—Lancaitar Fanning, Saturday. Oct 4.1975
32
Dairy farmer expresses concern over prices
BINGHAMPTON, N.Y. *
At a hearing here on Sep
tember 20, Arden Tewksbury
of Meahoppen, Pa.,
President of Eastern Milk
Producers Cooperative,
warned of the dairy in
dustry’s demise if
unrealistic milk pricing
methods are not changed.
Appearing before the
Dairy and Poultry Sub
committee of the U.S. House
of Representatives
Agricultural Committee,
Tewksbury said that prices
received by dairy farmers
have been jumping around
like Mexican Jumping
Beans, while their costs of
production climb ever
upward to record heights.
The multi-state
cooperative leader stated
that prices paid by farmers
have increased by over 26
percent since July 1973 and
86 percent since July 1967.
He noted that blend prices
paid to dairymen since 1967
have been averaging over
$l.OO per hundredweight less
than what was needed to
match the increase in prices
paid by dairymen.
Tewksbury testified,
“Using July 1967 as a base
period the actual blend price
in that month was $4.99. In
July 1975, a blend price of
$8.33 was received by Dairy
farmers in the New York
market while a price of |9.28
was necessary to meet the
increase in the cost of
production. It is estimated
the prices paid index may
reach 190 by October. This
index, when applied to the
October, 1967 blend price of
$5.64, would yield a price of
$10.72 for October 1975. Most
knowledgeable economists
are predicting a blend price
for October 1975 of between
$9.50 and $9.60. These figures
indicate that dairy farmers
will be short-changed by
$1.16 per hundredweight to
cover their increased cost of
production.
While these figures pertain
to the New York-New Jersey
Milk Marketing Order,
similar situations are being
experienced by dairy far
mers throughout the Nor
theast.
In the Spring of 1974, there
developed a strong con
sumer resistance to some
dairy products which further
added to the farmer’s plight.
Much of this resistance can
be traced to the cock-eyed
formula on which milk is
priced to the farmers. It is
evident that farmers cannot
live with a pricing formula
which can drop $1.75 in a few
months time. It is further
evident that if prices in-
crease by these amounts in a We need a pricing formula
short period of time, the that win give dairy farmers
consumers’ reaction in the a more adequate price that is
market place is negative. related to their actual cost of
Maryland FFA
teams score well
in judging
Maryland FFA teams
from Frederick county
duplicated twin victories by
their 4-H counterparts from
the Old Line State in dairy
cattle judging at two
regional livestock shows last
month in Richmond, Va.,
and Harrisburg, Pa.
The Catoctin high school
team from Thurmont ran
away with top honors in FFA
competition on Sept. 20 at the
Atlantic Rural Exposition in
Richmond, Va., and a team
from Frederick high school
took the top spot on Sept. 22
among FFA contestants at
the twelfth annual Penn
sylvania All-American Dairy
Show in Harrisburg, Pa.
An Eastern Shore FFA
team from Kent county high
school at Worton placed
second among 13 state teams
competing on Sept. 13 during
the Eastern States Ex
position at West Springfield,
Mass.
Ronnie Kling, 16, of
Taneytown won over-all
first-place individual honors
for Catoctin high school in
the Richmond contest. And
teammate Mike Weimer, 18,
of Thurmont was only one
point behind in second place.
Kling was also high in
dividual contestant in
Holstein judging, and
Weimer was top individual in
Ayrshires.
Kling has now reeled off
three individual over-all
first-place finishes during
the past year in four FFA or
4-H dairy cattle judging
contests at national, state
and regional levels.
Other members of the
Catoctin FFA team at last
month’s Richmond regional
FFA contest were Barbara
Ruby of Rocky Ridge and
Naomi Weimer of Thurmont,
Mike’s sister.
The brother-sister duo
were also members of the
1974 Catoctin FFA team
which placed second in last
year’s 12-state North
Atlantic regional com
petition during the Eastern
States Exposition at West
Springfield, Mass. Team
coach in both years was
David W. Simpson,
vocational agriculture
teacher at Catoctin high
school.
Ronnie Lenhart and his
cousin, Harold Lenhart, Jr.,
both from Lewistown, were
the major cogs in Frederick
high school’s FFA team
victory at the Harrisburg,
Pa., contest on Sept. 22.
Ronnie was high individual
over-all, and Harold ended
up in sixth place after
initially being announced as
placing third. Harold was
first in total reasons, as well
as in judging Brown Swiss
and Jersey cattle.
The team was also first in
judging both Brown Swiss
and Jerseys.
Other team members were
Steve Wilcom and Ralph
Ward, both of Urbana. Team
coach was George Lin
thicum, vocational
agriculture teacher at
Frederick high school.
A pair of girls led the way
for Kent county high school’s
second-place finish in last
month’s 13-state FFA North
Atlantic regional dairy cattle
judging competition at West
Springfield, Mass.
Third member of the team
was William Sutton of
Worton, a junior. The team
coach was Madison Brown,
vocational agriculture
teacher at Kent county high
school.
production. This kind of
pricing formula would also
prevent much of the con
sumer resistance in the
market place.
On numerous occasions
over the past four years,
Eastern Milk Producers and
others have proposed sen
sible pricing methods and
attempted to get Ad
ministration Officials to call
hearings to consider them.
In periods of rapid and
continuing increases in cost
of production, a price sup
port established once a year
cannot do the job for more
than one month. In order'to
work as intended it must be
adjusted more frequently.
Legislation providing for
quarterly adjustment which
we supported was un
fortunately vetoed by the
President and the Congress
failed to override. In our
view, the Congress either
must exert pressure on the
Administration for interim
adjustments in the support
level or adopt new legislation
requiring at least twice a
year adjustment and
hopefully quarterly ad
justments.
We hope that the
Congressional Committees
will find enough evidence
during their series of
hearings across the country
toreturn to Washington to
write a realistic farm bill
that will enable dairy far
mers to remain self
sufficient to stay in business
and, at the same time,
protect consumers from a
threatened shortage of dairy
products.”