VOL 25 NoJW Assessment to spark Eastern annual meeting BY SHEILA MILLER SYRACUSE, N.Y. - This week’s Eastern Milk Producers Cooperative meetings may be an eye opener for some of its members. Eastern’s session will begin with a “Special Meeting” Tuesday June 3 and conclude with the annual meeting and banquet June 4 here at the Hotel Syracuse. If they didn’t receive their letter in the mail by the time they leave for the meeting, Eastern’s producers will find the rumors they heard about an assessment are true. An official for the Co-op admitted there will be an assessment taken off of the producer*’ milk checks, but he would not reveal an estimated dollar figure per hundredweight. The member’s share, he stated, would be determined by computer and would vary from member to member. The reason given by Eastern officials for the assessment is that the Co-op has been saddled with the bankruptcy problems of proprietary milk handlers. Eastern was hardest hit in Pennsylvania where there currently is only an inadequate milk security fund to safeguard against Farm bills sidetracked in Senate BY CURT HAULER HARRISBURG - H 81794, the nght-to-farm legislation, was one of two agricultural bills sidetracked m the State Senate this week. Also held back was SB 10, a measure to increase truck weight limits to 80,000 pounds, which has the strong support of the Northeast Pennsylvania dairy in dustry. SB 10 also raises many highway user fees. During the Tuesday Ag Committee Meeting Senator Franklin I. Kury, from Sunbury’s 27th district, raised enough last minute objections to the right to farm bill that the measure was held back until the next ag committee meeting. That meeting will be held in two weeks. Kury said he wanted to make sure there were no legal problems in the measure. But observers of both the Senate and House indicated the real reason for the delay these proprietary dairy failures. When asked if the assessment might spell a major shift in the Co-op’s membership to other major cooperatives or proprietary handlers, the Eastern of ficial commented, “We don’t owe anybody any money— and all the others are in debt.” The claimed freedom from debt is not for a lack of trying. This week Eastern asked the Farmers Home Ad ministration to guarantee 90 percent of a $2O million loan the Co-op is attempting to get from a Pennsylvania bank. This loan would provide revenues to enable Eastern to start to fulfill its obligations in the Lepnno Cheese contract. The Eastern official in This Issue SECTION A: Editorials, 10; Harness Fund research grants, 18; Pa. steer wins Wills Fair, 24; Sheila’s shorts, 27; Lane. 4-H news, 30; -Dairy agent talks dairymen, 32. SECTION B: Will a partnership work, 2; Dairy outlook, 5; State FFA secretary, 6; Lebanon DHIA, 8; The Dairy Business, 9; Grangers honor Scott, 10; D.C. legislation, 12. SECTION C: Homestead notes, 2; Ida’s notebook, 5; Home on the Range, 6; Cumberland DHIA, 14; Chester DHIA, 15; Berks DHIA, 18; The Milk Check, 20; Farm Talk, 28; Delta’s ag salute, 36; Joyce Bupp, 38; Ask VMD.39. Legislative roundup was not any problem with the bill, but rather a thinly disguised effort by Kury to settle an old score with leadership on the House Ag Committee. Noah Wenger, 99th district representative from Stevens and a co-sponsor of the bill, said he feels when the bill eventually comes out on the Senate floor it will carry. He pointed out the bill will be a boost to intensified livestock'and poultry far mers in that it protects them from nuisance suits by new neighbors or municipalities objecting to odor or noise resulting from approved farming practices. It also will help a grain farmer when he spreads lime or runs a dryer all night. SB 10 was tabled Wed nesday in the Senate when leadership could pot gather the votes expected. Not enough supporters could be Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 31,1980 claimed he had been cm the telephone almost all day Thursday talking to mem bers. He said he made 50 or so calls. From his conversations with'the members he said none of them had any idea of pulling out of Eastern because of the coming assessment. • Even the proprietary producers wouldn’t pull out because, he claimed, those producers are not in good shape. “They’re depending on that milk check.” 1 It will be a sure bet there should be a lot of discussion about the assessment at Eastern’s annual meeting. As for other issues that will be upcoming at the delegate sessions, the Co-op is keeping mum. No one at (Turn to Page A 42) found this week to move the bill. Despite opposition by auto clubs and other similar groups, the senate probably will try again this week io move SB 10. Northeastern dairymen see it as the end to hassles with moving huge Right to farm stressed in Ephrata Twp. BY DICK ANGLESTEIN EPHRATA Recognition that preserving farmland must include protecting the right to farm is expected to be a basic consideration in agricultural preservation efforts under way in Ephrata Township. Protection of the right to farm would be contained m a proposed deed covenant requirement for limited residential development to be permitted in agricultural zoning districts of the township. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, with the added ingredient of a farmer’s hard work, make the Springtime agriculture picture one of promise. See page A 34 for more Spring photos. State planting lagging, farmers catching up fast LITITZ - With rainy weather during past weeks postponing planting and making farmers itchy to get tankers over Interstate highways. On the positive side, the Senate reported out HBI6OB, Wenger’s capital stock exemption legislation. The measure now is in first consideration. (Turn to Pago"A42) “The covenant would be a means of putting a warning on the deed of a residential property to inform future owners that it is located in an agricultural district and the normal activities of farming involving such things as noise, dust or odor will have to be tolerated,” Charles W. Sheidy, Ephrata Township solicitor, explained. Sheidy is now m the, process of drafting proposed regulations designed to promote agricultural into the fields, this week’s good weather has prompted a flurry of activity in area fields. According to Pat Liles of the PA Crop Reporting Service, Pennsylvania was farther behind than any of the major com producing states in planting at the conclusion of last week. At last tally, com planting over the state was about 65 percent complete as against' 76 percent over the same period last year and 73 percent 5 years ago. Even South Dakota which is normally 2 percentage points behind the state in planting has about 88 per- preservation in the town ship. The township planning commission is expected to begin review of the proposals at its June meeting. The agricultural preservation proposals will also be reviewed by the township supervisors and outlined at public hearings before any action would be taken. The Ephrata Township effort is being done in cooperation with the newly- $7.00 Per year cent of the crop planted, he said. Liles said that Penn sylvania is about a week behind but because of the good weather recently, the stale will show a significant jump in percentages even though the southern part of the state showed 1.5-2 inches of rain last week. Arnold Lueck, Lancaster extension agent, said that while com planting is nor mally completed m May, planting is lagging a little and should be completed in the next week. Because weather conditions early in the season were good, (Turn to Page A 43) formed Lancaster County Agricultural Preservation Board. Under the preservation proposals being considered for Ephrata Township, limited residential development is expected to be permitted by special exception in the agricultural districts. This residential development, according to Sheidy, primarily is designed for farm family (Turn to Page A 45)
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