Vol. 20 No. 24
U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl
Butz parried questions from farm
writers on Monday in Washington
Youths Exhibit Projects
At Conservation Contest
by: Melissa Piper
Karen Martin, a freshman
at Garden Spot High School
And member of the
Grassland' Environmental
FFA Chapter, captured first
place in the FFA Con
servation Speaking contest
held on Monday evening
April 21, at the Lancaster
Farm and Home Center.
Miss Martin, who lives on
a dairy farm with her
parents Mr. and Mrs. Clyde
Martin, East Earl El topped
a field of four public
speaking candidates with
her talk, “Where is our Land
Going?”
Red - White Cattle
Becoming Popular
by: Melissa Piper
Throughout recent years,
several new breeds of cattle
have been introduced into
the United States; many of
these animals popular for
their genetic capabilities,
production performances or
phenotypic variances. One
such breed which has
become increasingly popular
over the past ten years is the
Red and White Dairy
animal.
Actually, the red and white
dairy cattle had their
beginnings many years ago
in the lower countries of
Europe. These red and white
Dutch of Friesland dairy
cattle existed even before
the development of the black
and white breed known in
this country as Holsteins.
Many of the animals of the
European countries were
transported to England
where they were eventually
crossed with the popular
during the yearly spring meeting
there of the Newspaper Farm Editors
of America.
Speaking with emotion,
Miss Martin described how
important farm land can be
wasted by erosion and rain
when not properly taken
care of by conservation
methods. She also explained
the workings of zoning and
land use planning as means
to save Lancaster County’s
land from destruction.
The Lancaster County
youth expressed concern
that unless conservation
methods were employed
currently, our grandchildren
might starve from lack of
rich agricultural land on
which to grown crops.
Also representing the
dairy animals of that
country giving rise to
various breeds known today,
including the Ayrshire and
the Milking Shorthorn.
The Red and White dairy
cattle were somewhat slower
in becoming popular in this
country as the .dominate
color factor of the Holsteins
became the prominent
combination.
Although the Black and
White Holsteins retained
much of the dominate color
characteristic, genetic
recessive capabilities at
times made it possible for
two black and white animals
to produce a red and white
calf.
Often when this mating
offspring occurred, the calf
was instantly killed as it was
thought of as a freak of
nature and genetics. What
many producers did not
understand was that the
animal was perfect except
[Continued on Page 12|
Serving The Central and Areas
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 26. 1975
Grassland Environmental
FFA Chapter was Melody
Huber, whose talk on the
extinction of wildlife helped
her attain second place in the
contest. Miss Huber, who is
also a freshman at Garden
Spot High School resides at
Bowmansville with her
parents Mr. and Mrs.
Frederick Huber.
Other contestants vying
for honors in the con
servation speaking contest
were Gordon Lewis from
Elizabethtown and Marty
Hoover from Ephrata.
Judges for the event were
Sally Bealy, representing
LEAF, Stanley Mussleman,
area banker and Melissa
(Continued on Page 14]
Dwight Houser, Lampeter, poses with some of the
many trophies he has won as an active FFA member
at the Lampeter-Strasburg High School. Dwight is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Wilbur Houser.
Farm BiD Hits Ford’s
Desk - Veto Expected
Agricultural observers in
Washington this week were
generally skeptical of the
chances for enactment of the
Emergency Farm Bill.
Although the bill did pass
both the House and the
Senate this week, there
seemed to be general
agreement that President
Ford would veto it when it
finally readied his desk.
On Monday morning, in
fact, Secretary of
Agriculture Earl Butz told a
group of farm reporters that
the president had told him he
would definitely veto the
farm bUI. Butz made the
statement before a meeting
of the annual Washington
conference of the Newspaper
Farm Editors of America. If
the bill is vetoed, there
appear to be too few votes in
either house to override.
The bill went to President
Ford’s desk on Wednesday
afternoon at 3 o’clock, and he
has ten days to either sign or
veto it. Butz said that there is
a possibility that if the bill is
vetoed. President Ford
would follow that action with
an immediate hike in the
loan rates for feed grains.
In This Issue
FARM CALENDAR 10
Markets 2-6
Sale Register 58
Fanners Almanac 8
Classified Ads 26
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 38
Home on the Range 41
Organic Living 49
Junior Cooking Edition 42
Sale Reports 63
Country Comer 38
Farm Women Calendar 42
Chester DHIA 50
The present loan rate on
com, for example, is $l,lO.
The most often mentioned
increase would put the new
rate at $1.87.
Butz said he’s personally
opposed to the bill because it
would be inflationary and
because it would get the
government back into the
grain business. The bill is
also opposed by the
American Farm Bureau -
because the target prices are
too high - and by the National
Farmers Union - because the
target prices are too low.
“Consumer groups are
half for and half against the
Lancaster Legislator
Speaks To Farmers
Representative Kenneth
Brandt spoke before a
concerned audience on
Thursday evening at a
meeting of the Eliza
bethtown Young Fanners.
Brandt,. a Lancaster*
County legislator and
member of the State
Agriculture Committee,
commented on three
agricultural laws which are
currently pending in the
House.
Commenting on Clean
Stream Law and the need for
farmers to have approved
conservation and
sedimentation plans by July
1, 1977, Brandt explained
that the Ag Committee had
spoken with DER on three
occasions trying to pinpoint
exactly what would need to
Lancaster Youth Raises.
Award Winning Crops
Dwight Houser is a young
man who is known to many
throughout Lancaster
County for his outstanding
work in FFA and 4-H.
Dwight, who is a senior at
Lampeter-Strasburg High
School, resides on a farm
with his parents Mr. and
Mrs. J. Wilbur Houser, in
Lampeter and has been
active in 4-H for nine years
and in FFA throughout his
four years in high school.
As an FFA member,
Dwight has served his
chapter as chaplain, news
reporter and president. He
has also served on the
supervised farming project
committee, field trip
organization and on the
Lampeter Hog and Steer
Sale committee.
As projects, Dwight has
taken swine fattening and
breeding, beef finishing and
corn production.
Com production has been
one of Dwight’s favorite
$3.00 Per Year
bill.” Butz added. “I do know
that George Meany,
president of the AFL-dO is
m favor of the bill. And I’m
suspicious of any farm bill
that he likes."
The main reason be op
poses the bill, Butz said, is
that it would increase in
flation. “In the Department
of Agriculture, we want to do
everything we can to stand
behind the President as he
tries to bring fiscal sanity to
the budget. I’m concerned
about inflation. Farmers
should be too, because one of
the most serious problems
[Continued on Page 13|
be included in the farmer’s
conservation plans to meet
the approval of the DER.
Brandt went on to explain
that many members of the
Ag Committee were still not
sure exactly what would be
required of the fanners and
expressed his belief that
DEB was looking at the law
from a different viewpoint.
“Farmers have been more
conscious of conservation for
a longer period of time,”
Brandt commented.
“We feel they probably
know more about
sedimentation problems
from a farming standpoint
than does DER.”
Brandt explained that
DER has been looking at the
stream sedimentation
[Continued on Pate 24]
projects as can be seen by
his many awards in that
field. The youth placed
second in the State for his
com yield which registered
at 212 bushels per acre in the
Muncy Chief corn com
petition. He was also
selected to receive the
proficiency award for crop
production this spring.
Since Dwight lives on a
small farm he must acquire
land elsewhere to plant his
com crop.
“I do plant some on our
farm and other plots on
rented land.”
“This year my production
was good with 212 bushels
per acre.”
Along with his project
work, Dwight has been in
volved in many FFA ac
tivities including being a
member of the livestock
judging teams. Last year,
Dwight won a bronze medal
and fourth place m the
I Continued on Page 9]