.7
million cwt., up 2 percent from the 248.8 million cwt. har
vested in 1972.
Milk production in Pennsylvania during September was
533 million pounds, 3 percent less than in August, and 4
percent less than in September last year according to the
Crop Reporting Service.
The number of milk cows in the Commonwealth in Sep
tember was 666,000 the same as the August number, but 2
percent less than a year ago.
Milk produced per cow averaged 800 pounds in Sep
tember compared with 825 pounds in August and 820
pounds in September last year.
United States milk production during September is
estimated at 9,044 million pounds, 4 percent less than a year
earlier. U. S. average milk production per cow during Sep
tember was 798 pounds compared with 808 pounds in
September 1972. During September there were 11.3 million
milk cows on U. S. farms, down 3 percent from September
last year.
Milk Advisors Slate
First Annual Meeting
The steady drop in milk
production and the financial and
marketing problems of dairymen
will be aired at the first annual
Pennsylvania Milk Marketing
Conference Nov. 7 at the Penn
Harris Motor Inn, Camp Hill.
Called “Crisis In Marketing,”
the conference is sponsored by
the State Milk Marketing Ad
visory Council in cooperation
by Dick Wanner I
Milk Production Is Down
with the Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture.
Jack Kooker, a Berks County
dairyman who is Council
chairman, said various panel
discussions will center on options
available to solve current
marketing problems. “Some of
the top dairy experts in the nation
will address the conference,”
(Continued On Page 21)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 20, 1973
At Clean Streams Meets . . .
Conservation Plan
Needs Explained
July I, 1977, is a date that
farmers are going to hear a lot
about in the months ahead. Under
the Pennsylvania Clean Streams
Law, that is the deadline for
having conservation plans on all
farms. According to the law,
these plans are to be drawn up by
a person trained in conservation
techniques.
Lancaster County has some
6000 farms, of which only about
1500 presently have conservation
plans. And, according to Lan
caster County Soil Con
servationist Orval Bass, about
half of the existing plans should
be rewritten. “Some were done
way back in the Forties, and
farming programs have changed
a lot since then,” Bass told a
Clean Streams Law information
meeting Tuesday night at the Mt.
Joy Vo-Tech School. About
farmers were present.
KC Special
Solanco’s Randy Clark was
high individual in the nation at
the FFA Dairy Cattle judging
Contest held Wednesday in
Kansas City, Mo., during the
annual FFA convention there.
The Pennsylvania team, all
Solanco FFA’ers, was the
nation’s third best in the contest.
On the team, in addition to Clark,
were Gary Akers and William
Hershey.
In This Issue
Marxets 2-4
Sale Register 35
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 37
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 22
Home on the Range 25
Thoughts in Passing 18
Posing for a group photograph after the
annual banquet meeting last Monday night
v ire the 13 directors of the Lancaster
County Farmers Association. Seated are
Nathan Stoltzfus, Mary Martin, Donald
Bass noted that the county
would need about 5000 con
servation plans by the deadline,
and there was no way that
number of plans can be prepared
by the existing Soil Conservation
Service staff. “We now have two
and-a-half men writing con
servation plans,” Bass said, “and
there’s a good possibility we’ll
get cut back to one-and-a-half.”
SCS has for years provided free
conservation plans for any far
mer requesting them. Farmers
have paid nothing for the plans
and they’ve had part of the cost of
conservation practices paid by
Farm Association
Adopts Resolutions
The Lancaster County Far
mers Association held their
annual meeting Monday night
and adopted 26 resolutions, all
but two of which had been
proposed by the group’s policy
development committee. In
cluded in the nine or so
resolutions pertaining directly to
farm issues, the group voted to
support the construction of
atomic power plants. They also
voted to support the efforts of
county commissioners to en
courage the keeping of
agricultural land for agricultural
purposes.
Other farm related resolutions
adopted were:
-Recommend that grain ex
porters publicly announce all
grain sales and prices.
-Recommend that soil con
servation practices of the REAP
program be reinstated.
- Recommend that Penn
sylvania Farmers Association
Rural Environmental Assistance
Program funds. REAP funds,
however, were cut out of the 1974
federal budget, and there’s still
some question as to how much
REAP money will be included in
the new farm bill.
How are the plans going to be
written, and will there be any
REAP funds available, Bass was
asked at the meeting. He replied
that there are many people who
know how to write conservation
plans, but there are no govern
ment funds to pay them for doing
the job. “Maybe farmers will
(Continued On Page 37)
(PFA) support a State Expo
Complex.
- Recommend that PFA oppose
any legislation against the use of
steel traps.
- Recommend an increase of $5
per year membership dues for
1975.
- Recommend much stricter
laws and punishment for ar-
sonists,
-Recommend that 51 percent
of those responsible for enforcing
the Clean Streams Law and other
DER officials be required to own
at least 100 tillable acres so they
Farm Calendar
Saturday, October 20
1 p.m. - Pennsylvania Pork
Cookout King Contest, Manor
Shopping Center, Lancaster.
1:30 p.m. - Manheim Young
Farmers Annual Gun Shoot,
Jay Foreman Farm, Lititz
(Continued On Page 21)
Hershey and Roger Thome. Standing, left
to right, are John Myer, James Shertzer,
Robert Wagner, Robert Kreider, Earl
Newcomer, Carlton Groff, Ellis Mentzer,
Reid Wissler and Jesse Balmer.
$2 00 Per Year
' Continued On Page 20)