Many By JERRY WEBB NEWARK, Del. - Some farmers don’t like to admit it but, in general, and as a group, they are fairly con servative and reluctant to make big changes. So change has come to farming rather slowly over the past several decades. In the years ahead, however, a lot of changes will occur - not because farmers want them but because they will be forced into them. Farm labor is one area where rapid change will occur due to new legislation. Anyone who follows the farm labor disputes in California or who knows about migrant labor working conditions in this area must realize that m ame the laws will change By 1985 minimum wage laws and other legislation will cause farm labor prices > *• . / -N /* As ' x 'V / POWER RING DRIVE Jamesway Voiumatic® II silage distributor-unloader features new independent ring drive with y 2 hp. motor, has no drive drum to manhandle, no weights to adjust. For you —fewer trips up the silo, fast feeding. We also install cattle feeding , ventilating, and manure-handling systems . AGRI-EQUIP. RD2, Farmersville, Ephrata, PA 717-354-4271 I. G.’s AG. SALES ■ Rt, 113, 80. 200 Silverdale, PA 215-257-5135 ERB& HENRY EQUIP., INC. M. 22-26 Henry Avenue New Berlinville, PA 215-367-2169 J. M. HORST SERVICE CO. Box 231, Quentin, PA 717-274-1242 changes loom in the future of farming to go up dramatically. This will force changes in farm organization and operation. In the past, farm labor has been given lower minimum wage rates and has often been exempted from general labor legislation. But farm experts in Washington say this can’t last much longer. In fact, an agriculture department report predicts that m the coming decade ’farm workers will be brought under the same minimum wage provisions as non-farmers. They will also receive the same extra benefits. By 1985 a farm worker can expect me same wage rates, fringe benefits, workmens’ compensation, unemployment insurance and employment conditions. When that happens, farming will change more and faster than at any time in its history. DEPENDABLE MOTORS HARRY L. TROOP HENRY S. LAPP RDI, Cains, Gap, PA 17527 S. YEARSLEY & SON 114 E. Market St. West Chester. PA 19380 215-696-2990 One likely result, ac cording to the report, will be increased polarization. “On the one hand, we will have the farm small enough for all the work to be done by the operator without hired labor, and on the other, the farm large enough to face the ever more complex problems and regulations that will fall on labor management. ’ ’ More expensive labor will cause other problems for the already financially troubled farmer. Big farmers will get bigger, small operators will be stuck, so to speak, at the size where the fanner and his family can handle the work. Along with these changes will come a sharp rise in assets and debts - ac companied by only modest increases in farm income. The trend will be to meet the burden of debt payments by Honey Brook, PA 215-273-3131 717-442-8134 increasingly turning to leasing as opposed to ownership. The result will he that the farmer-owned share of assets, especially the more costly ones such as real estate, will decline More farm families will need to supplement their incomes with off-farm jobs, according to the report Much of this nonnfarm in come will be earned by farm families in the lower gross sales classes, who in turn will use it to pay off debts and underwrite assets. “Paradoxically,* credit may be easier to come by for the small farmer than the larger one. Traditional lenders appear willing to provide funds to farmers with off-farm jobs. But for the large commercial farms, more capital may be solicited from new sources such as large city banks and Rt 1 Cochranville, PA 19330 215-593-6731 TAM SYSTEMS CORP. RDI, Mountain Rd. Dillsburg, PA 17019 717-432-9738 I. A. SWOPE Box 121, RDI Myerstown, PA 717-933-4758 ROVENDALE SUPPLY RD2, Watsontown, PA 17777 717-538-5521 \ Lancaster Farming, Saturday; December 2, 1978 from old sources willing to change to accommodate the needs of large borrowers.” In the area of farm machinery, predictions are that by 1985 about 15 per cent more horsepower will be supplied by one-third fewer tractors - chiefly because larger, more powerful machines will be domg more of the work. The environment will be a factor in pesticide technology. Environmental concerns will continue to bear upon the kind and quantity of pesticides used, with increased unit costs likely for certain chemicals needed for more selective treatment of weeds and insects “The controversy over land use is likely to have reached center stage by 1985. At the very least, there will be growing pressure for more direct government involvement in how land is usee} Though our land supply is fixed, the amount is likely to be sufficient to produce the crops we’ll need by 1985 Likewise, water another vital natural will still be resource ALL TYPES OF FARM BUILDINGS Broiler Houses Layer Houses Pullet Houses Hog Houses Cattle Barns Horse Barns Any Many Others. Will Design To Your Needs. REYNOLDS & YELLOTT CO., 12800 Gores Mill Rd. Reisterstown, MD 21136 Over 24 Years Experience 301-833-1840 available to us in abundant quantities,” according to the government information. The big changes that will come to agriculture during the next 10 years won’t be the kind that show as you ride down country roads Those agricultural robots and high-rise hog houses are still a long way off. But there’s just no question that economic pressures will cause drastic organizational changes. Obviously, any farmer who expects to hire outside labor is going to have to pay a pretty-big price. Once that decision is met, he is then going to have tu organize his business so th?' he can, first, afford to pa ; his workers and seconu. have enough left so that ne can pay himself Those fanners who now work for a buck an hour o” less going to find . difficult paying a worKe~ several tunes more tha~ they are getting. If, on tne other hand, they choose not to reorganize - to stay small and use family labor - they doom themselves to a life of low earnings or, at best, part-time farming. Call: INC. 123
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