VOL 23 No. 14
Bergland urges ASCS program participation
' By JOANNE SPAHR
) HARRISBURG
Secretary of Agriculture Bob
Bergland last week nixed a
recommendation by the
Senate Agriculture Com
mittee foran added $8 billion
farm package which would
increase loan rates on
various commodites and
take 50 million acres of land
out of production. Instead,
Bergland advocated full
participation in programs
provided by the Agricultural
Stabilization and Con
servation Service,- saying
that prices will rise to within
acceptable levels if this is
done,, His goal, if-it can be
reached,is to put 300;million
bushels of wheat wider
storage as well as 715 million
bushels of feed grains.
Beginning this week, ASCS
offices around the country
launched' a drive- to
Egg prices
Co IT
up this
week
LITITZ - After more than
a month of dropping prices
from week to week, egg
handlers are .paying' about
four cents more per dozen
this week for larger sized
eggs.
Demand is described as
“fairly good” as prices
quoted per dozen large eggs
went as high as 68 cents in
the Baltimore area. That’s
up four cents the
previous week. ~ln
Philadelphia, large eggs
were quoted as high as 62
cents this week, up from 58
cents the week before. A
month ago the same sized
eggs sold for up to 66 cents
per dozen in the Philadelphia
area. In late December, egg
prices were in the low
seventies for extra large
eggs.
Medium sized eggs are
showing similar price trends
this week, but the smaller
grades are holding on to the
lower prices of the week
before.
The rising egg prices
aren’t anywhere near where
tjiey were a year ago,
however, when extra large
eggs were quoted at upwards
of 90 cents per dozen and
large eggs were bringing 83
to ,89% cents per dozen,
according to figures
released by Philadelphia egg
markets on Feb. 2,1977.
A survey of egg pf ices this
week shows that all markets
are up, with Baltimore being
up the highest.
Serving TheTCenfral and Southeastern Pennsylvania Areas - Also Maryland , New Jersey and Delaware
familiarize farmers with the
different opportunities
provided through that
government agency.
The top young farmers and agribusinessmen in
the Red Rose FFA Chapter were chosen this week.
Left to right are Brian Hess, Red Rose Star
Lamb care
methods
shared
By KENDACE BORRY
Editor’s note-This is the
first in a two part story on
the special care needed
during lambing season. This
week’s article deals with
early care of the ewe and
lamb up to one week after
lambing. Next week’s article
will deal with care and
consideration after the lamb
leaves the lambing pen.
LANCASTER It’s
lambing time for most sheep
breeders in the Lancaster
Farming area and newborn
lambs need some special
care if they are to be ensured
the best chance of survival in
the cold weather. With a
little extra consideration, a
young lamb will have a
much better chance for a
start at a healthy life.
The concepts presented
here come from a variety of
breed sheep owners who all
raise their own lambs and
have found-the method that
has worked best for them.
Sharing their ideas on early
lamb care were: Mrs. Clyde
Brubaker, Lancaster; Mrs.
William MacCauley, Atglen
(Turn to Page 23)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 4,1978
- One of Oie programs is an
extended loan policy by
which a fanner with a
current price support loan or
With proper care these lambs will have a much
better chance for survival. This protective mother
watches as her lambs begin to explore their
surroundings.
In this issue
Farm Calendar 10
Editorials 10
Medicine & Mgmt. 26
Hort. & veg. meetings 34,97
Homestead Notes 42
Jr. Cooking Edition 45
Doris Thomas 48
Ida’s Notebook 49
Home on the Range 50
Joyce Bupp 52
purchase agreement may
enter his grain under storage
for three years. During this
time, he is advanced a
Agribusinessman; Arlen Keener, runner-up in
that contest; Brian Wise, Red Rose Star Farmer;
and Bob Fox, runner-up.
Cattle feeding 56
Kendy’sKollumn 57
Danish agriculture 59
Classifieds 63
Chester DHIA 90
York ag dinner 99,104
Jerry Webb 101,108
Farm act introduced 103
Calf management 107
Subsoiling and planting 114
Sale Reports 120
storage rate one year at a
time. For com, barley, and
wheat, the rate is 20 cents
and for oats.ls cents.
Tobacco
stripper
invented
By DIETER KRIEG
POINT PLEASANT, W.
Va. - This could be the last
season of manual tobacco
stripping for those who
might have $2500 handy next
Fall to buy a machine which
will do as much stripping in
an hour as what a man can
do in a day. The price may
even by on the high side,
according to the machine’s
inventor.
The new machine was
invented by a retired history
professor who’s now farming'
near this West Virginia
town. Dr. Lawrence But
cher, the inventor, claims
his product will strip 900
stalks per hour, or about a
stalk every four seconds
when three men are feeding
it. Butchef, who’s also the
administrative assistant to
the Mason County Com
mission, doesn’t have much
time to strip tobacco by
hand. He remembers the
days when he used to watch
his grandfather strip
tobacco and even then
thought about the
(Turn to Page 39)
$6.00 Per Year
As long as the market
price for the grains remains
below a certain price, known
as the release level, the
farmer will not be permitted
to sell his commodity.
However, should the market
price raise to that release
level - 140 per cent of the
loan rate in the case of wheat
and 125 per cent of the loan
rate for com - then the
farmer has the option to sell
his grain on the open market
and repay the loan.
Under these cir
cumstances, the farmer is
only held responsible for
paying the interest and the
principle, and not the
storage costs.
It is expected that not all
farmers, however, will
release their grain, and for
each month during the
(Turnto'PageST)
Red Rose
» i, , ,V
FFA awards
presented
By DIETER KRIEG
MOUNT JOY - Two 16-
year old high school students
from eastern Lancaster
County won the titles of Red
Rose Star Farmer and Red
Rose Star Agribusinessman'
this week. The choices were
made by a panel of judges
during a contest held at the
Mount Joy Vo-Tech School,
here.
Winner of the Red Rose
Star Farmer adhrd is Brian
Wise, the son of Mr. and Mrs.
J. Roy Wise, Bowmansville.
Classmate Brian Hess, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Omar Hess,
Bareville, won the Red Rose
Star Agribusinessman
honor. Both young men are
vo-ag students at Garden
Spot High School and
members of the Grassland
FFA Chapter. Their in
structor is Cliff Day.
Runner-up in the Star
Farmer contest was Robert
Fox, the 16-year old son of
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fox of
Lititz Rl. He’s a junior at
Ephrata High School and
active in the Cloister FFA
Chapter.
Elizabethtown's - Aden
Keener, 16, won the runner
up position among the
agribusiness candidates.
The son of Mr. and Mrs.
Walter Keener, he’s active in
4-H, FFA, and the registered
Holstein organizations.
Competing in a contest
which is open to all Lan
caster County vo-ag students
who have completed
preliminary requirements,
this .year’s winners join a
group of agriculture
(Turn to Page 33)