Vol. 22 No. 15
Land buying plan arouses opposition
John Scott
By DIETER KRIEG
LANCASTER- - Feeding
grain to livestock, rather
than selling it, is beginning
to look more favorable again
says Penn State’s ; ag
economist, H. Louis Moore.
“We’re gbfciirback ; to a
more traditional type of
situation where feeding
grain to livestock looks more
favorable - but the feed bill
will shR not be cheap,”
Moore told a group of more
than 200 swine producers this
week. The occasion was the
annual multi-county Swine
Producers Day, held at the
Farm and Home Center,
here. Lancaster County
Continued environmental awareness called for
By DIETER KRIEG
QUARRYVILLE, Pa. - Dr.
Maurice Goddard was in
town Thursday night,
causing a larger than usual
turn-out for the annual
meeting of the Octorara
Watershed Association.
Goddard is secreatary of
Pennsylvania's Department
In This Issue
NOTE: Beginning this
month, iJMicaiter Farming
is printing Dauphin County
DHIA results. Dauphin
County DHIA statistics
appear for the first time in
this, week’s edition. You’D
find them on page 100.
Farm Calendar 10
Lifeonthefann 10
Homestead Notes 42
Womens’ Calendar 44
Joyce Bupp 44
Ida’s Notebook 45
Jr. Cooking Edition 46
My Thoughts 50
Food feature 52
Home cm the Range 58
Classifieds 02
Chester DHIA 90
Farming In Bahamas 95
Dauphin DHIA 100
Youth feature 108
Thoughts in Passing 109
Public Sales Register 110
Sale Reports 127
Serving The Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas - Also Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Ag-Land 1 Agricultural Land
Purchase Plan proposed by a Midwestern bank and the
nation’s largest stock brokerage firm, Merrill, Lynch,
Fenner, Pierce, and Smith, received some powerful op
position from members of Congress and farm group leaders
this week.
The Plan, if it is approved, could “create a whole new
generation of sharecroppers,” National Grange Master John
Scott told Lancaster Fanning in a telephone interview
Friday morning. -
Scott said so far the matter is still “pretty much up in the
air,” although the bank and the stock brokerage firm are
apparently pulling back at least temporarily.
“Some members of Congress are dead-set against it,”
Grain feeding looks favorable
Agent Max Smith noted
during the program that
swine producers from four
states and nearly a dozen
counties were represented at
the Extension-sponsored
event „
Moore’s predictions on hog
prices for the next eight
months was not as favorable
as his grain-livestock
review. He pegged April
pork prices at $31.75 per
hundredweight; 37 for June,
41 in July, and 36.50 for
October. A sample opinion
poll from those in the
audience indicated that bog
producers are banking on
of Environmental Resour
ces. The group he addressed
is composed of residents in
lower southern Lancaster
and Chester counties who
are interested and concerned
in protecting their land and
water resources.
Noting that the mem
bership of the Association is
of a rural base, Goddard
cited the fanner and his
work as “a classic example”
of how we can have im
proved conservation in the
Commonwealth. His words
of praise for farmers con
tinued with: “To me the
fanner typifies the classic
AFBF calls for 5-year extension of ag act
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
American Farm Bureau
Federation, the nation’s
largest general farm
organization, last week
called for a five-year ex
tension of the basic
provisions of the Agriculture
and Consumer Protection
Act of 1973.
In a statement prepared
for presentation at a House
Agriculture Committee
bearing on February 22,
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 26,1977
H. Louis Moore
environmentalist and A-l
conservationist.”
But the DER secretary
wasn’t in town to just pat
fanners on the back. He also
wanted to tell his audience of
the progress his Department
and related agencies have
made in improving Penn
sylvania’s environment.
According to Goddard,
both the air and water have
been substantially cleaned
up in the last few years. As
proof, the environmental
secretary noted that blue
crabs are in the Schuylkill
River near Philadelphia and
several other formerly
Allan Grant, president of the
American Farm Bureau
Federation, said Farm
Bureau supports an ex
tension provided that the Act
is not amended in ways that
would: (1) make farmers
dependent on government
payments on a continuing
basis or (2) establish a
government-controlled sto
ckpile of agricnitareal
commodities.
“We continue to believe
Scott told this newspaper. Lancaster Fanning attempted to
get in touch with Senator George McGovern of South Dakota,
who is one of the most outspoken opponents of the Ag-Land I
Plan. The senator was unavailable for comment, however.
In a statement made last week, McGovern said: that he
had been advised by Secretary of Agriculture, Bob Bergland,
that Bergland will join him in asking that the Internal
Revenue Service delay for as long as possible a ruling on the
land purchase plan.-
A news release from his office added: “The Ag-Land I
Agricultural Land Purchase Plan would involve the purchase
of prime row crop land using funds generated from in-
significantly higher
quotations on all counts.
“We are at a stage of the
hog cycle when the numbers
are peaking at very high
levels,’’ Moore commented.
His observations and
calculations show that there
was and is a potential in this
country to market 20 per
cent more bogs than what
actually show up at the sale -
bams. As a result of the high
numbers, he expects prices
to remain on the low side.
Moore blames this
predicament on human
nature. When the price looks
good, producers jump at the
Dr. Maurice Goddard
that government programs
with respect to agriculture
should be designed to create
conditions which will permit
fanners to operate under the
market system,” Grant said.
“Farm income has in
creased substantiafiy since
the market was relieved of
the surpluses accumulated
under previous programs.
The market system is
working. We have con
(Continued on Page 21]
chance to make a little more
money. Everybody gets the
same idea and suddenly
there’s an oversupply.
The ag economist noted
that as of Dec. 1, 1976, bog
numbers all across the
country were up by an
average of 11 per cent;
breeding stock had in
creased five per cent, and
market hogs were up by 12
per cent.
“One of the things that
really helped the hog market
is that pork was such a good
buy at the retail level.*’
Moore said, adding that this
has actually been helping
heavily polluted streams and
rivers have been stocked
with trout again for the first
time in more than two
generations.
Blue crabs, Goddard
pointed out, are very sen
sitive to the quality of water
they have - “they have to
have good water!”
“The air is better too, no
question about it,” Goddard
exclaimed before the
gathering. One industrial
plant in Steelton, be com
mented, is now collecting a
ton of dust per hour which
was formerly sent out over
fidence that it will continue
to work.”
The farm leader said
Congress must: (1) Avoid
setting target prices or loan
rates at levels that will
encourgage excessive
production; (2) Avoid loan
levels that will result in the
accumulation of a new
government stockpile of
surpus commodities; and (3)
| Continued on Page 301
$4.00 Per Year
“ Ag-Land Trust
is a financial
scheme which may
threaten the
survival of the
American family
farm.”
Rep. Fred Richmond
current market prices for
farmers. “Consumers are
really buying pork now, but I
don’t know how long it will
last,” he said.
Moore also pointed out that
hog movements to markets
have slowed down since late
1976, compared to last Fall
when slaughter figures
where up by 35 to 40 per cent
over the previous year.
Showing statistics on
trends in hog farm numbers,
Moore showed that only
some of the Southern states
are recording increases in
(Continued on Page 13]
town through the smoke
stack.
“Mines are safer,” the
DER secretary continued,
telling of how Pennsylvania
at one time had 500 to 800
miners killed annually.
Describing mining and
environmental legislation
(Goddard’s department is
instrumental in both) he
exclaimed “I think we can be
proud of our laws.”
Goddard was not as
generous in his evaluation of
federal environmental
programs, arguing that it
{Continued on Pate 251
Allan Grant