Al4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3,1981
Grangers to kick
off new
program
HARRISBURG - Kick-off
ceremonies for the Penn
sylvania Grange Insurance
Agency will be held Sunday,
January 11, at the Farm
Show Complex, with State
Master Charles E. Wismer,
and Agriculture Secretary
Penrose Hallowell, heading
the ceremonies’ program.
“This effort marks the
first major effort for the
Grange in providing ex
panded membership ser
vices to rural Penn
sylvanians,” notes Grange
Administrator, Hal Mowery
“We are targeting our
program to the needs of
rural Pennsylvanians.”
A wide range of new
coverage such as farm and
homeowner’s property and
casualty, including worker’s
compensation for both farm
and non-farm businesses,
excess major medical,
accidental death and
dismemberment, Medicare
complement, and com
puterized estate planning
will be immediately
available to Grange
members.
“There is no farm
operation too large or too
small,” Mowery says Both
the farm and non-farm
versions of property and
casualty insurance include
“extensive” liability
coverage.
The accidental death
coverage will go to $lOO,OOO,
and “will cover all ac
cidental death, regardless of
how they occur”, Mowery
says. “This coverage is for
both farm and non-farm
members
Our excess major medical
policy will provide members
the opportunity to raise the
limits on their hospital plans
with deductibles of twenty
and twenty-five thousand
dollars, up to a maximum of
half a million dollars ”
Of special interest to
Medicare subscribers is the
Grange’s Medicare com
plement “We will feature a
wrap-around Medicare
program that pays what
Medicare does not pay, with
insurance
a lifetime maximum of $1
million ” This policy also
covers 80 percent of all out of
hospital drug perscnptions,
with a $lOO annual deduc
tible
Further, it will cover an
additional 100 days of skilled
nursing home care “over
and above Medicare
coverage.”
“In keeping with the
Grange’s farm preservation
policies, we are offering a
computerized estate plan
ning service to Grange
members,” Mowery points
Hog and pig numbers
jump 13 percent
HARRISBURG - Penn
sylvania’s hog and pig in
ventory totaled 980,000 on
December 1, according to
the Pennsylvania Crop
Reporting Service.
This inventory was up 13
percent from December 1,
1979 and seven percent from
June 1,1980
Breeding stock, at 123,000,
was up three percent from
last year Market hogs, at
857,000, were up 14 percent
The fall (June - December
1980) pig crop of 629,000 pigs
was up 18 percent from last
year’s 533,000 There were
85,000 sows farrowed with an
average of 7.4 pigs per Utter
Keystone farmers intend
to farrow 92,000 sows during
the spring of 1981 The
number of farm operations
KNNSYIVAHIA ABRICUUURE
l;3
WE’RE CROWING BETTER
Lebanon County
BY SHEILA MILLER
LEBANON - Lebanon
Valley National Bank made
a landmark decision just in
time for New Year’s Day.
The board of directors voted
unanimously to freeze their
prune interest rate at 18
percent.
According to Mike
Firestine, assistant vice
president and ag lending
officer, LVNB reduced their
out
“Our service will allow
members to quickly
determine the extent of their
tax liability, particularly
those who want to keep the
firm in their family ”
having one or more pigs on
hand during 1980 was 20,000
The national inventory of
hogs and pigs was estimated
at 64 5 million head on
December 1, four percent
below last year but seven
percent above 1978.
Breeding inventory, at 9 16
million head, was five
percent less than both 1979
and 1978.
Market hog inventory at
55 4 million head was four
percent below 1979 but nine
percent greater than 1978
United States hog
producers intend to farrow
6 78 million sows during the
December 1980-May 1981
period, a decrease of six
percent from the same
period last year and 1978
prime at 18
mterest rate from 20%
percent to 18 percent even
though the national prune
rate remains at 20% percent
“Several weeks ago, I
spoke with the bank’s
president, A 1 Murry. I ex
plained to him how farmer’s
can’t afford to pay 20%
percent prime rate,” said
Firestine.
“He told me to suggest a
ceiling And I suggested we
tie it in with the personal
prune rate and try to keep
the ceiling somewhere
around 17 percent
“When I addressed the
o
CD
g g p
out forage for sure, no-stall unloading
FICKES SILO COMPANY, INC.
(gysg
name in
BOTTOM
Please Send me information on □ Fickes Silos
□ Please send me literature on Silo-Matic Feeding Systems
□ Please send me literature on Bottom Unloader Systems
NAME
CITY
bank freezes
percent
lending committee, we had
come up with a suggested
ceiling of 18 percent. After
the committee’s approval,
A 1 Murry took it before the
eighteen member board
(three members represent
the ag community) and
the board approved it
unanimously tor ag loans.”
Firestine explained the
board decided on New
Year’s Eve that if they could
create an 18 percent ceiling
for farm loans, they could do
it for all business loans.
“They recognized tunes
are tough for all businesses
P.O. Box 7
Newville, PA 17241
Phone: 717-776-3129
STATE
Our bank is trying to help
perhaps we’ll be starting a
trend.”
This new policy could
possibly affect close to 300
farmers, Firestme added
He noted the 18 percent
interest rate can only vary
one percent above or below
that rate based on the
borrower’s deposit ratio.
Lebanon Valley National
Bank is the largest in
dependently owned bank in
Lebanon County, with seven
offices. They also have of
fices in Berks and Schuylkill
Counties.
Tough tungsten tipped
knives slash thru tangled
or frozen forage to move
out the volume you set on
controls Floor-track
gear drive at outer end of
auger means positive
no-stall unloading Laidig
design and ruggedness
prevents many break
downs and repair costs
often associated with
other bottom unloaders
Insist on a Laidig
fctVDfG-
BOTTOM
Silo-fiftittC
FEEDING SYSTEMS
33
CO