VOL. 26 No. 26
Industrymen of the Year were honored at
the Thursday evening Pennsylvania Poultry
Federaion Fund Raising Banquet, held at
Lancaster’s Host Farm. A record crowd filled
the convention center's two ballrooms to
capacity. Posing for the camera are, from left,
John Hoffman, master of ceremonies and
FmHA denies Eastern’s
$2O million loan request
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
SYRACUSE.N.Y. - The ap
plication of Eastern Milk
Producers Cooperative
Association for a $2O million loan
guarantee has been denied by the
Fanners Home Administration.
John D. Robertson, acting New
York State Director for FmHA,
said the notification of denial was
received from the national offices
m Washington, D.C. on March 23.
Notification was given to
Eastern by the state office on April
9
Robertson said the denial from
the national office was based on
various credit factors
The acting state director ex
plained that four main reasons
Sheila Miller to edit ‘ Farming 9
UTITZ - Sheila M. Miller has
been appointed editor of Lancaster
Farming, announces Robert G.
Campbell, publisher.
Miller, who has served as
associate editor on the staff for the
past year and a half, is replacing
E Curtis Harler who submitted his
resignation April 6
Miller is a 1974 graduate of Penn
State’s College of Agriculture,
where she majored in General
Agriculture. After graduation, she
was employed by the USDA Soil
Conservation Service for five
years, working in Adams, Berks,
and Lackawanna counties.
While a student at Penn State,
Miller was active in the Block and
Bridle Club and served as
corresponding secretary. She is a
member of the Phi Kappa Phi and
Gamma Sigma Delta honor
societies. She was a member of the
1973 Meats Judging Team.
Miller is the daughter of Vemon
and Mildred Miller of R 1 Hershey,
and is married to Michael L.
Miller, the son of Charles and
executive director of the Pennsylvania Poultry
Federation and wife, Ruth; Vernon Leininger,
Egg Industryman and wife Allegra; Earl
Gingrich, Broiler Industryman and sister Anna
Wagner; Paul Konhaus, Turkey Industryman
and wife Margaret.
were given in the denial. These
include:
-Lack of equity position by
Eastern
-Operating losses.
-Lack of personal or corporate
guarantees
-And concern that Eastern
would not be able to meet its milk
supply contract with Leprino
Foods, which is supposed to be the
source of funds to repay the loan
Michael Donovan, General
Manager of Eastern, in a prepared
news release from Eastern,
questioned the accuracy of
FmHA’s analysis of the ap
plication, saying that its equity
position has improved steadily
during the two and one-half years
Kathaleen Miller, R 5 Gettysburg.
Farming has been an important
part of Miller’s life, having grown
Sheila Miller
Lancaster Fannins, Saturday, April 25,1981
it has taken for a decision to be
made on the loan application.
Donovan further claimed that
(TurntoPageAl2)
Legislative roundup
Grieco named House Ag Chairman
BY CURT HARLER
HARRISBURG - Joseph V.
Gneco, representative from
Lycoming and Northumberland
Counties, this Week was named the
new House Agriculture Committee
Chairman.
Gneco replaces Roy W. Wilt, the
Greenville legislator who stepped
up on her parents’ farm where she
learned the basics of raising beef
cattle and crops. These childhood
lessons and the skills learned at
Penn State and with USDA are
being applied on the farm recently
purchased by Sheila and her
husband, where they raise
purebred Polled Hereford cattle
and Irish Setters.
One of her favorite hobbies is
horseback riding and driving, and
her horses have traveled with her
on every move since college. One
of her hayburners, Charlie, is a
Quarter Horse she’s shared with
her older sister, Verna Miller
Case, (now a college professor in
Davidson, North Carolina) since
Miller was eleven years old. Stable
mates to the aging gelding are a
Morgan-Arabian gelding and a
Standardbred mare.
By accepting the editor’s
position, Miller has become the
first woman to assume these duties
in the history of Lancaster Far
ming.
Poultry producers
step out 1700 strong
BY SHEILA MILLER
LANCASTER For seven
straight years, the Pennsylvania
Poultry Federation hosted a
record crowd at its annual fund
raising banquet, and this year is no
exception. Over 1700 poultry
producers and industry people
turned out for Banquet Number 8,
exceeding the attendance of
Erevious years, according to John
!off man, the Federation’s
executive director.
“When we started the fund
raising event, we had 300 people
gather at the Penn Harris Hotel m
Harrisburg,” Hoffman remem
bered. “We’ve been coming to the
Host Farm m Lancaster for the
past /five years, and always seem
to fill more rooms than before.”
Hoffman explained the funds
raised at the banquet are the
source of income fear the state
association. It provides an
organized voice for the poultry
industry and protects producers’
interests. Money gpes to research,
disease control, scholarships, and
youth activities.
Co-chairing this year’s suc
cessful program were Bob
Graybill, of Pennfield Cor
poration; Jay Greider, of Greider
down as House Ag Committee
Chairman. Wilt won a special
election in late March for a state
senate seat.
Grieco said Thursday he decided
to accept the position after “a
heart-to-heart talk” with House
Majority Leader Matthew J. Ryan.
The new Ag Chairman is a fifth
term Republican from Jersey
Shore. He has been a member of
the House Agriculture Committee
during all nine of the years he has
served the 84th District.
Although not a farm boy, Gneco
has close ties to farming. He
worked with his father and
brothers m the wholesale fruit and
vegetable business.
| News and features
Conservation field day, A2l; Pa.
Grange Week, A2B; Food system
study, A 34; Egg income, B 5; Apple
festival, B 6; Berks beekeeper,
C 18; Poultry house planning, C 32;
Custom rates, C4O; State farm
leases average $6O, Dll.
Editorials, A 10; Farm calendar,
Al 2; Farm talk, B 8; Have you
heard? Cll; Joyce Bupp’s column,
Cl 3; Ida’s notebook, Cl 4; Ask the
VMD, C 24; Dairy pipeline, D 5;
Sheila’s shorts, DIO, The Milk
Check, Dl2.
$7.50 Per Year
Farms, Inc.; and Dale M. Weaver,
of Victor F. Weaver, Inc.
On hand for the festivities were
special mdustrymen, recognized
previously for their contributions
to the poultry business.
Lancaster County’s Vernon
Lemmger, R 2 Denver, is the -Egg
Industryman of the Year. He has
90,000 layers at his Ko-Ka-Le-Ko
Egg Ranch. Helias been honored
in the Federation’s Gold Feather
Club, which recognizes exceptional
sales people.
Lemmger has been raising
chickens for the past 20 years.
Assisting him with the farm, which
also produces steers, hogs, grain,
and alfalfa, are sons David and
Michael.
The Broiler Industryman of the
Year is Earl Gmgncb, of Hum
melstown. Gingrich was employed
by Pennfield Corporation for 20
years in the broiler division. He
explained he worked with breeder
chickens, producing the com
pany’s own hatching eggs for
broiler chicks.
Now retired, Gingrich lives on a
60 acre farm where he grows
(Turn to Page A 26)
The family purchased
strawberries, cabbage, lettuce,
onions and other produce and had
daily contact with fanners, Gneco
said.
In addition, Gneco has a long
term background in ag legislation.
He was one of three senior house
memebers considered to be on the
inside track for the position
vacated by Wilt.
Grieco told Lancaster Fanning
his first pnonty as Ag Chairman
will be to preserve farmland for
future years.
He said his next pnonty will be
to modify current inheritance tax
laws to be certain they are written
(Turn to Page A 24)
Berks FFA, A 3 2; Agn
broadcastmg network, C 2; Home
on the range, C 6; Farm women
societies, C 8; Pa. Honey Queen,
CIO; Kid’s Komer, Cl 2; 4-H news,
CIO; Ladies Day Out house tour,
C2l; Kennard-Dale FFA, C 42;
Youth hvestock judging, C 43.
MCMP elects officers, A3l;
Franklin DHIA, B 2; Adams DHIA,
C 25; Upper Susquehanna DHIA,
C 26; Huntingdon DHIA, C 29;
Perry DHIA, C3O; Lancaster
DHIA, D 2; York DHIA, D 6;
Montgomery DHIA, DB.