VOL 25 H*. 12
Gh. steer won’t budge
' c
from Farm Show
BY SHEILA MILLER
HARRISBURG - “It’s an
unfortunate Farm Show
fust,” said Hugh Coffman,
Pennsylvania’s Farm Show
director.
He was referring id “Old
No. 4”, a market steer that
was sold during the show’s
Junior beef sdle, but never,
found its way out of the
bams.
“We kind of like.-having
Old No. 4 around,’’ Coffman
chuckled, “but we want to
see the young lady and her
family get the money they’re
entitled to. We also want to
uphold the integrity of the
sale.”
The young lady Coffman
mentipnyd isDebis Krause,
Lfehi|h ’Her project
steer. Blackjack, had been
Inter-State locals begin annual meetings
ivCURTHARLER
QUARRYVILLE - Inter-
State Milk Produced
Cooperative kicked off its
round of load meetings
Thmaßay with the annual
dinner of the Christian* and
Q':arryville locals in
Quanyville.
Members elected new
honored out
standing achievements of
several members, and were
assured by Co-op Assistant
General Manager Paul E.
Hand that their Co-op is
doirigwelL
Dairy, tax, domain bills
await legislators 9 return
BY DICK WANNER
Staff Correspondent
HARRISBURG - It was a
fairly slow week in
Harrisburg,. with the
legislature still in recess and
not due to convene again
until Monday.
A number of committees,
however, have been meeting
and mulling over a few items
of interest to fanners. Milk
security -fund legislation is '
the hottest piece of ag
legislation going, with a
bewildering number of
variants under con
sideration. v
Another dally bill, one that
looks like it niiy die in the
House Ag Committee, is a
measure tbai #odld abolish
the Pennsmtiiia Milk 1
Marketing B«ro. i
Buyer cops out
tagged the reserve cham
pion lightweight steer in
competition at last week’s:
Farm Show.
The steer, now known as
. No. Show Com
% mission>Tßmpldyees, ‘ was
aucti^ied' off last -Friday,
but- jsomehow the steer’s
. buyer never ’ returned to
- settle up forhis bid.
, Coffman said the buyer
ted until 10 a.m. on Saturday
to claim the animal, 'but the
deadline passed with no
glimpse of the bidder. He
said the bid was apparently
fraudulent. >
" So, Blackjack, alias No. 4,
was inadvertantly given a
stay of. execution. In the
meantime, the steer
esjoyedthesttaitioas ofthef
v members receive ftfrartds
A similar meeting was
held at the same time in
Cochranville, Chester
County. See. accompanying
story. ' , ■
Hand told dairymen Inter-
State is holding its own with :
3000 members but is in
creasing milk volume at the
rate ’of 100 millionpounds
per year.
He said the increase was
healthy andVould allow the
Co-op to fill, increased
market demand as well as
meet changing processor
schedules.
Consumer groups in
Western Pennsylvania
reportedly backed the bill,
but even they lost some
interest after a number-of
dairies in the area went
broke, shut their dobrs and
stopped selling milk.
Another bill in the House
Ag Committee would
establish a land
management commission to
operate the state’s Prison
and other institutional
farms. That responsibility is
now lodged with the
Department of Public
Welfare.
Alvin Myers, legislative
director for the Penn
sylvania Farmers
Association, said be is
hoping to see a number of
measures in motion after the
■AViViVIVIVi I'j-iViVi'.'i
Lancaster Fanala*, Saturday, tenuaryl9,l9So
tookturns feeding, bedding,,
and taking the steer for
exercise in the large arena.
Stable accomodations for the
celebrity steer were made in
the dairy bam.
Coffman stated he hoped
to reach a decision on What
to do with No. 4 soon.
Because of the publicity
about the steer, the Farm
Show director said a lot of
bids were being called in
overthe telephone.
On Wednesday, Paul
Konfaaus of Konhaus Farm
in , Mechanicsburg,
came to the rescue. He of
fered to match the original
bid for the lightr weight
champion steer. Blackjack,
and saved Debra Knause
from being tbe:oBly r Joeerdn.
He said by fall toe Co-op
should- have'. sufficient
volume to meet demand
without going outside the Co
op. But there are some
. problems.
- -Hand noted increased
hauling costs must be an
ticipated. Hauling is ad
justed at one-half cent per
five cent increase in fuel cost
to truckers.
He pointed jout this is not
money, in' toe truckers’
pockets, just fuhds.to keep
them even. - ’
He also said tile' tfne dent
legislature reconvenes
Monday. '
Senate Bills 985 and 906
would amend the eminent
domain laws to extend the
time period in which the.
original owner could reclaim
land at its original purchase '
price if the land had not been
used for purpose for which it
had bom seized. That period/
is now three years, the
proposed acts would extend
the time to Iff years.
House Bill 1606 would
exempt family farm cor- -
porations from the one
percent annual capital stock
franchise tax.
The tax is levied every
year, on the value of the
ffifta repmented by the
- (Turn to Pap A 23)
Only the shell of charred lumber and twisted metal feed bins remain after fire
destroyed the Thomasville Livestock Auction earlier thus week.
Early morning fire levels
Thomasville auction
BYJOYCEBUPP
Staff Cdrrespondent
THOMASVILLE ~ Fire
y>«ld throngh the
rawaShrifle - Livestock
_ v* - *
handling charge would be
reviewed. He said other
Penmnarva Co-ops arc
charging about 15 cents per
cwt-' .
He told members the Holly
plant hi ML Holly Springs
ran at full capacity for 12
days over the Christmas
holidays.
A fire last April set fee
plant back. And there have
been ofeier problems.
Since that time Interstate
anditspartner Maryland
Cooperative Milk Producers
have replaced the mankgei
and Hand said he expects
Holly to be a viable
proposition for members in
the 19605.
“It only needs fine tuning
as the Christmas success
demonstrates,” Handsaid.
He again warned fanners
(Turn to Page A 34)
Lane, to get new DHIA curcuit
- LANCASTER—There is a
good possibility Lancaster
County will get another
DMA circuit in the near
future.
According to Lancaster
County Dairy Agent Glenn
Shirk the new circut could be
in effect by February.
At present the Lancaster
County Dairy- Herd Im
provement Association has
about 800 herds on DHIA or
owner-sampler test That
represents half of the
County's 1600 dairy herds. -
Iha- near DmA circuit
could be county-wide. Or
there is a possibility one
Auction early Monday,
leaving a leveled building
and over VOMpbworfe of
. damagein its wake. ;
Flames broke out in the
about 2:30 a.m. and burned
out of control for over three
hours. '
An estimated 150
firefighters from six area
companies are reported to
have helped battle fee blaze.
State fire marshalls were
investigating' but had not
determined fee cause of the
fire, to have begun
in fee second floor office of
the auction. Losses included
the weighing scale, office
equipment and supplies.
“We plan to rebuild and
thank everyone who
helped,” stated president
Leroy Williams, Spring
Grove R 2, who Tuns ‘fee
la this issue
SECTION A; Editorials, 10; Letters to editor, 14; Guernsey*
awards, 19; Del soybean referendum, 26; Ask VMD, 33;
Sheila’s Shorts, 37; Juniata DHLA, 39.
-SECTION B: Premature calf beats odds, 2; The Milk
Check, 4; Embargo changes,'s; N.J. soybean checkoff, 12.
SECTION C; Needlework ribbons, 2; Home on the range, 8;
Farm Show photos, 16; Berks DHIA, 21; Apple judging, 27;
Joyce Bupp’s column, 30; Junior breeding sheep, 34.
supervisor may reduce his
circuit to a half-time job.
In that case, the new DHIA
would probably be based in
the east-central part of
Lancaster County. -
Any fqnner interested in
adding bis herd to the DHIA
program should get,in touch
' with Shirk or a local DHIA.
director.
Shirk also reminded
farmers the state! DHIA now
has a new somatic cell
machine.
There is room for aboutlOO
new patronsforthe machine
so it is urgent farmers who
are interested in geting on
the somatic cell program
$7.00 Per Yaw
auction with manager Roy
Mumpert, Brodbecks Rl.
Williams added that they
J hope to Qpo&iae' private
treaty business on a limited
jdto eyecyiliiqg
possible
sales for their livestock.
He heads a board of far
mer stockholders who own
and operate the livestock
sales business, located west
of York on Route 30.
No animals were in.the
livestock pens at the auction,
which handles between 500 to
800 animals weekly through
the Wednesday evening
sales.
The auction also hosts
various 4-H livestock events
and has been the site of the
annual Yotk-Adams Baby
Beef Roundup for several
•jmos.
contacttbe County Agent
soon to sign up.
_ The somatic cell program
is one oL the best ways
available to monitor udder,
health In a herd.
Starting with the next
Lancaster County DHIA
report in LANCASTER *
FARMING 1 Glenn Shirk will
write a diny column for
farmer readers.
The column will ac
company the Lancaster
monthly DHIA report and
will deal with topics of in
terest to dairymen both in
Lancaster, County and
throughout the newspaper’s
circulation arey.