Registration problems?
There seems to be a lot of
confusion about the beef
referendum rules and
regulations, not only in the
cattlemen circles but also in
the governmental agency
supposed to be handling the
program.
If you still haven’t read
about the basic information
concerning this very im
portant referendum, look for
"Straight-talk on
Beeferendum” in this issue.
In the past week, I’ve
.heard a few different
Questions pop up about who
can register to vote in the up
coming referendum. By the
way, registration ends on
Wednesday, February 6.
To try to get some answers
to these important questions,
I contacted Dick Penet, the
head of Pennsylvania’s
Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service.
One of the questions that
Brief answers
to short questions
Sheila's
Shorts
By Sheila Miller
has been asked by a number
of cattlemen is. "If both the
husband and wife own cattle,
can both register to vote or
does the couple get only one
vote’”.
According to Penet, if the
cattle are owned by each
spouse mdependently, then
both husband and wife are
entitled to vote. But if the
cattle are owned by the
husband and wife jointly,
they have only one vote in
the upcoming referendum.
This same policy would
apply to parents and
children, Penet added. If the
children own cattle in
dependently of their parents,
the children have voting
privileges.
Another question that has
surfaced in the last few days
is the discrepancy between
ASCS rules for community
committee elections and the
referendum.
When electing community
committeemen, ASCS
considers a husband-wife
team with joint land
ownership as two votes. But,
in the referendum rules, for'
joint cattle ownership, there
is only one vote
When asked what the
reasoning was behind this
turnabout in policy, Penet
said that it’s the way the
regulations were written.
Some cattlemen expressed
concern that their
registration applications
were not accepted by the
county executive director for
ASCS it was being
challenged based on the
question of eligibility.
Penet explained that each
CED has the authority to
challenge any registration
application, however the
ASCS office should accept
the application until
evidence is submitted to
prove or disprove eligibility.
The ASCS office has two
weeks in which to challenge
any registration between the
close of registration and the
start of balloting. And, even
after a cattleman has voted,
ASCS can challenge the
ballot if necessary.
In the case where a spouse
visits the ASCS office to
register for a joint
ownership single ballot, the
AS(i3 director can accept the
registration from either the
husband or the wife. “As
long as there is sufficient
evidence of eligibility, I
don't see any reason why it
“should make a difference
who registers,” said Penet.
He added that anyone who
is having' problems
registering, or who has a
specific question concerning
the referendum’s rules
should contact the ASCS
office immediately.
When I asked him how the
registration turn out was
coming, he pointed out that it
was very light.
With such an important
issue at steak, I hope the
trend changes until next
Wednesday.
Can’t forget the lambs.
In my January 12 column,
I tracked down some in
formation from the Virginia
Department of Agriculture
on their tel-o-auctions.
The info I got somehow
neglected one very im
portant part of our livestock
industry lambs.
Smce then, I realized we
were running special lamb
tel-o-auctions, but we never
heard where or when these
were being held.
So, I got back on the
telephone and called
Virginia. This time I was
directed to Ed Eller’s office.
Ed wasn’t m but his
secretary, Kitty Cox, han
dled all of my questions like
a pro.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 2,1980—A27
She explained that the
lamb tel-o-auctions were
held every Friday at 11 a.m.
Lambs were sold out of 12
markets.
The Virginia markets
included Tazwell, Abmgton,
Harrisonburg, Dublin,
Churchville, and Monterey.
In Kentucky, lambs came
from Lexington, Danville,
and Paris. And from West
Virginia, they came from
Alderson, Elkins, Marlmton,
and Riverton.
Now, all of these lambs
can be bought by calling one
number. Hoy Meek, at
Dublin, runs the tel-o
auction and sells the lambs.
His telephone number is
703/674-5311.
If you call Roy by Thur-
New Jersey horse club meets
The Road Apple Gang 4-H
Horse Club met on January
15, 1980. Lisa Ozysewski
gave a demonstration on
“Wind-Sucking & Cribbing”.
She described the causes and
effects of each of them and
also possible “cures.”
The Club decided to hold
another bake sale to help
with club expenses. A ten
tative date of February 9
was set. The Club’s last two
sday afternoon, he can
arrange to have you on a
telephone hook-up that can
handle 16 buyers. And, if you
plan to buy on a regular
weekly basis, the VaDA will
be glad to put your name on
a permanent list so that you
are called automatically
every Friday.
If you can’t get through to
Roy, Kitty told me you can
call her or her supervisor Ed
Eller by dialing 703/628-6261.
They’ll be able to arrange
for the telephone hook-up
too.
If you would rather sell
lambs than buy them, Ed
Eller will be able to fill you
in on the consignment
details.
bake sales were a success.
The next meeting will be
on February 5 at the But
tonwood Stables at 6 P.M.
The 1979 harvest employed
some 5 million American
farm workers. The same
harvest, before machines,
would have taken 31 million
people using 61 million
horses and mules, according
to Sperry New Holland.