Alo—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 19,1981
Should dairy producers
move to New Zealand?
Politics is at best a confusing subject. But,
we have to throw up our hands and plead total
bewilderment at the way our government is
playing games with the dairy industry.
It's no secret that food and other
agricultural products are used as diplomatic
tools at the whims of our ‘leaders’ but this
business about sending the wrong signals to
foreign governments if we sell them certain
foods is a lot of chicken litter.
It’s evident that we’re not the only ones in
this state of bafflement. National Grange
Master Edward Anderson recently wrote a
letter to President Reagan asking for
clarification of the Administration’s position on
trade relations. He wrote;
“Mr. President, we are confused. Why would
butter sales to the Soviets send the wrong
signal, when pipe laying equipment sales do
not? . . , U.S. farmers should not continue to
pay the cost of our East-West trade policy."
And, what about the Reagan Administration
and USDA selling out to two little islands that,
combined, are only as large as the state of
Colorado New Zealand.
First, let’s look at USDA’s unbelievable
marketing strategy of giving New Zealand
Dairy Board 220 million pounds of Commodity
Credit Corporation-owned butter for $155
million 35 cents under what butter brokers
were offering on the open market. It has been
estimated that this shrewd business deal cost
U.S. taxpayers $77 million dollars.
Now, who’s got their "signals crossed?"
As if New Zealand hadn't gotten the upper
hand on ojur dairy exports with that contract,
they continued to play their cards right and
somehow convinced the Reagan Ad
ministration to grant them a one-year veto
over future U.S. commercial butter exports
and monopoly rights to all U.S. butter exports
for the next 1 Vz years.
And, the little country didn’t take long to
throw its pint-sized weight around while Uncle
Sam’s dairy producers were still recoiling from
the first blow.
In the September 11 Washington
Newsletter, National Farmers Union an
nounced “the New Zealand Dairy Board
blocked an Egyptian effort to buy 26.5 million
pounds of surplus butter from CCC stocks.’’
Farmers’ Union Milk Marketing Cooperative
President Stewart G. Huber stated “Egyptian
interest in buying U.S.' butter clearly
demonstrates how badly our butter is desired
in the world market and how harmful the
Section C provision is to U.S. interests and our
dairy farms.’’
NOW IS THE TIME
To Be Aware of
the Century Farm Program
The Century Farms Program is
aimed at recognizing the efforts of
Pennsylvania’s farm families
which have preserved the
traditions and the rural heritage of
the pioneer farm.
The program was initiated as
part of the Nation’s bicentennial
observance in 1976, but is being
continued for its value in
promoting the ideals of the family
farm and the importance of far-
Off the
Sounding
By Sheila Miller, Editor
By Jay Irwin
Lancaster County Agriculture Agent
Phone 717-394-6851
ming to Pennsylvania’s economy. ministered by the Pennsylvania
To be eligible for certification as Department of Agriculture,
a Pennsylvania Century Farm, a Applications are available at the
farm must have been owned by.the County Extension Offices.
same family for the last 100 con- To Stop Fertilizing
secutive years, and a family Trees and Shrubs
member must currently reside on During this time of the year we
the land. In addition, tlie 13171?' be applying any fer
must consist of ten or more acres tilizer to rose. bushes, trees and
of the original holdings or gross at shrubs. The season’s growing
least $l,OOO a year from the sale of period is about over and the new
agricultural products. growth should have a chance to
We encourage you to participate harden before cold weather
in this program that is ad- (Turn to Page Al 2)
Farm organizations weren't the only ones
puzzled by this U.S. giveaway. Congressman
Tom Harkin (D-sth, la.), chairman of the
House Agriculture subcommittee on
Livestock, Dairy and Poultry was curious
enough about the unorthodox dealings that he
called a subcommitte hearing last Thursday to
investigate the “highly irregular" matter.
Although Secretary of State Alexander Haig
and Secretary of Agriculture John Block were
invited to testify, they sent representatives
Richard Smith (USDA) and Michael Calingaert
(State).
According to Markin's aide George Palmer,
neither Smith or Calingaert had any “good
answers" on why CCC butter was sold to only
New Zealand; or why we didn’t deal with the
Soviets in the first place instead of New
Zealand who’ll squeeze the butter into oil for
the Soviets or sell them an equal amount of
domestic butter.
Palmer stated USDA expressed the opinion
that New Zealand was the only country that
showed interest in U.S. butter and that theirs
was the best deal we could have gotten. To top
it all off, our fearless leaders even had the
crust to say they were satisfied with the butter
deal. •
So now that we’ve ‘given’ away our butter to
New Zealand, along wijti our independent
export privileges, we turn around and buy our
cheese and butter back not only from New
Zealand, but from Finland, Austria, Norway
and the European Economic Community.
Didn’t they tell us our domestic dairy supplies
were already saturating the market?
In all his wisdom, Uncle Sam has already
imported more than 90 million pounds of
cheese since January nearly 50 percent
above last year’s 7-month imports.
Our cheese imports from New 'Zealand
amounted to 7.3 million pounds since January
an increase of 50 percent over last year.
And, in July (the month of surprises), the U.S.
imported 36.981 pounds of butter, an in
crease of 20 percent from a year'earlier.
Confused? Join the club.
The Administration is dealing shady
business capers under the table all the while
futures of U.S. dairy producers are at stake.
Add to that the 1981 Farm Bill and it seems
that our dairy farmers just can’t win with these
politicians.
Farmers, and especially dairy producers,
need to let elected leaders know which side
their bread is buttered on. Either that or move
to New Zealand where they seem to know how
to make the most of the dairy market.
Board
EVERYTHING IS
BEAUTIFUL!
September 20,1981
Background Scripture:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15.
Devotional Reading:
Romans 2:1-10.
“Everything is beautiful!”
Well, of course 1 , that statement
sounds wonderful and I enjoy
singing . “Everything is
beautiful...,” but is that possible?
Everything? Beautiful?
Maybe the preacher of Ec
clesiastes meant to say “useful”
instead of “beautiful”. Or perhaps
he should have qualified the
declaration by saying-, “Lots of
things are beautiful. ”
But, no, the preacher said
“Everything is beautiful,” and I
guess we have to assume that he
meant to say exactly what he said.
Everything A Season
Of course, the preacher probably
got his idea from God, because God
can see what you and 1 cannot see.
He knows what a thing or person
can be or become. He knows the
potential, while we see but the
surface of most things and most
creatures.
Furthermore, there is an inner
design to his creation that makes it
all fit together. Thus, Ecclesiastes
can proclaim, “For everything
there is a season and a time for
every matter under heaven” (3:1).
We can only judge a thing beautiful
in the long run and it is the long run
Farm Calendar
Today, September 19
PA Jersey Sale, Guernsey Sales
Pavilion, Lancaster, 12:30
Sunday, September 20
Gratz Fair until Sat.
World Fertilizer Conference, New
York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel,
until Tuesday
Monday, September 21
PA All-American Dairy Show,
HAV HAWS
1
ffUfJ
“This is too Simple and to the point, Morby. Have you
forgotten that you work for the Department of Agriculture?”
that is so much a part of God’s
‘ grand 'design.-Por 'example.-we
may not be much impressed, when
we first meet” someone, but, in
time, after we get to know them
better, we may find there is
something very beautiful about
them. In our eyes there will seem
to be a season of blooming and then
we can begin to appreciate just a
glimmer of. what the preacher is
saying: “He has made everything
beautiful in its own time” (3:11).
Perhaps that is the key: “in its
own time.” We have to wait for the
right season until the beauty ap
pears in someone’s life, but,
because “time” itself is only a
human perception, God sees the
potential as part of the present.
“That which is, already has be?n;
that which is to be, already has
been; and God seeks what has been
driven away” (3:ls)—[causes the
past to. be repatedJ. God sees me
this day, not only as I appear right
how, but as I have been, as I can
be, and as I shall be—and thus he
can see a beauty in me that you
cannot, just as he can see a beauty
in you I may not.
The Gift of Pleasure -
So everything in this world and
in our lives is part of a plan that
unfolds to the seasons known only
to God, and, because we are part of
this divine order,,we are beautiful
and.everything else is...if we take
the long run view. And, in addition,
it is part of the grand design of
God’s creation that life be a
pleasure for his creatures; “it is
God’s gift to man that every one
should eat and drink and take
pleasure in all his toil” (3:13).
Lots of Christians need to write
that verse on their doorposts; life
is intended to give us pleasure! It
is not something we steal or trick
from a grim creation, but'a beauty
that God has placed there fromthe
very beginning. J -
Farm Show Complex, continues
until Friday
Heading Fair opens, com. thru Sat.
Junior Dairy Show, 9 a.m.. Farm
Show Building
Williamsburg Farm Show;"
Williamsburg, until Thursday
All American Dairy Show,
Harrisburg, until Friday
(Turn towage Al 2)
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