8a Lancaster Farming. Saturday. August 7, 1976
Grange opposes ag bargaining
HARHLSBUUG - The
Pennsylvania State Grange
lust week characterized
proposed legislation to
create an Agricultural
Bargaining Board as
"unrealistic and too
restrictive "
Testifying at a hearing on
House Bill 211, Charles E
Wismer, Jr . chairman of the
Grange’s legislative com
mittee said the legislation
fails to establish
qualifications for appointees
to the proposed board He
also stated that a board of
three members, as proposed
PennAg director critical of HB2II
HARRISBURG A bill currently before the Penn
sylvania House of Representatives would damage the system
for marketing farm products within the state, Moms E
Brown told a hearing convened here earlier this month by the
House Agriculture Committee to examine the impact of H.B
211.
Brown is general sales manager of feed and flour for F. M.
Brown’s Sons, Inc., Birdsboro, and is also involved in the
operation of a 750-acre, 90-head dairy farm. He currently
serves on the board of directors for PennAg Industries
Association, a trade organization of Pennsylvania
agribusiness firms.
H. B. 211 would provide the legislative framework for farm
bargaining organizations which could compel buyers to buy
from producer groups. Further, in Brown’s views, the bill
would require all producers of some farm commodities to sell
their production through this land of organization.
“While we are generally sympathic to the desires of the
committee to develop plans for producers to get a higher
percentage of the food dollar,” he said, “we do not feel the
Rep . Brandt explains HB 211
HARRISBURG - Rep.
Kenneth R. Brandt, R-
Lancaster, said last week the
House Agriculture Com
mittee is considering
legislation to establish a
State Bargaining Board to
determine the standards of
fanning cooperatives and
their members.
Brandt, a member of the
Agriculture Committee and
sponsor of the bill (HB 211),
said the measure is designed
to help small family farmers
who presently must compete
against the giant food
growers.
“Years ago there were
Weaver’s Quality Eggs, Inc., a
subsidiary of Victor Weaver’s, New
Holland, will be receiving a home of
its own late this year in the Green
field industrial Park East. The new
5,000 square-foot facility is being
built on a seven acre tract along
William Penn Way by the High Realty
Company. Designs and plans were
drawn up by Harold A. Althouse and
Associates of Ephrata. Weaver’s will
lease the brick and steel structure on
in the legislation, would not
be representative of those
engaged in producing the
many different commodities
included in Penasylvania’s
agriculture
He also told members of
the House Agriculture
Committee that in granting
the board authority to adopt,
amend and revise rules and
regulations, “we would be
handing over to this board
virtual control of bargaming
processes involving
agricultural products ”
many more markets
available to the Penn
sylvania farmer for the sale
of his products,” Brandt
said. “These included
produce terminals, auctions,
and exchanges.
“Todays farmers must
compete against the big food
producers who often times
sell produce at lower prices
than the average farmers.”
“This bill would determine
the provisions under which
farmers can band together in
the form of a bargaining
cooperatives for the purpose
of the sale and marketing of
farm products.”
Winner also declared that
the broad scope of the
legislation would be too
restrictive Under terms of
the legislation, he said,
producers and handle!a
could discuss and limit
production in such a way
that is would be “virtually
impossible for a new
producer to start in business,
or a farmer to change his
operation "
A section of the proposed
legislation describing
bargaining methods and
processes, Wismer said, "is
approach in H B 211 is the solution We are not opposed to
producers joining together to market their products and we
think processors should negotiate with such groups But the
fact is farmers can do that now They do not need legislation
to accomplish it ”
Marketing groups succeed or fail for different reasons,
Brown pointed out. Some may fail because buyers just aren’t
interested in the crop. Others might go under because not
enough of the crop is produced in any given area to warrant
the establishment of a market. Or there may be a lack of
competing markets. Poor management could be another
reason
Brown warned that the restrictions placed on marketing
could hurt both producers and buyers. “While reference is
made about ‘freedom to join’, the actual intent is to club
every producer of a commodity into marketing only through
the accredited association.
“When the association represents 51-percent of the
producers, regardless of the volume, the terms become
Brandt said the bill would
establish a Pennsylvania
Agriculture Bargaining
Board which will accredit
the State’s cooperatives in
order to protect each
member.
The Board would consist of
a three member panel ap
pointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the State
Senate to act as overseers of
Hie cooperatives.
“Fanners are presently at
the mercy of people outside
of agriculture,” Brandt said.
“But this bill would give the
farmer a more active
a long term basis. With 55 employees
expected to be working in the plant,
the facility will focus on egg
production, sales, and transportation.
The Weaver Company processes
between 40 and 50 thousand dozen
eggs per day and distributes them to
retail markets all along the upper
East Coast, in addition, they handle
eggs in bulk packaged form for
distribution to institutions and large
v.olume food service establishments.
so unrealistic it is difficult to
believe that such a program
could truly benefit producers
or handlers "
In expressing the Grange’s
opposition to the proposed
legislation, Wismer voiced
the opinion that the bill
would weaken the position of
Pennsylvania agriculture
Commenting on the
proposed legislation
following the hearing, J
Luther Snyder, master of the
State Grange, warned that
bargaining over the sale of
farm produce "could be
decision-making role in his
future.”
He added that the bill in its
present form has many
provisions and changes to be
hammered out but “it is
basically a very good piece
of legislation.”
“The problem is that
farmers must buy retail and
sell their products whole
sale. We must provide fair
prices for farm good in the
State.”
He urged farmers in the
Lancaster County area to
contact his office for further
explanation or possible in
put.
<uu*.~r+'* »wk\
dragged out for weeks or
months if provisions of this
bill (HB 211) were followed ’’
He noted that the bill
stipulates three steps to be
taken if “after a reasonable
period of -negotiations in
good faith” a producer’s
association and handler arc
unable to agree on sale
terms,
In that event, the proposed
bargaining board would
“offer conciliation and
mediation services for 15
days.”
If that failed to produce an
binding on all producers, as we read it. If I am a producer of
some size I may have other arrangements or desire other
terms than were made for me. As a practical matter if I am a
small producer I must join this association if I wish to raise
the product or I can’t market it.”
As an alternative to H.B. 211, Brown called for the
development of more markets for farm commodities, and
concluded by saying that more should be done to educate
farmers in the mtracacies of marketing their products.
“We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on teaching farmers how
to grow crops,” he said. “And while the producer may spend
many winter hours planning next summer’s crop program,
we feel he probably does not pay enough attention to his
market strategy.
“Our educational system has worked miracles in in
creasing farm production through new technology and ef
ficiency brought about by research and education. Farmers
certainly haven’t been forced to grow more through
legislation.
“The American fanner is an independent - thinking per
son. He’s intelligent. He’s been convinced that there are
better ways of producing crops and he’s responded. We think
he’d respond, too, without being forced, to the same kind of
approach in marketing those farm products.”
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board
agreement, the dispute
would be submitted to a Joint
settlement committee
Then, any decision of the
settlement committee would
be “subject to judicial
review in the Com
monwealth Court "
Snyder pointed out that
negotiations between
producer and handler, plus
15 days of mediation service
by a board, plus tune spent
by a settlement committee,
and finally a court review
"could easily result in the
loss of the crop in question.”