-—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. Dec. 20. 1975
58
Former AFBF president supports
cites overregulation as major
Charles B Shuman for
mer president of the
American Farm Bureau
Federation and a member of
the Hoard of Directors of the
United States Railway
Association, says the new
northeast railway system,
Conßail, is the best of
alternatives available to
preserve rail service
‘Our nation needs a
viable, efficient, privately
owned railway system in
competition with the other
forms of transportation.
Agriculture, in particular, is
heavily dependent upon the
rails to move bulky products
and supplies The railroads
can survive and serve these
needs if the major road
blocks to their success are
removed
■ The proposed Conßail
System would include ap
1976 seen as
improved dairy
WASHINGTON - The
recent gam from a year
earlier in milk production
likely will continue and
output during the first half of
1976 could be up about one
percent The 1975 total will
be close to 1974’s 115.4 billion
pounds. Tight supplies of
mdk for manufacturing kept
farm milk prices rising
through late 1975, but a
sharper - than - normal
seasonal downturn is ex
pected in early 1976, says
USDA.
The drop in cow numbers
is not likely to accelerate
sharply in early 1976. Low
slaughter cow prices, a
fairly large supply of dairy
replacements on farms, and
the lack of significant im
provement in off-farm
employment alternatives for
dairymen will continue to
limit the declines.
EVERY
SgJP WEDNESDAY IS
M* DAIRY
qay
AT NEW mm SALES STABLES, INC.
If u , need 1 cow or a truck load, we have from
100 *' "'OO cows to sell every week at your price
Mostly esh and close springing Holstems
Cows ‘rom local farmers and our regular
shippers including Marvin Eshleman, Glenn Fite,
Gordon Fritz, Blame Hotter, Dale Hostetter, H D
Matz, and Jerry Miller
SALE STARTS 12:30 SHARP
Also Every Wednesday, Hay, Straw &
Ear Corn Sale 12 00 Noon
No Sale Wednesday, Dec 24 & Thurs.,
Dec. 25.
Note
For arrangements for special sales or herd
dispersals at our barn or on your farm, contact
Abram Diffenbach, Mgr
717-354-4341
OR
Norman Kolb
717-397-5538
proxlmately 15,000 miles to
be purchased from the
bankrupt lines Some 2,500 or
more miles arc proposed for
sale to the solvent railroads
of the region The 5,700 miles
of light density lines would
be eligible for a two-year
trial operating program
supported by state and
federal subsidies However,
if use of these light density
lines cannot be increased,
they would probably be
abandoned, the Illinois
farmer remarked
The former AFBF
president made his remarks
at the 1975 convention of the
Northeast Poultry
Producers Council, held
earlier this y ear in Hershey.
Warning that the loss of rail
transportation would mean
the costs of livestock poultry
and dairy production would
increase markedly, Shuman
Large feed supplies have
resulted in substantially
lower feed prices than a year
ago Expected feed costs,
averaging below year
earlier levels during the
barn feeding season, and
considerably higher farm
milk prices likely will result
in heavier gram feeding in
early 1976. Milk output per
cow may well continue to
increase and may show more
normal gams from year
earlier levels in coming
months.
October’s milk output was
almost one percent above
1974, the first such gam since
March. Heavier concentrate
feeding sparked a recovery
in output per cow, which
easily outweighed the
relatively small drop in milk
cow numbers.
Cash receipts from
dairying were up about an
New Holland, PA
recommended that the bank
rupt rail lines such as the
Penn Central be salvaged
through the Conßail plan
Six other bankrupt lines arc
being considered to become
a part of this proposal, which
Shuman believes to be the
best of available alter
natives He cautioned and
acknowledged that “there
are many risks and success
is by no means assured."
"If Conßail is rejected by
the Congress, there are two
alternatives - sale of the
better portions of the
bankrupt lines to other
railroads, or nationalization
and federal operation
Neither of these options
would be desirable for
farmers, consumers or
taxpayers The Canadian
government - owned railroad
lost $46 million in 1973, while
year for
checks
eighth from a year ago in
August - October, due to
higher farm milk prices. The
1975 total may be around $9.8
billion, up from $9.4 billion in
1974 Gross dairy income
likely will remain above
year-earlier levels in early
1976
Happy Holiday
■Nr
<3^
May this holiday be
one that lights the
way to peace.
the competing privately
owned system made a profit
of $32 million in the same
year Sale of the bankrupt
lines to the highest bidder
would undoubtedly leave
large segments that no one
would want Conßail is a
risky and expensive venture
but it docs offer the
possibility of establishing a
sound, privately owned
system to serve the nor
theast region,” Shuman
said.
He cited "overregulation"
as a major cause of the
financial difficulties of the
railroads. "The railroads
are no longer a monopoly
and should be allowed to
compete with each other and
with other modes of tran
sportation. The Interstate
Commerce Commission is a
large and cumbersome
bureaucracy whose powers
should be drastically
reduced by Congress.
“Another important cause
of the inadequate income of
the railroads is feather
bedding and outmoded work
rules imposed by the labor
unions. Rail labor produc
tivity is very low, thus
returns on uivestments are
Conßail,
train burden
inadequate to attract the
capital needed for repairs
and rehabilitation
Along with
ovcrregulation and labor
union strangulation, inept
management and short
sighted financing must be
listed as causes of railroad
troubles Management has
used the IC C and labor
work rules as justification
for inaction while the
bankers have encouraged
the flow of funds into other
investments
“Finally, as if to en
courage railroad self-
'attention
GROWERS - CUSTOMERS
We now are taking early booking orders for
the IV2 Mil Black Mulching Plastic for use
on cantaloupe and watermelon rows. Extra
discount if you order this month.
ZIMMERMAN’S ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLY
RD#4, Libtz, PA 17543
destruction. Congress has
heavily subsidized com
peting modes of tran
sportation The Army
Engineers maintain the
inland waterways at a cost of
hundreds of millions of
dollars, with no charge to the
barge lines Both the airlines
and the trucks arc heavily
subsidized as the user
charges that they pay arc
inadequate to pay the cost of
maintaining the airways and
highways. Only the pipelines
and the railroads own and
maintain their own right of
way.
Home Store Phone 717 733 4466