AlB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11,1981
UNIVERSITY PARK - Egg
production continues to equal or
exceed year earlier levels, ac
cording to A. Kermit Birth, Ex
tension poultry marketing
specialist at Penn State.
The reduction in number of
pullets housed has been offset by
increased force molting. The
number of layers on farms
throughout the nation has not been
reduced to the extent necessary to
bring average prices above total
cost of production for most of the
industry.
In the period May, 1980 through
April, 1981, about 8 percent fewer
egg-type chicks had been hatched
for laying flock replacements than
a year earlier. In the period from
January through April, 1980, 6
percent fewer egg-type chicks
were hatched for laying flock
replacements than a year earlier.
Based on the number of egg-type
chicks hatched in July through
December, 1980, there were about
7.5 million fewer pullet chicks
hatched than a year earlier, Birth
reports. In the period from
January through May 13, 1981,
about 4 million fewer hens were
State hearing to cover proposed
mine reclamation fund
HARRISBURG A proposal to
establish a statewide surface mine
reclamation fund will be among
four coal-related topics to be
discussed by the Pennsylvania
Environmental Quality Board
during a meeting in the Second
Floor Hearing Room of the Fulton
Bank Building, 200 North Third
Street, Harrisburg, on Tuesday,
July2l,at9:3oa.m.
The EQB is a 21rniember in
dependent panel of executive
agency officials, legislators and
citizens charged with passing
regulations to be administered by
the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Resources.
DER Secretary Clifford L. Jones
said, “Establishment of a
statewide surface mine
reclamation fund is a very
progressive step which will help us
solve one of Pennsylvania’s more
serious environmental problems.
This will be a great breakthrough
which will provide DER with the
money to go in and reclaim
abandonded mine lands in the
state, something the department
did not have- the funds to do
before.”
During the meeting the EQB also
will discuss proposals pertaining
to:
The limitation of the length of
the,pit that can be opened during a
surface mining operation.
Bonding' and insurance
requirements for coal-mining
operations within the state.
Employee conflict-of-interest
regulations.
DER will' recommend that no
action be taken on proposals
pertaining to the length of the pit
that can be opened and on the
bonding and insurance
requirements. These are to be
included in permanent regulations
to be adopted when the state gains
“primacy," or takes over en-
N.Y. receives marketing grant
NEW YORK, N.Y. - New York
State will match $62,236 .U.S.
Department of Agriculture grant
to help new and established export
firms identify and develop export
opportunities and conduct export
trading more efficiently.
The project will review and
propose improvements in the
state’s assistance to exporters.
New York will cooperate with
Poultry specialist looks at egg prices
processed under federal inspection
than a year earlier as compared
with a decrease of about 9.5 million
in the number of layers processed
under federal inspection in the last
half of 1980.
On Januaray 1, about 18 percent
of the layers on farms, or about 53
million birds had been through a
forced molt. By May 15, only 15.2
percent or about 42 million layers
on farms had been force molted.
This was about 9.8 million more
force molted layers than a year
earlier but less than the 12 million
increase on farms on January 1.
On May 1, 1980, there were 1.7
million more layers on farms than
a year earlier. Increased force
molting has more than offset the
decrease in number of pullets
housed.
Birth noted egg prices this year
have averaged above prices of a
year earlier, but not enough to
offset the amount prices were
below production costs. One of the
uncertainties in the next six
months, he pointed out, is the
number of hens that will be forced
molt. If force molting continues to
forcement of the federal mining
program within the Com
monwealth.
DER will recommend adoption
of the conflict-of-interest proposal
intended to eliminate any direct or
indirect financial interest from
mining by DER employees in
volved in coal mining.
DER also will recommend that
the EQB establish a |5O per acre
permit fee for surface mining
permits to finance establishment
of the statewide reclamation fund.
The nonrefundable fee is expected
to raise approximately $1 million
annually for reclamation pur
poses. The money would, be
available for reclaiming aban
doned mine sites within the state.
Establishment of the permit fee
to finance the statewide
reclamation fund must be ap
proved by th EQB.
Implementation of the
reclamation fund would be ac
companied by a reduction in the
bonds strip mine operators now
are required to post for newly
permitted areas. Minimum bonds
would be reduced from $4,000 to
$3,000 per acre. The bonds are used
to reclaim mine sites if the
operators fail to do so. Under the
present law, the bonds only can be
used to reclaim the specific sites
for which they were posted.
Jones, who is chairman of the
EQB, said, “Implementation of the
permit fee and its use will result in
increased reclamation of areas for
which inadequate bonds have been
forfeited. It also will allow lower
bonding rates for the coal mining
industry.
“However, Pennsylvania’s
bonding rate still will be higher
than those required in bordering
qoal states ' which have had
reclamation funds. Now Penn
sylvania, too, will have a
reclamation fund.”
USDA's foreign
Service and the Eastern
Agriculture and Food Export
Council in the project.
New York was one of four states
to receive grants totaling $172,044.
They were made under the tederal
state marketing improvement
program, which is administered by
the USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service.
increase, the laying flock could
easily be as large or larger than a
year earWci.
A smaller piopoition ot pullets
will be in the nation's laying flock
-through the remainder ot the year,
Birth forecasts. This may reduce
the rate of lay.
“More pullets were added to the
nation’s laying flock in the first
half of 1980 from chicks hatched in
the last half of 1979. This helped
keep the rate of lay equal to a year
earlier,” he notes. “But, as more
layers are housed in modern
housing, the average rate of lay
tends to increase..”
Production costs will tend to
increase, Birth assures. Trends in
feed costs, the major component in
the cost of producing eggs is un
certain, however. Much will
depend on weather through the
1981 growing and harvesting
season.
Another factor affecting costs,
he points out, will be use of feed
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grams and exports. Beef-and pork
production may be down. Egg
' production may be about the same,
wmle broiler production likely will
increase.
Export markets have been
siphoning off some of the eggs,
Birth emphasizes. This has helped
support prices and possibly
delayed the reduction in output
which is necessary to obtain prices
which will return a profit for most
of the industry.
“Since the majority of the eggs
produced are under the control of
fewer and fewer persons, it is more
difficult to make the necessary
adjustments in production to
change from a loss to a profitable
situation,” Birth observes.
“The days arepast of small farm
flocks and low capital investment
when farmers either initiated or
expanded egg production when
prices were profitable or reduced
or discontinued production when
prices were unfavorable.
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“Today’s modern facilities
require an extremely large capital
investment. This necessitates
keeping the bouses full unless
returns are expected to be less
than variable-cash-costs for most
of the remaining production life of
the layers."
Last year the industry reacted
more quickly to a high price-profit
situation than to a low-price
unprofitable situation, Birth ex
plains. ' “It is much easier for a
producer to decide to force molt
layers and keep them in production
for longer intervals than to dispose
of layers that are in full production
to curtail output,’.’ he says.
Necessary adjustments are up to
the industry. Birth concludes.
"The question is not whether
prices will be higher than the last
half of 1980 this summer, fall, and
winter but will they improve
enough to offset losses of a year
earlier plus higher production
costs.”
ME<
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Grumelli Farm Service
Ph. 786-7318
INTVII
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R.S. Hollinger & Son
Ph. 285-4538 -
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