V 01.21 N0.«2>5 Some milk juggers in violation of rules I By DIETER KRIEG I ARLINGTON, Va.-A few [members of the Penn sylvania Milk Juggers [Association, Inc. are taking powdered milk, mixing it with water, and selling it as reconstituted skim milk. The value of the product is calculated to be between 47 and 51 cents per gallon, although it has been marketed for more than twice that amount of money. There is nothing wrong with that practice. There is a regulation, however, that does not allow producer-handlers (juggers) to purchase Class II dairy stocks (powder) and then turn around and sell it as a □ass I product (fluid milk) without forwarding an equalization payment to the Federal Milk Marketing Order. That equalization payment is to make up the iifference between the Class dl purchase price and the Timform producer price (blend price) which juggers are ordinarily not involved with. Failure by some juggers to comply to the regulation has caused them to be assessed for the price difference, and a few are now taking their case before consumers, legislators and the news media in order to arouse some sympathy and .public Wheat still looks good By DIETER KRIEG LANCASTER Combines are continuing to dodge in and out of the rain m trying purnedly to harvest the last acres of wheat which remain standing in southern Penn sylvania counties. Now nearing the three-quarter completion mark, the har vest continues to be satisfactory and a few sighs of relief are being heard from those who have finished combining. Their worries about having a harvest like last year’s soaking ex perience are over. The quality of the wheat coming in now is going down, while moisture percentages are up, report most growers and millers in the area. A spokesman at Sander’s mill in New Holland repeated words which were heard in many parts of the area - “some of the wheat is sprouting” - but in his case the remark was more ap plicable than in some other localities because of the number of Amish farms surrounding him. While some wheat is sprouting on the stalk in the field in a very few cases, the situation is support. Earlier this month, for example, leaders within the Pennsylvania jugging association went to Washington to present the state’s two senators with 100,000 consumer signatures who allegedly support their claim that they are being treated unfairly by the federal government. An investigation by this reporter has revealed that if the consumers had details on what they were signing, they would not have done so, since paying $1.20 for a recon stituted skim milk product made from powder and water would probably not be much to their liking. Also, the juggers involved failed to explain the facts involved which is essentially one of attempting to treat all dairymen under the Federal Order in a like manner. Most juggers are in fact exempt from the Federal Order regulations as long as they are in compliance with a few key points. The Federal Milk Market Administrator for Order 4 told Lancaster Farming that his office has no jurisdiction over what is sold by juggers. They may, therefore, sell reconstituted milk. But they should make a payment to equalize the difference in [Continued on Page 16] much more pronounced where the crop is shocked, as it is on many Lancaster County farms. Sauder noted that wheat coming into his mill is weighing between 56 and 57 pounds per bushel, a statistic which was con firmed by all -others in the area. Earlier in the season he had received wheat which had weighed in at 61 to 62 pounds per bushel. Overall the quality of the wheat is still good, everyone agreed, even though it is slipping some. Moisture reading during the last few days have been up as high as 17 percent. A number of fanners, in an effort to get done, are combining relatively tough stands of wheat and are having it dried. Some, it was reported, are simply letting bags of wheat stand in the bam but the results have not been anything to brag about. Yields are averaging only 30 to 35 bushels per acre in northern sections of Lan caster County, while growers in southern areas and over in southern Chester County claim yields of 40 to 45 bushels per acre. Serving The Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas 1 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 17,1976 Whether beneath cloudy or sunny skies, crops in most parts of Penn sylvania look very good so far. i In this issue Farm Calendar 10 Editorials 10 Classifieds 33 Homestead Notes 50 My Thoughts 50 Jr. Cooking Edition 52 Ida’s Notebook 53 Pullet Housing Story 54 Home on the Range 56 Crafts Feature 60 Youth Features 26,64,68 Women’s Calendar 65 Pa. Young Farmers 70 Lancaster DHIA 74 Life on the Farm 78 Women’s Feature 82 Berks DHIA 86 Heifer Project 87 Public Sales Register 90 Sale Reports 94 Manure handling system is one of first in state By DIETER KRIEG GAP A new kind of manure management systems - one of the first in the state - was recently in stalled near here on the Calvin Beiler farm. The unique system incorporates a hydraulic ram which squeezes manure through an underground pipe and into a storage area. Beiler, who has been using the new facilities for only a few weeks, expressing nothing but satisfaction with it so far, and he figures that he “really has something” if things continue to go as smoothly as they have been. The Lancaster County dairyman first encountered the relatively new product at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January. Intrigued by the contraption, and not at all satisfied with his conventional way of han dling manure, he decided to look into the possibilities of having one installed on his farm. It wasn’t the easiest step for him to take, since he admits to being a bit uneasy about being the first one in an area to try something Many crops are super By DIETER KRIEG LANCASTER - It’s a really good year so far for growing crops, in southeastern Pennsylvania, although some farmers are experiencing a few minor difficulties. Most crops are ahead of schedule in their stages of growing and it could be that some earlier than usual harvests will be encountered as a result of it. That’s the acclamation of a number of knowledgeable observers, including Lancaster County Extension Agent, Arnold Lueck. Reports from all across the area indicate that com is doing exceptionally well. A number of fields have been in tassle since last week, and they surpassed the six-foot mark long ago. The Pennsylvania Crop Reporting Service recently issued a report which points to an eight per cent increase in com yields over last year if good conditions hold out. Grain com production, as of July 1, is being forecast at 95,760,000 bushels. It’s the same story across the U.S. as USDA reports on July 12 indicated strong possibilities for another bumper crop. TOBACCO Like com, tobacco has been responding very well to the hot and humid weather $4.00 Per Year new. The whole deal cost him more than $lO,OOO. According to Beiler, as many as 150 similar systems have been in existence in Canada, for several years and they are well ap preciated up there. He went to see one at the Agway Research Farm in New York State and was satisfied with what he saw. The hydraulic ram, which pushes the manure through a 12-inch pipe, is run by a 10- horsepower electric motor. Manure ends up in a storage area behind the bam which measures 48 feet square and 10 feet high. The rain pushes manure into it and the accumulation is expected to level off on its own, up to 10 feet high. According to the manufacturer, such a storage method will improve the value of the manure and it will not separate. A hard crust forms at the top, thus keeping in the gases and creating J conditions for bacteria to work on the manure and “manufacture” a more valuable fertilization product. (Continued on Page 20J which has favored the area for the past several weeks. According to Lueck, the crop is 10 to 14 days ahead of schedule now and an earlier than ever before harvest is possible. Lueck expressed a bit of concern, however, about the way Lancaster County’s prized cash crop is stret ching towards the sky. “It’s growing a little too fast,” he explained, “and it’s a soft kind of growth which doesn’t cause the leaves to get bigger ... the plant is just adding more leaves.” A bit of dry weather would help that situation, he com mented. The veteran Extension specialist does not look forward to big tobacco yields this year if the weather continues to stay in the same patterns. But he is predicting the cutting of early plantings by possibly the first week of August. Lueck explained further that dry weather would help to put some weight on the tobacco plants. “There is more photosynthetic activity going on when it’s a dry,” he said, “now the plants are only thinking of stretching upward.” Another problem being encountered by some (Continued on Page 16)
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