Dairymen head says industry facing its problems
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
HUNT VALLEY, Md. - For the
first time he can remember,
Dairymen Middle Atlantic division
president Fred Butler sees the
dairy industry confronting the
supply, as well as the demand, side
of the milk situation.
The West Virginia cooperative
leader cited the advertising
checkoff, decreased milk
production per cow, rising com
mercial sales and government
purchases sliced to nearly half, as
Milk hauler problems
(Continued from Page Al) i
haulers. Compensation for the
hauling of rejected milk as well as
the proper rate to charge when the
plant and distance the milk must
be trucked is unknown are the
current main problems. The
present rate structure does not
consider these factors and the
haulers favored compensation
when hauling to other than the
home plant.
The regional problems were
listed as follows
1. At the plant in Schuylkill
Haven, the hours of receiving milk
should be changed. Due to the
improper scheduling of tankers,
and delay time in unloading, there
is a great amount of traffic
congestion.
2. It was noted that the facilities
at the Allentown plant were good
but there was still some delay
time. There are also alleged
problems with receiving room
personnel damaging the tankers
and causing problems with the
drivers. The haulers suggested
that cream tankers to scheduled at
times that do not interfere with
raw milk tankers.
3. The haulers expressed the
most dissatisfaction with the
Lansdale plant and its facilities.
The unloading and washing
facilities are not adequate, in
addition to personality conflicts
with receiving room personnel.
Poor scheduling was also cited
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a positive blend of factors bringing
the supply more in line with
demand.
Touching on the new national
promotion, Butler noted that the
dairy board is now the 43rd largest
network television advertiser in
the nation. Dairy farmers’ pooled
$5O million comprises the largest
commodity advertising contract
ever awarded, putting the dairy
advertising drive above such
promotional giants as American
Express, Xerox and Stroh’s Beer.
A referendum to continue the
with foreign tankers such as those
hauling spring water, orange juice
and cream. Receiving operations
were also shut down at times and
tankers sent to other plants
without added compensation due to
the poor scheduling of milk
tankers, irregardless of necessary
milk requirements.
Haulers also complained of
damage to their tankers by
receiving room equipment and
personnel and no compensation for
going to the scales to be weighted.
4. At the Baltimore plant, the
haulers stated that the receiving
hours are not long enough. The
tolerances on weight of loads are
also too small. This is especially a
problem on transport loads. There
were also complaints on receiving
room personnel.
The haulers agreed that a
coordinated effort between LeHi
Valley Farmers, Atlantic
Processing, Inc., and the milk
haulers could solve these
problems. The possibility of for
ming a haulers association and
hiring legal advice for bargaining
was, also agreed upon to clear up
difficulties.
Additional regional meetings are
being scheduled for the later part
of November. Problems and
possible solutions will be tabulated
for future presentation to LeHi
Valley Farmers and Atlantic
Processing, Inc.
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national advertising program will
be upcoming, and must be passed
by September, 1985, if current
funding levels are to be kept intact.
Now, dairy farmers must look at
the 1985 farm bill, Butler warns.
Their efficiency and productivity
are haunting the industry, and
farmers are “farming themselves
out of business.”
“The main problem with federal
farm programs,” he added, “is
that they are political creations
and designed to serve politicaf
purposes, some of which are at
odds with out way of thinking.”
“Since 1933, farm bills have been
designed to stabilize prices and
save the family farm. Meanwhile,
farm numbers have steadily
declined and the farm com
modities receiving the most help
remain the farm commodities with
the most marketing and income
problems.”
Butler guided the division’s
annual business session through
discussion on a proposed policy
change resolution and a
changeover of several seats on the
division board of directors.
Members unanimously turned
down a membership standards
resolution, initially proposed by
District 3, Carroll County,
Maryland, members.
That resolution called for the
cooperative’s members, rather
than directors or staff, to be the
group to establish whether new
members could automatically be
accepted as a member, under an
open membership policy, and/or
establish the standards for all new
memberships, if restrictions were
to be established.
Eight directors were ratified for
seats on the division board, three
returning incumbents and five new
electees. Returning for three year
terms are Samuel B. Foard,
District 1, Jesse I. Burall, District
4, and Paul R. Waybright, District
13. New directors serving three
year terms are Joyce A. Bupp,
District 7, Harry W. Hummel,
District 11, Marlin E. Martin,
incaster Farming, Saturday, November 3,1984—A5S
Retiring directors of Dairymen, Inc. shown with Fred
Butler, second from left., co-op division president; include,
from the left, Charles Stiles, Bailey Herring and Leroy Bupp.
Leroy Bupp, Seven Valleys, York County, receives retiring
director plaque from Fred Butler, president of Dairymen, Inc.
District 12 and Albert H.
Mellinger, District 14. Crawford R.
Galt, new director from District 9,
will fill an unexpired term of two
years created with the resignation
of the previous director.
Five retiring directors were
honored for their combined 38
years of service to the board. They
are Bailey Herring, 16 years,
Leroy Bupp, six years, Kenneth
Myers, seven years, Charles Stiles,
six years and Kenneth Groff, three
years.
Dairymen
(Continued (rom Page Al)
replacement heifers waiting in
barnyards and lots, production is
anticipated to climb again come
April and the end of the 15-month
diversion program.
Based on the projection Collins
figures a further SO-cent support
price cut will probably still be
needed, but will be offset by the
lifting of the 50-cent diversion
assessment charge.
Manager Collins, as well as
corporate senior vice-president
Jim McDowell, touched on the
continuing assessments against
member milk checks for the Ultra
High Temperature milk plant in
Georgia.
“UHT has been a disap
pointment,” acknowledged Mc-
Dowell, “although we believe it
will be good for dairy farmers in
the long run. We are committed to
stopping the drain on milk
checks.”
He reiterated that corporate
leadership took the best in
formation available when the UHT
program was put together.
However, supermarket and con
sumer resistance to the product
was underestimated.
Supermarkets favor selling
highly-perishable milk, which
brings the consumer back much
more frequently, resulting in the
increased sales of impulse buying.
Shelf-life milk must also be paid
for in full at receipt by super
markets, while standard milk
accounts are more flexible.
Consumers continue accepting
the concept of a shelf-stored milk,
but more slowly than market
research had predicted. A core
market for the UHT Farm Best
quarts is growing slowly, while
sales of the flavored Sip-Ups
fluctuates with advertising.
Sunbelt, a milk pricing
federation with cooperative and
independent support through
several southern states, began
affecting the Southeast’s dairy
industry in early September
Prices to dairy farmers w
raised in some parts of the Sunb
area, but McDowell labeled
fledgling federation as “fra
with a greater nrrcert
farmer participat
the pricing goa l
■ it