D32—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 15,1980
Senate Committee approves reopening reserve
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
The Senate Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry Thursday ap
proved legislation to open on
a limited basis the farmer
held grain reserve to
producers of 1979 corn and
wheat who did not par
ticipate in last year’s “set
aside.”
As an incentive to gasohol
production, the Committee
also approved a provision to
authorize the sale of corn
owned by the Commodity
Credit Corporation for
conversion into alcohol fuel
at not less than the gram
reserve release price,
currently $2.63 per bushel.
The Committee action
Adams
LITTLESTOWN -
“Energy Sources for the
80’s”, a discussion of
alternative energy sources,
was the theme for the second
annual Adams County Farm
Forum, on March 4. Topics
included the harnessing of
solar energy and the on-farm
production of ethanol and
methane gas.
Broiler placements
continue climb
HARRISBURG -
Placements of broiler chicks
m the commonwealth during
the week ending February 23
totaled 2,303,000, according
to the Pennsylvania Crop
Reporting Service. The
placements were six percent
above the corresponding
week a year ago.
Placements in Penn
sylvania were also eight
percent above the previous
week. Average placements
during the past nine weeks
were three percent above a
year earlier.
In the 21 key poultry
producing states,
placements of broiler chicks
came at the conclusion of
hearings on a number of bills
aimed at easing the impact
of the Russian gram em
bargo on American farmers.
The Department of
Agriculture endorsed both
provisions of the bill.
The bill is a modification
of two provisions m an eight
point legislative program
proposed by Sen. Herman E.
Talmadge (D-Ga.), chair
man of the Committee, to
give the Carter Ad
ministration increased
authority to assist farmers
adversely affected by the
embargo.
Talmadge said Thursday’s
action does not preclude
consideration by the Com
mittee of further legislative
Forum views energy
Robert LaTurner of
Gailsburg, 111, president of
ACI Budders, used color
slides to illustrate passive
solar-heated buildings.
While most of the buildings
are designed as hog houses,
farm shops or gram drying
facilities, he did present
several conventionally-app
earing homes.
during the week were
81,172,000, three percent
above the previous week and
nine percent above the same
week m 1979. Average
placements in the 21 states
during the past nine weeks
were six percent above a
year ago.
Broiler fryers slaughtered
in Pennsylvania under
federal inspection during the
week ending February 13,
totaled 1,733,000, with an
average hveweight of 4.07
pounds.
“Learning to Do, Domg to
Learn, Earning to Live,
Living to Serve’ ’ is the motto
of the FFA.
proposals dealing with the
embargo.
The bill would give the
secretary of agriculture
discretionary authority to
open the gram reserve
program for a limited
quantity of 1979 wheat and
corn produced by farmers
who did set aside - leave idle
- cropland last year.
Howard W. Hjort, the
Department of Agriculture’s
chief economist, estimated
that a maximum of 5 to 10
million tons of additional
com would be taken into the
reserve program under the
bill.
The Administration did not
request the opening of the
program for wheat, but did
not oppose an amendment
“Because southern
Pennsylvania is at about the
same longitude as Illinois,
you should realize 800 B.T.U.
per square foot per day more
than justifies the installation
of a solar energy system,”
said La Turner.
La Turner encouraged
farmers to develop long
range farmstead im
provement plans then work
to reach these goals. He
pomted to the benefits of
solar application to gram
drying and predicted that
flat floor storage will be the
trend of the future in han
dling gram. .He told how
swine producers could save
70 to 90 percent on their
heating biH for nursery
bams with a solar collector
and a distribution system
which assured warm air for
the baby pigs.
Two Cylinder Model D 327-2
20 to 36.5 HP Max.
■ AIR & WATER COOLED
■ HEAVY DUTY CONTINUOUS SERVICE DIESEL
■ IDEAL FOR AMISH BULK TANK REFRIGERATION
■ AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL START
■ MWM MURPHY DIESELS RANGE FROM 3 HP to
8000 HP
sponsored by Sen. David L.
Boren (D-Okla.) to place
that commodity on the same
footing as com.
Under the farmer-held
reserve program, par
ticipating producers receive
a loan (currently $2.10 per
bushel for corn and $2.50 for
wheat) when the gram goes
into storage and are paid
storage fees. Gram is
released back to producers
from the reserve when
market prices reach certain
pre-set levels and the
producer repays the loan.
Under existing law, far
mers who do not idle acres
when a set-aside is m effect
are ineligible to participate
m the reserve or to receive
price support loans.
sources
“Farmers, long
recognized as the supplier of
food and fiber, will plan an
increasingly important role
in fuel production as energy
costs rise,” said John
Martin, design engineer for
the firm of Sheaffer and
Roland, Chicago, 111., who
spoke on alcohol production
on the farm and methane as
an energy source.
“Farmers who are in a
position to feed the brewer’s
gram by-product as it is
produced will enjoy a
distinct advantage,” said
Martin.
He pointed out that pfesent
fuel oil prices did not provide
a sufficient profit margin for
farmers to produce ethanol
for fuel.
The program concluded
with a tour to Mason-Dixon
Farms to see a methane
generator in operation.
The bill as approved by the loans to non-complying li
Committee Thursday would producers other th.
not extend price support through the gram reserve.
Two
Cylinder
Model D 302-2
14 to 32 HP