Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, February 01, 1975, Image 52

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    —Lancaster Farmlm
52
Growing Need
For Farm Fuel
Unless they’re pumping
oil, farmers can’t make fuel
any more than they can
make it rain.
Big diesel tractors do most
of the land fitting and
planting in this country. If
the fuel’s not there when it’s
needed, crop yields will
IwSedive. In the central Corn
Belt, com yields per acre
drop a bushel a day during
May 1-15 for each day’s
delay in getting the crop in,
and 2 bushels a day from
then to the end of May.
It amounts to a hefty
pnrz
■SILO
alltypetof tilagtl
with four sizes - 12’ to 16’
16- to 20’. 20’ to 24 and the
BIG ones 24’ to 30’ in
diameter'
f See your PATZ Dealer today.
CALL 717-272-0871 .
MARVIN J.
HORST
Dairy Equipment and
f Amana Appliances
RD#l|lona|
LEBANON. PA
Located on Route 897 between
Schaeffersfown and Lebanon,
over 30 years in business at
same place
Before you buy
any farm loader,
see a Bobcat in action!
It s no accident that Melroe s Bobcat is the world s
most popular farm loader For almost 20 years
these powerful little loaders have been taking the
backbreaking time-consuming labor out of dozens
of farm jobs Four Bobcat models all with 4-wheel
drive pivot turning agility and a big assortment of
special job attachments give farmers a wide range
of applications and power options Fitted with the
exclusive Bob Tach Bobcat becomes a quick
change specialist in scores of indoor-outdoor
year-round jobs Almost anyone can learn to op
erate a Bobcat in 15 minutes And its economical
to maintain Wed like to show you right on your
farm how j'eai a compact lead tr can oe Give us
a call While we rr demonstrating well snow you
how it s easier than ever to own or lease a Bobcat
!. Saturday. Feb. 1. 1975
financial loss for the man
who farms 1,000 acres, not to
mention inflated costs of
com on the local market due
to the supply shrinkage.
How to lose
Suppose this fanner’s com
should have gone in May 1
but that a fuel shortage kept
his tractors out of the field
till June 1. Total yield
reduction pencils out to 45
bushels an acre, or 45,000
bushels for the entire farm.
At a market price of $3.50 a
bushel, the fuel crunch cost
him over $157,000'
Who cares?
Consumers should. In the
end the farmer’s loss will be
handed to them in larger
food bills.
The effect of fuel shortages
on agriculture worries the
lawmakers on Capitol Hill,
too. So the Congress asked
the USDA’s Economic
Research Service to assess
the future needs for fuel by
the food and fiber sector
through 1980.
ERS’s report in hand.
Senator George McGovem-
Chairman of the Sub
committee on Agricultural
Credit and Rural Elec
trification-had this to say
about agriculture’s fuel
priority:
“Hie timely supply of
fossil fuels to the food and
fiber sector is imperative for
orderly processing and
marketing of farm
production inputs and food
products at least-cost prices.
“Curtailment of natural
gas and disruption of
petroleum fuel supplies will
require substantial capital
expenditures . . . shortages
of these fuels will reduce
supplies of mputs and thus
food and fiber.”
The ERS study concluded
that by 1980 the energy needs
LROE
SCAT
lOST POPULAR
'TEER LOADER
of selected food and fiber
Industries will rise to nearly
5,200 trillion Btu (British
thermal units), an increase
of over 11 percent from 1970,
(It takes 1 Btu to raise the
temperature of 1 pound of
water by 1 degree F.)
Fuel needs understated
ERS emphasized this
projection applies only to
five subsectors of the food
and fiber industry-farm
production, farm family
living, food processing,
marketing and distribution,
and manufacture of certain
inputs. Total energy needs of
the whole food and, fiber
sector will total much more
than 5,200 trillion Btu by
1980.
The industries selected for.
the ERS analysis used 4,667
trillion Btu of fossil fuel
energy in 1970. Other studies
have indicated our total food
system, including home food
storage and preparation,
used up to 8,618 trillion Btu
that year.
In the ERS breakdown,
only the category of farm
family living shows a decline
in energy use in 1980. Top
gainers in energy will be
food processing, and
marketing and distribution.
Fueling farm homes
Energy used for farm
family living is slated to fall
10 percent as the number of
farm families drops 21
percent to 2.33 million in
1980. Both natural gas and
LP gas use, however, will
increase as farm homes shift
to these fuels for space
heating.
w
DAIRY EQUIPMENT COMPANY IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
ITS NEWEST ADDITION TO ITS BULK MILK TANK LINE.
DARI-KOOL MODEL DKO
FLAT TOP MILK TANK
If you are interested m saving fuel in your milking and milk coolme ooeratinn uni .
mfrket Dan KODI tOP tank haS the largest C °° hng fca P acit y of any tank on the
Check on our special introductory offer price
Introductory Offer Exoires March 15, 1975
SHENK’S FARM SERVICE
Lititz, PA 17543
Phone: (717) 626-4355
1717| 733 1224 answering service
Energy demands for food
processing will balloon as
much as 30 percent by 1980
due to the trend towards
convenience foods, which
have a hearty appetitle for
energy. Sharpest increase
will be for frozen specialtlcs
■TV dinners, pizzas, and
other snack foods. Their
energy requirements will
double by 1980, and will
equal those of farm
production and family living
combined. Natural gas will
remain the No. 1 energy
source for food processing.
Marketing and distribution
Marketing and distribution
will demand 19 percent more
energy in 1980 compared
with 1970. About nine-tenths
will come from tran
sportation - diesel fuel for
trucks, trains, and barges-to
get food from the farm to
market.
Energy consumption for
input manufacturing is
projected to go up 15 percent
between 1970 and 1980. The
fertilizer industry will
continue as the heaviest
user, accounting for nearly
60 percent, and natural gas
will be the principal energy
source.
Farm production's energy
needs are expected to show
the smallest advance among
all subsectors of the food and
fiber industry, except for
farm family living.
Requirements for farm
production will rise only 4.2
percent. But, farm
production will remain the
second biggest energy user
after food processing-about
DARI-KOOL
RD4
If no answer
21 percent of the total for the
industries studied. And
without the energy to feed
the production subsector,
you can forget about the rest.
Acres for food
ERS has calculated that
farmers will supply in
creased food needs from
fewer acres in 1980, with
acreage expected to
decrease from 371 million in
1973 to 354-365 million in 1985.
Yields will improve as
farmers continue to adopt
new technology.
The shift from gas to diesel
tractors and combines will
hot let up, and diesel fuel will
Good Farm Hand
A6WAY PETROLEUM CORP.
BOX 1197, DILLERVILLE ROAD, LANCASTER, PA
PHONE 397-4954
FROM
ALLENSVILLE PLANING MILL
iicount for over 40 percent of
all farm production in 1980,
up from 28 percent in 1973.
LF gas use will climb
slightly as farmers expand
crop drying.
The predicted drain on
natural gas supplies is a
paramount concern to
ag culture. Natural gas 1$
tile feedstock for production
of nitrogen fertilizer.
Ammonia and energy
Total energy requirements
for anhydrous ammonia
production are projected to
increase from 458 trillion Btu
in 1972-73 to 532 trillion by
I Continued on Pagi 53)
Allensville, PA 17002
Phone; (717) 483-6386
OR
Or call salesman after 7 00 p m
Leonard Yoder 17171 935 2063