VOL. 27 No. 13 Amendments curb Cruelty to Animals bill BY SHEILA MILLER HARRISBURG - During the past several weeks, Che state's Cruelty to Animals legislation, Senate Bill 1208, has been the toeal point for a united farm organisation lobby effort. On Wednesday morning, all the talking and persuading paid off tor Pennsylvania'fanners. |<On that morning, from the Capitol Builduiga _ Senate floor, Senator- George Gekas (K-15Uij presented amendments to the controversial bill which took the potential sting out of SB 1208 as it concerns farthers. These amend ments were the results ot many discussions with tarm leaders MPCO reviews; looks ahead BY SUSAN KAUFFMAN AND DONNA TOMMELLEO QUARKYVILLE - Penn sylvania's dairy ranking Wmnped fronr'fifth to fourth, following 1981 production tallies, annoimced Inter-State Milk Producer’ Cooperative Director of Public Relations Kathy Gill during Thursday’s District 12 meeting. While GQlmet with Quarryville producers," IMPCO president Robert McSparran addressed District 11 producers in Cochranville. The annual meetings capped a week of three IMPCO gatherings beginning at Chestnut Level with District 3 on Tuesday. McSparran, Gill and IMPCO general manager Paul Hand, keynote speaker for District 3, reviewed the year both nationally and locally. . Hand reported that IMPCO picked up 160 new following the release of Christiana Milk. He cited that the Ralph, center, and Robert Kreider;-rightrare congratulated by IWPCO’s District 12 director 1 Curtis Akers during district's annual meeting at the Solanco fairgrounds on Thursday. The trom tarm organizations and other individuals. SB 1208 originally was dratted to amend certain parts ot the Penn sylvania Consolidated Statutes law involving cruelty to animals (Section 5511 ot Title 18, act ot November 25, 1970) and was in troduced by Senators George Gekas, Edward Howard (K-IOlh), Robert Jubehrer (R-3Utb), J<uues Rhoades (U-29th), William-lßoore (K-33rd), and Edward ZempreUi (D-45th) on Nov. 16, 1981. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Dec. 9,1981 and since then it has been placed on the Senate Calendar tor consideration. Several sections ui the original €b*op begins annual meetings 2,800 membership roll has in creased from that figure in 1978 to more than 3,200 in December of 1981. The volurrie o! milk being marketed by the cooperative has grown along with-the increased membership, said Hand,' who is also an economist. However, controlled growth has been the key to avoid out of hand over production. He mentioned growth in business assets and liabilities. The ownership of Holly Milk in October 1981 Increased numbers of buyer agreements with Tuscan, M and M, Johanna and API (Lehigh Valley) handlers-to increase fluid milk market outlets, said Hand. It was pointed out that last year, CCC stocks equalled almost 10 percent of the total milk produced. According to District 12 director Curtis Akers, IMPCO members produced 1/5 of CCC purchases. “We’ve got to either produceless or sell more,” Ackers said. He Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 23,1982 bill created quite an uproar in the agricultural community, especially the one dealing with providing "access to clean and sanitary shelter" tor anunals to protect them against mclement weather and to preserve their body heal and keep them dry, along with the section which would have protected humane agents or police ofticers trom civil liability. To deal with the tarm com munities' arguments against such legislation, Uekas ottered the tollowmg amendments to his bill: h irst, he added two detmitions to the legislation agricultural production, and normal lanmng operation. Borrowing trom the Ag reported that January 1982 marked the 33rd consecutive month of increasing dairy production When addressing District 12, Kathy Gill said' she preferred in creased consumption rather than, under production to alleviate the national surplus.. “We’ve got to change the taste preference of consumers,” she stressed. She recalled that 10 years ago coffee and milk ranked at the top of the consumer’s beverage list. However, 1981 found milk a poor fourth behind soft drinks, beer and coffee. Gill called for member par ticipation in the upcoming state milk referendum which must pass by a majority of 50.1 percent of voting producers. “We’re producing our share of milk in the Mid-Atlantic and now we must do our share of the work,” Gill said. Quarryviile brothers were recognized for their 5-year participation vin IMPCO's production cost survey. (Turn to Page A2B) Districts law, Ad 43, it was decided that agriculture production is "production tor commercial purposes ot livestock and livestock products." And normal tanning operations would mean "customary and generally accepted activities, practices, and procedures that tanners adopt, use, or engage in year alter year in production and preparation tor market ot poultry, livestock and their products." Secondly, the subsection dealing with shelter received another new line stating: "This subsection shall not apply to such reasonable ac tivity as may be undertaken in agricultural production or normal tanning*operations.” This 2l)-word sentence has succeeded in treeing the tarm community trom the provisions ot the subsection which would have wrecked financial havoc on various livestock operations. The third major amendment came on page 10 ot the bill and dealt with the section which would Inside This Week’s... The last of the Farm Show results have reached our desks and you can find them scattered throughout the paper this week. Find the junior heef breeding show on D 8 and oodles and oodles of winning Show udders on D 2. The annual Lime, Fertilizer, and Pesticide Conference was held in Hershey Convention Center, Wednesday and Thursday. For all the particulars, see page...A2o. A local girl wears the crown of the state's potato queen - making this the second year in a row a Lancaster Countian has carried this h0n0r...813. Seed company closes; “clients” to blame BY DEBBIE KOONTZ LANCASTER The American Seed Company, a national seed selling business based in downtown Lancaster, recently closed their doors alter 63 years ot offering kids around America a chance to earn their tirst spending money. And ironically enough, it’s the very •■clients” to whom the company catered that David Hackett, president tor the past live years, says caused the downfall of the business. "The general economy is and that’s affecting other com panies everywhere. We read it everyday. But that didn’t-attect us as much as the erosion ot responsibility in society,” Hackett said. "It’s the kids; i think the kids just reflect what the parents would do to a great extent. They just didn’t pay us tor the seeds they got, and in the past six years, the number who didn’t pay in creased.”. $7.50 per year have outlawed any wattle-clipping, spur-smppmg, or leather-plucking in birds. The 6 lines which were (Turn to Page A 34) Home and Youth Homestead Notes, B 2; Home on the Range, B 6; Farm Women Societies, B 5; Kid’s Komer, BIO; 4- ' H news, Bll; Carroll County Extension, B 18; more Farm Show winners, 822; Sheep-to Shawl, C 4. Columns Editorials, AID; Now is the time, A 10; Farming’s Futures, Alb; On being a farm wife, B 3; Ladies, have you heard?- B 7; Ida’s Notebook, B 8; Chicken Coop News, B 17; Brockett’s Ag Advice, D 27. Dairy Farm Show udders, D 2; Blair DHIA, Dl6; Tioga DHiA, D 22; Schuylkill DHIA, D 23; Potter DHIA, D 32; Mifflm DHIA, D 34; Juniata DHIA, D 34. The company worked primarily through kids, ages 8 to 14, who would order seeds through ad vertisements toiind in comic books and publications such as Boys Life, and would then seil the seeds to neighboring farmers, gardeners, and friends. Once the clients sold the seeds, they had opportunity to earn a profit on every pack or to choose from a list of prizes. "Not receiving pay tor the seeds was always a problem, but we tended to overlook it," said Hacketl who admitted to watching, the company slowly fall in the past tive years; yet no change in policy was ever administered. "We just couldn’t see changing policy. Most companies now get the pay up front; but we couldn’t because this company is based on volume. When 1 took over in 1977, we had a big payroll, a large building and a big debt with the (Turn to Page A 34)
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