The Milk /f*S-
Cheek IT JT
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TOM JUBCHAK
County Agent
June Dairy Month
Every year for the last four
years when I’ve come to June
Dairy Month my tune has been the
same - milk producers at the
crossroads. And we had a lot of
crossroads in the last four years
with opportunities to change
direction but we went straight
through on the same road. Our
supply problem started in 1980 and
since that time cow numbers have
increased four percent; production
per cow up 10 percent for a total
increase in milk production of 13
percent when commercial sales At that time, there seemed to be
increased only 1.5 percent. As a no light at the end of the tunnel and
result there was an eight fold in- everything that was tried produced
crease of government purchases howls of protest from one or
from two billion to 16 bilion pounds another part of the industry or the
of milk equivalent. country. These were the years
There were a number of reasons when I said we were at the
for the supply/demand problem crossroads with an opportunity to
and one of them was a price sup- change direction but we went
port program that was not straight ahead on the same road,
responsive to the changes taking However, I don’t believe that it
place. Not that there was anything was all a waste of time because,
basically wrong with the program, perhaps unconsciously, we were
it was just that changing it was not experimenting with changes and
politically smart. Producers, getting used to new ideas. It was
generally, got what they wanted hard to give up some old programs
until April 1981 when the cost of that really had a good track record
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price supports reached $2 billion
and the government was buying 10
percent of the milk.
That winter we got the first
change in the support program
since 1977 but nobody was happy.
Since then we’ve had four changes
all of which were employing the
same solutions in different
degrees. Some lasted a year, some
only six months. The industry had
never before experienced so much
confusion and uncertainty that was
reflected all the way from the farm
to retail sales.
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for the past 30 years and try
sometiiing new when no one could
guarantee success. Headlines that
screamed “milk tax” two years
ago now say “contributions”. A 50
cent “assessment” that was
supposed to ruin the industry (even
though it was refundable) is still in
effect but it’s part of a “self help”
program to lower supplies.
Our attitude about some of these
programs has changed more than
the programs. Sure we’ve changed
some from a 50-cent refund to a $lO
diversion payment and we’ve gone
national and mandatory with
advertising and promotion but all
of these were just a matter of degree.
Certainly, none of them are new.
We’ve been talking ad
vertising and promotion since June
Dairy Month started 47 years ago,
and Lorton Blair in Bradford
County, Pa., has been promoting
voluntary diversion programs for
10 years. It’s just that now we
have, hopefully, accepted the idea
that there are changes that must
be made to improve your market
position and we should try some
new ideas.
Certainly, the adjustment will be
difficult for some producers but
perhaps you should view it as a
Penndot detour - a temporary
hardship for a permanent im
provement. But don’t be so hard on
your leadership. Organization
officers and directors were going
through some of the same un
certainties as you and if you
blamed them too much in the past
then give them extra support now
because I really believe you’ve
come a long way in solving your
own problems. Sue, the solutions
are not yet here but your attitude
toward the problem has changed.
We still have to wait until next
Spring to really evaluate the
diversion program and if we
missed the mark at least we’ll
know how to do it better the next
time if we want to use it again. The
advertising and promotion
program will take longer to prove
itself and that too may not produce
results that will satisfy everyone
but future changes could be made
it make it more effective. You may
even decide to raise the “milk tax”
in the future but, at least, I hope
you give it a fair trial.
We’re a long way from being out
of-the-woods in the milk business
but we’ll have another opportunity
to pick the marketing tools that we
want to include in the 1985 Farm
Bill profiting from our past
mistakes and approaching the task
with an open mind. That’s why I
feel that this June Dairy Month
you’re turned the comer at the
crossroads and headed for a
brighter future.
Signs of
the Times
If I sound optimistic about milk
marketing it’s because I am. I
admit I keep looking for good news
and there has been a fair amount
lately. Sure, you can say I’m
making mountains out of mole hills
but it's been so long since I’ve seen
a mole hill that maybe I’m ex
cused. Take the Minnesota-
Wisconsin price for May. It was
$12.08 for 3.5 milk and that was one
cent more than April. One cent
certainly seems small hot I
AMI elects officers
KENNETT SQUARE - Officers
of the American Mushroom In
stitute for 1984-85 were elected
during the Board of Directors
meeting on June 4. They will serve
for a one year term.
They include: Chairman: Tom
Brosius, Charles C. Brosius, Inc.,
West Grove.
President: Naz Paloni, Jr., N.
Paloni & Sons, Hockessin, Del.
Ist Vice President: Joseph
DeNorscia 111, N. Basilio & Son,
P.O. Box 696 Kennett Square.
2nd Vice President: Steve
Vmcenti, Rosedale Mushroom
Corp., P.O. Box 188, Norway Road,
Kennett Square.
Secretary: Richard Forte, A & F
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 23,1984—DiS
thought it was good news because
that’s the first time there’s been an
increase from April to May since
1979 and that was because of an
increase then in the support price.
If one cent doesn’t impress you
how about 5.5 cents? That was the
jump that Chicago butter prices
took the first week of June. No one
I talked to remembers when butter
jumped five cents in the Spring but
that put it within three-fourths of a
cent of the support price which is
$1.49 a pound. The best sign is a
Uniform price in Order 2 for May
that was $12.26 - only 10 cents less
than April and all of that from a 10-
cent increase in your Louisville
Plan payment from 30 cents in
April to 40 cents in May.
That 10 cent drop in the blend
price between April and May was
the lowest in Order 2 since 1980.
Sure, it was 38 cents less than last
April but up until now prices this
year have been about 50 cents a
under a year ago because of the
support price cut. So all of these
are signs that marketing con
ditions are improving and you can
place the credit wherever you
wish, but most of it belongs to you.
Finally, if you’re in the Milk
Diversion Program; qualify for a
second quarter payment and would
like to have the money, check with
your ASCS office and see if they
won’t take your weight slips for
June milk marketings so you can
collect early.
Mushrooms, 523 Schoolhouse
Road, Kennett Square.
Ass’t Secretary: William
Diviney, Modern Mushroom
Farms, Inc., P.O. Box 655, Kennett
Square.
Treasurer: Frank DiMarco,
DiMarco Mushrooms, 109 E.
Avondale-New London Road, West
Grove.
Ass’t Treasurer: Joseph Ver
sagli, Jr., J.P.V., Jr. Mushroom
Co., P.O. Box 909, Avondale.
Vice Chairman: Richard Ed
wards, 16 Pine Drive, Oxford.
Past President: Henry M.
Roberts, R.K.R. Mushroom
Farms, Box 394, Avondale.