—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 26,1978 18 Strength in agriculture seen in farm coops By JOYCE BUPP Staff Correspondent BOZEMAN, Mont. - “Cooperatives are a nice in surance policy,” says Jay Hull, young dairyman from Westminster, Maryland. Hull, and his wife niona, were among 186 young farm couples who examined the farm cooperative system during the 50th National In stitute of Cooperative Education (NICE) held July 31 through August 3 at Mon tana State University. The annual convention, which draws attendance from hun dreds of the nations cooperatives, is sponsored by the American Institute of Cooperation. This year’s theme was “Cooperatives- People with a Purpose.” Breeders of registered Guernseys, the Hulls represented Maryland Cooperative Milk Producers of Baltimore. In addition to milking their herd of 50 cows, with an average of 11,400 pounds of milk and 545 of fat, the Hulls crop 150 acres in corn, barley and alfalfa. Although in the career far ming business only four 'years. Jay and Qlona are en thusiastic supporters of the philosophy of strength in agriculture through farm cooperatives. “Doing business with a cooperative that has 50-year success is a cushion against the sudden loss of a milk market,” Hull emphasizes. He also feels that in dividual farmers, especially younger ones, have too-little time to devote toward public relations tasks. Market bargaining and legislative lobbying are two valuable Young Farmers to meet STEWARTSTOWN - There will be a special young farmer meeting on Tuesday, August 28, at the Chemagro Demonstration plots at Stewartstown R 3, and several field corn demon stration plots near Chemagro plots. The tour will start just north of Stewartstown on Route 24 at the DeKalb plots. The group will then stop at The Pioneer plots and the tour at the Chemagro plots at Stewartstown. At the last stop the group will observe soybeans planted no-til, drilled and insecticide herbicide interaction plots. They will also see corn in secticide plots and alfalfa herbicide, insecticide plots and alfalfa herbicide, in secticide, and no-til plots. The tour will start at 7 p.m. Garber Oil Co, [texaco] Fuel Chief' { HEATING GIL i I OIL HEATING EQUIPMENT AIR CONDITIONING MOUNT JOY, PA Ph 653-1821 jobs also performed by cooperatives in a much more effective way than could be done by individuals. As members of several farm cooperatives, the Hulls felt that the NICE meeting reinforced their basic con cepts on the member-owned system of doing business. One key outreach program of the Institute is toward the increased involvement of women in all phases .of cooperative operation. “A woman's place is in the meeting room; we need to in volve more of them,” ad vocates niona Hull, an outspoken opponent of separate “social-type” meetings for wives. “Women can double the efforts and brain-power in cooperatives. They need to promote more and work less in the fields and barns.” Representing the Maryland-Virginia Milk Pro ducers Cooperative were Douglas and Evelyn Perrow of Lynchburg, Virginia. “The biggest challenge to cooperatives in the future is their very existence and con tinued growth,” warns Per row. He notes that cooperatives help to act as regulators within the economy, stabilizing prices paid by independent buyers, thus making them suspect by non-cooperative organizations. Perrow believes that broader commodity marketing should be a trend AROUND THE BARN PIPELINE *. “l \ '>f[ 0 ■ -'e<fll II 1 . H Si THINKING % 1 1 •t/l Ulv o , s •iitiETRD "4i2°Os SHENKSFARM SERVICE MILLPORT RD ■ AIRPORT INCASTER of the future. For instance, he would recommend that milk cooperatives expand in to the marketing of related products such as yogurt, cheese and ice cream. “Involved individual members are the strength of a cooperative,” says the Virginia dairy farmer who milks 185 cows and crops 600 acres. Each member must be willing to accept some responsibility for public relations and legislative ef forts, as well as encourage other farmers to participate in the business of cooperatives. The Montana NICE was the second convention at tended by the Perrows, who credit the confab with boosting their 'enthusiasm for the cooperative way of doing business. “It’s reassuring to know we have other people fighting for us and with us to keep the cooperative enter prise system,” smiles the soft-spoken dairyman. A third-generation member of Southern States represented that service supply cooperative at the an nual NICE meeting. Donald and Denise Vaughn, Delta, Penn sylvania, farm in partner ship with his father on a 90- Holstein, 600 acre dairy and hay-corn operation. “Cooperatives are a way of life in our family” insists Donald. “My grandfather, Luther Bahn, was a charter OF DOING SOMETHING SUCH AS EXPANDING? Changing present pipeline from 11/2”t02”.l 1 /2”to2”. Adding more milker units. Adding to present parlor system. Considering parlor. Automating your present system. • PLANNING LAYOUTS • SALES • INSTALLATION • SERVICE (STAUFFER IROAD 501 E. Woods Drive Lititz, PA. 17543 Phone: 717-626-1151 Home Phone: Clyde Lutz 717-738-171 J Home Phone: Curtis Cassady 717-626-1065 Our Service Trucks Are Radio Dispatched member of Southern States." Informed members make for better organizations, says Vaughn, who favors' educational mini-sessions for increased member understanding of the day-to day inner workings of cooperatives/ Another awareness measure he recommends is the setting up of regional BOU-MATIC MEANS BETTER MILKING miftilYllW HERRINGBONE STALLS WITH CONCRETE CURB & GRATES "Professional Milking for Hie Milking Professional" SHENK'S FARM SERVICE The Vaughns were im pressed both the background on cooperatives that they received at the conference and the concern of the national institute for the welfare of individual member-organizations. RDI.EPHRATA. PA 17522 young couples advisory boards, both for educations and to increase grass-roots input into administrative decisions. PHONE: 717-733-9404 PARLOR STALLS An educational organiza tion for fanner cooperatives, the American Institute of Cooperative was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Members include a broad representa tion from marketing, supply und service cooperatives, banks and associations of the Farm Credit system and the nation’s rural electric systems. 24 Hr. Service Offered h
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