periodicals Division
\ W 209 Pattoe Library
) ponm. State University
mm
V01.20Np.42
Improved farm outlook seen
By Dieter Krieg
Note: This report is
compiled from the following
sonrcet of information:
L.The 12th »mm«l Northeast
Regional Outlook Con
ference which was held in
Lancaster this past Wed
nesday and Thursday with
specialists and economists
from a number of
agricultural colleges in
attendance; 2.. Recently -
received bulletins from die
Departments of Agriculture
in Washington and
Harrisburg; 3.. Reports from
private businesses; and
L.The Wall Street Journal.
There are some important
thoughts to keep in mind in
interpreting these trends and
assumptions. Dr. John
Crothers, a marketing
specialist at the University
of Maryland, who spoke on
the grain and feed outlook,
described the agricultural
outlook as involving
“massive uncertainty.”
Stirring up some laughter,
be likened this “anything
may happen” condition to
mothers who 20 years ago
had their little daughters
vaccinated in places they
thought wouldn’t show.
Jessee Cooper, Penn State
extension ag economist, who
served as chairman for the
Thursday session, stressed
that “You can’t ignore
what’s happening over the
fence ... there’s a lot of
interrelationship between ag
businesses.” That statement
became more apparent all
throughout the conference as
speaker after speaker noted
that what happens in (me
market will have an effect on
the others.
Dairy
The House Agriculture
Dairy Subcommittee has
scheduled hearings in
Pennsylvania for Sept. 19 to
determine if the dairy crisis
is real and what Washington
might be able to do about it.
This follows a USDA dential
last month to milk
producers’ requests for a
hearing to consider
emergency adjustment of
fluid milk prices to bring
them more in line with
production costs.
Milk supplies could shrink,
according to some sources, if
government action is not
forthcoming soon.
Representative William C.
Wampler, ranking
Republican on the House
Agriculture Committee,
warned that “unless the
governments acts, and acts
soon enough, it is inevitable
that even greater numbers of
dairy fanners will sell out or
go bankrupt. The Virginia
congressman noted that 18
percent of the nation’s
dairymen have quit in the
past three years, leaving
only 300,000 in business.
"Any continuing reduction
in the number of milk
producers can only cause a
A look into the past - the former Cyrus Ferguson farm, near Oxford, 15 years ago.
Serving The Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 6,1975
scarcity of milk supply and
could even bring about
rationing,” Wampler said in
a full page statement which
appeared in the Washington
Post.
Opinions about a milk
shortage are mixed.
Production is expected to
continue slightly below a
year earlier, but a “steady to
stronger” trend in milk
prices this fall should avoid
short supplies. Wampler
In This Issue*
FARM CALENDAR 10
Markets 2-6
Sale Register 64
Fanners Almanac 8
Classified Ads 37
Life on the Farm 10
Homestead Notes 38
Home on the Range 43
Junior Cooking Edition 44
Sale Reports 71
Country Comer 38
York Fair 49
Canning 45
E-Town Fair 61
What’s New 50
Milk Hauling 18
Dairy Show 18
himself notes that although
there have been shortages
and rationing of other food
items, there has never been
a national shortage of milk.
Wampler believes that a
“worse dairy crisis” can still
Price Index
Prices received by far
mers during August
remained unchanged when
compared to July of this
year. Lower Prices for
cattle, potatoes and
Photo by Dieter Kriei
$3.00 Per Year
be averted if the Ad*
ministration and Congress
act immediately.
Fred Webster of the
University of Vermont
Extension Service claims:
“Low cull cattle prices and
unemployment are widely
believed to have discouraged
many dairymen from culling
or even selling ooL” Ac
cording to Vligfl Crowley,
Penn State, dairy and beef
colling programs would be
better off to go ahead now
rather than later because of
expected drops in prices.
Butter sales have in
creased by 25 to 30 percent,
Webster reported, with
prices rising right along with
it, due in pert to the lower
butter production. The
Vermont dairy specialist
noted that there is a shift in
manufactured dairy
products which is going from
hard products such as
butter, cheese and non-fat
dry milk, to soft items like
ice cream and cottage
cheese. “We’re moving to a
better situation as far as
supply «ad demand are
concerned,” he explained.
Webster pointed aid that It
normally takes 10 months for
farmers to respond to
marketing conditions. The
price increases for dairy
products seen at the stive
now won’t be noticed on the
farm until October or
November. Webster predicts
rising prices this fall and
says dairymen “are in for a
new ballgame.”
Prices are expected to go
up - although it is not certain
by how much and how soon
because of declining
production and stocks. The
Minnesota - Wisconsin price
series is expected to go up to
$B.lO this winter and remain
there for the first half of 1976.
Webster expects “high
feed prices and a lag in
farmer optimism behind
price changes to cause
enough culling this fall to
restrict production welt into
next year. He also expects
the economics of dairying to
force more operators into
bigger operations and notes
the average herd in Vermont
now has 60 cows. His figures
show larger dairy farms
making more profit than the
smaller ones, he said.
One observation the
professors made while in
Lancaster was that a small
glass of milk costs 40 cents;
a larger one goes for 60
cents.
(Conlinued on Pace 14]