Farmers’ decisions tough this year By JERRY WEB University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. - Far- It all adds up to a rather ming is off to a slow start confusing marketing picture this year and already it’s for the next several months, 'having an impact in the Mid-west economists are marketplace. A combination talking about uncertainty of low temperatures and and confusion in the more than adequate marketplace as they point to moisture supplies have increased prices over the slowed farmers in getting past several weeks for com back into the fields clear and soybeans. across the country. Add to The market for com and that the possibility that some beans seems to be very fanners may hold land out of sensitive to almost anything production and the fact that that’s happening. Although the government is still it’s too early to plant most messing around with farm field crops, the market is programs at a time when already sensitive to the fact ATTENTION FARMERS... FREE ESTIMATES ON RODENT CONTROL RODENTS carry diseases which can endanger the health of your flocks. Your business is raising the flocks. Ours is protecting them. ■ 1278 Loop Rd. Lancaster, Pa. 17604 Since 1928 Pest control is too important to trust to anyone else CUSTOM WELDING GATES MADE TO ORDER • NOG SET UPS • BARNYARD FENCING Gates Made Of Eiߣ or • ALL-WELDED CONSTRUCTION • FOOL-PROOF LATCH. PORTABLE “SHOP ON WHEELS" • Repairs on farm equipment at the farm or in shop. • Electric and acetylene. • MIG welding in shop. • Subcontract work. • Fabricating. CLAIR E. BEILER RD #l, KINZER, PA. 17535 Shop: 2 mi. west of Gap on Smryna Rd. Shop Phone: (717) 442-8126 Residence: 442-8039 fanners should have their plans all made. DO IT RIGHT that farmers might have trouble planting those crops. On the other hand, it might dry up and they might get their crops planted in a big hurry, and what’s happening now would be mere speculation. So what’s a farmer to do? If he’s still worrying about whether to plant com or soybeans, he has a tough decision to make nghfnow. And even the best decision could go wrong between now and market time because if too many farmers decide higher prices for soybeans make them more attractive, then they may in fact kill the market. The economic experts see the soybean situation a little differently than com. They talk about the old crop and the amount of usage and the size of the Brazilian crop. Some experts are saymg that country’s output will be below 10 million metric tons, and that’s a short enough crop to add considerable strength to U.S. soybean prices. But unlike so many other little bit of overproduction or industries, agriculture is at a small shortage that even the mercy of the weather, the slightest expectation can Here we are at a time when se nd the market tumbling or seeds don’t really need to be spiraling, planted and prices for next By now most farmers’ fall’s crops are being m- field crop plans are pretty fluenced. So many weather firm. There is some variables could hit a farmer flexibility depending on what between now and bar- happens with weather vesttime that it seems silly conditions, planting con to even try to guess at a ditions, prices and some proper selling price. Our other factors during the next current wet weather coukj. few weeks. But the shifts will turn into a long dry spell, or be small and the government those critical rains in July reports of planting intentions could go somewhere else. Or should be pretty well on how about an early frost, or target. It’s a long time until another wet Fall? And harvest, however, and many maybe we get all those things could go wrong bet things here in the mid- ween now and then. Atlantic region and they •BULIPENS uare Tubing. • HEAVY DUTY HINGES. • GALVANIZING AVAILABLE WELDING WELD IT! have beautitui weather ui the Com Belt. It’s tough for a farmer to come up with a strategy that will look good next Fall. I hear farmers talking about contracting when beans reach a certain figure or when com reaches a certain figure. They talk about contracting a few thousand bushels but not the entire crop. Meantime, they wait to get into the fields and wonder what else the government is going to do. No one is totally dis counting the American Agri culture movement for that matter. A lot of farmers are going along with that program, cutting back rather drastically on their production. A report out of Kansas the other day in dicated that thousands of acres of Kansas wheat are being plowed under as part of the farm strike. Not many people are expecting enough idle production to drastically affect prices, but every little bit counts. Farm corn- modifies are so sensitive to a Farmers play in one of the wildest crap games that has ever come along. They pile those high stakes on the Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 9,1978 table and win or lose with a soybean crop, a short crop in roll of the dice. The best Brazil is likely to result in a farmer who does the best price peak this Spring here possible production job is in the United States and then still a big-time gambler, for “prices will decline from then production is only a small on until harvest. How much part of the farming game they will decline will depend and so much of whether he on the size of the soybean wins or loses is totally out of acreage and the developing hishands. prospects for final It’s a strange business production. So a farmer when what happens in Brazil who’s really concerned is going to make a about whether to plant tremendous difference here soybeans or not, or how in the U.S. Consider this much to plant, needs to be prediction from the watching the Brazilian economists. They say for the soybean crop. WHAT'S NEW FINGER PICKUP FOR ALL HESSTON STAKHAND HAYSTACKERS A new Finger Pickup attachment has been in troduced by Hesston Cor poration for use on its StakHand hay stacking equipment. The new attachment fits all three Hesston StakHand models: The StakHand 60-A (builds stacks weighing up to six tons); StakHand 30-A (builds stacks weighing up to three tons); and StakHand 10 (builds stacks that weigh up to IV* tons). The Finger Pickup installs just ahead of the paddle drum and delivers win drowed crop to the center line of the rotating paddles. Since it carries the windrow up and into the paddles they can be operated higher above the ground. This eliminates regrowth clipping or “stubble burn” and minimized paddle damage in rocky conditions. The in creased height of the paddles dramatically reduces dust pickup, creating cleaner hay stacks. Also allows operator to work under less dusty conditions. The new attachment improves windrow pickup in all crop conditions and permits windrow travel in either direction. The pickup assembly (see drawing) is attached directly to the paddle pickup housing and is belt-driven from the paddle pickup drum. Skid shoes on the Finger Pickup at tachment control flotation in conjunction with a full-width gauge wheel on the paddle pickup. The new pickup at tachment is available on any new model Hesston StakHand and can be field installed on most older models equipped with 5 or 6- foot paddle pickups. 113
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