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)