VOL. 26 N». 35
Meet Lancaster County’s new dairy prirfoess, 17-year-old
Deb' Greider. Deb was crowned during ceremonies held at the
Landis Valley Resort Inn, Saturday. See story on A 22.
Big piggies go to market
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LANCASTER —How does the
popular nursery rhyme go?
“This little piggy went to
market'. -
“This little piggy stayed at
home.”
Well, A tfais rhythmic choice
learned as a child might be applied
to those thousands of big piggies
that go to market weekly in
Lancaster County as hogs to end up
as hams, bacon, npik chops or
whatever'ui the supermarket. ,
Also, this choice and the route
that hogs travel between county
farms,and the supermarket shelf is
causing several npples of concern
an<kcontroversy presently in the
local swine industry.
Several questions being raised
due to these ripples include:
-What long-range impact will be
felt if last week’s “indefinite”
closing by Penn Packing Co., of
Philadelphia, develops into a
definite cessation of operations?
-Are prices reported from some
local auctions ever inflated, with
lower figures being dropped from
the ranges that are quoted?
-Do some buyers pull too many
of the marketing strings, even to<
the point where they can get
auctions to back down on requiring
prompt daily cash payments for
the hogs purchased?
Among these questions, the
Number One topic of conversation
in recent days centered on last
week’s Penn Packing closing.
On the average, approximately
2,000 head of hogs had been moving
weekly through Penn Packing’s
receiving station at Ephrata’s
Green Dragon Market And across
But how and when?
the state, the Philadelphia packers
generally bought some 4,000 to
5,000 bead, including'those out of
markets in the western part of the
state, some directly off farms and
those contracted through feed
mills.
Although Penn Packing closed
its doors on Thursday, June 18, the
Ephrata receiving station
remained open this week with the
hogs going to A & £ Packing in
Allentown.
The station will continue to
receive hogs neirt week for
slaughter at A & B, according to
Inside
This
Week’s...
The most recent Dekalb swine crossing farm built has been
constructed in Lancaster County...A2o.
What? An automatic milling system? There is now one irf
Lancaster County on a 70,000-bird operation owned by John
Woglemuth...A26.
Let’s all be judges! That was the consensus of ov§r 150 adults
and youth who gathered for the Southeast Judging Contest last
week...C22.
Humans battle animals, or is it the other way around? Firtd
out on page...C3o.
Lancaster Famine, Saturday, June 27,19tl
Ag heads consider PRY program
BY SHEILA MILLER
HARRISBURG Pennsylvania
Secretary of Agriculture Penrose
HalloweU met with U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture John Block in
Washington D.C. on Wednesday to
discuss the current pseudorabies
outbreak in the state’s southeast
corner and a possible USDA
funded pilot project for
eradication.
According to HalloweU,
Secretary Block said he un
derstands the problems facing
Pennsylvania hog producers
because be, himself,- is a hog
farmer from Illinois where
pseudorabies also is a problem.
Kallowell reported PDA will be
applying for a grant of less than
$lOO,OOO for the pilot project to
eradicate pseudorabies in the
concentrated Lancaster County
area. He expressed optimism
conceriiimg the application and
stated Pennsylvania “stands a
chance wevdll use the funds in a
limited, small-size area where the
problem is severe.” He added
Pennsylvania and North Carolina
are the most logical states for the
pilot projects and are m the upper
34 of the states that have applied.
In addition to soliciting aid from
Henry Gruber, of the Allentown
packing firm.
“It mil take a few weeks until
the situation shakes down,”
Gruber said.
“Someone will kill the hogs and
they will find channels to go
through. We’ve seen it before with
Consolidated and others.”
Lawrence Lipoff, of Penn
Packing, said the closing was due
to economic conditions in the ’in
dustry.
He described Penn Packing
losses recently as “staggering.”
(Turn to Page A 34)
USDA through Animal Plant
Health Inspection Service, Block
suggested:
enforcing the present federal
interstate regulations controlling
movement of hogs;
promoting -proposals for new
state regulations, including in
trastate movement of both
breeding and feeder swine;
exploring and promoting the
eradication of the disease ih known
herds;
maintaining quarantines until
herds are depopulated or tested
pseudorabies free;
eartagging all feeder pigs sold
at auction;
enforcing dealer market laws
so that no slaughter hogs can be
sold asbreedmg stock; and
Bob Livingston'of Dover, York, son of Mr. and Mrs. George
Livingston receives his first place judging contest award from
State 4-H Leader, Carroll Howes, at Penn State’s Junior
Livestock Field Day on Saturday. See story on A2B.
FEC denies dairy
Co-op’s request
BY DONNA TOMMELLEO
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
Federal Election Commission, last
REGULAR COLUMNS
Editorials, A 6; Now is the time,
A 10; That’s a good question, B 4;
Ida’s Notebook, C 5; Joyce Bupp’s
column, Cll.
DAIRY
Holstein Convention coming,
A 18; Blue Mountain dairy goat
show, Al 9; Northampton, Lehigh
Dairy Princess, B 4; York Dairy
Princess, B 6; Lebanon Dairy
Princess, B 6; Dairy Pipeline, C 29;
Schuylkill Dairy Princess, Cl 2;
Lancaster DHIA, C 24; Holstein
Assn, names junior winners, C 33.
HOME AND YOUTH
Homestead Notes, C 2; Home on
the Range, C 6; Farm Women
Society News, C 9; FWS calendar,
CIO; Kid’s Komer, Cl 4; 4-H news,
Cl 7; FFA news, C 36; Livestock
Judging Clinic, C 22; Puppies in
Mountville, C 37; Holstein Assn,
names Jr. members. C 33; Getting
started in farming, C 32
$7.50 Per Year
advising swine producers to
buy only swine that are certified
pseudorabies free.
(Turn to Page A 34)
NOTICE
Due to the July 4th holiday next
Saturday Farming will
be going to press one day early.
Subsrcibers will receive their
newspapers on Friday, July 3.
Deadlines for Mail Box Markets
will be Monday, June 29 at 5 p.m.
Classified ads must be submitted
by Wednesday, July 1 at 9 a.m.
Deadline for news and markets
is Thursday, July 2,9 a.m.
Thursday, voted 4-2-against Land
‘0 T .akps Cooperative’s advisory
request to solicit indirect members
for political contributions.
However, a spokesman for the
National Council of Farmer
Cooperatives said Thursday, a
change in the federal regulation
governing member solicitation is
being considered.
“There was an indication that
some commissioners felt there was
justification for a change in the
regulations that would permit
Land ‘0 Lakes to solicit,” said
Associate General Counsel Jim
Krzymmski.
Under current federal
regulations, Land ‘0 Lakes, a
highly diversified cooperative, can
solicit individual, direct members,
but cannot draw contributions
from incorporated membership in
the form of local co-ops. Kr
zymmski explained the co-op is
also prohibited from soliciting
from individuals within the locals.
> In a similar action last year, the
, Commission ruled against an
advisory request from Midstate, a
(Turn to Page A 34)