America’s farmers are going
through an agonizing financial
period. Many have already gone
broke and more will follow. There
are a lot of sad stories being told at
farm auctions these days as the
creditors move in to salvage what
they can.
That’s not to say that all of
agriculture is in deep financial
trouble. It isn’t. But the debt ratio
is higher than it used to be, and
solutions to financial problems are
harder to come by. Perhaps more
farmers are just tired of fighting.
This roller coaster started back in
the early 1970’s when things looked
good for agriculture and a lot of
farmers especially young ones and
those planniong to bring young
family members into the business
started to expand.
That’s when those rags to riches
stories popped up in the farm press
- when we started hearing about
young tigers with 3, 4 even 5
thousand acres spread all over
several counties and more than
$
s
M
WEAVER'S
HARDWARE CO
RD4125
Fleetwood, PA
215-944-7486
, SHOW-EASE STALL CO.
523 Willow Rd.
Lancaster, PA
7X7-299-2536
A6WAY, INC.
101 Mam St.
Salunga, PA
717-898-2248
GOOD'S STORE, INC.
R.D. #2
East Earl, PA
717-354-4026
Rt. 23,1 Mile E. of Blue Ball
C.B. HOOBER
&SON, INC.
Intercourse, PA
717-768-8231
BOMBERGER'S
STORE
Elm, PA
717-665-2407
ROSS H. ROHRER
&SONS, INC.
16 E. State St.
Quarryville, PA
717-786-3372
GEHMAN FEED MILL,
INC.
44 N. 3rd St.
Denver, PA
215-267-5585
MARTIN HARDWARE
& EQUIPMENT CO.
Rt 501
S ol Shaetterstown, PA
717 949 6817
i
tTSWa f9«M
Farm
Talk
Jerry Webb
one state. It was a time when
management mistakes could be
covered up with volume. And when
the ever increasing land values
kept lenders at bay and provided
operating capital.
Farmers blame a lot of things for
their current problems.
Everything from Jimmy Carter to
the Farmers’ Home Ad
ministration. From high interest
rates to large Russian wheat
crops. From an oversized national
debt to an undersized rain fall.
The circumstances of failing
farmers are as different as the
farmers themselves. Cir
cumstances that allowed one
farmer to steadily grow and
continually prosper, allowed
another to get in over his head and
go under. Government programs
that provided encouragement,
price support and much needed
cash helped some and hurt others.
And now each week in the farm
press and in the farm auction ads
we read the final chapters of some
* I
This Christmas-
Put
TIN6LEV BOOTS
Under Your Tree!
Tough, yet so light-weight you’ll
forget you’re wearing ’em. This
means less work fatique that can
lead to farm accidents. It also
means dependable, durable
rubber overboots that work with
you every step of the way. At your
dealer in a variety of styles!
Make
Tingley Boot;
A Must Unde
Your Tree Thi
Christmas..
See Your
Dealer Now!
MiM V|§W
■
farmers 5,10 > i .
Some have soia out oi are belling
out taking their losses, paying
what bills they can and getting out
of agriculture. Others
regrouping, getting back to a more
simple farm business that can
stand on it’s own feet. There are
still farmers who are borrowing all
the money they can get, renting all
the acres they can find and running
full speed from dawn till dusk but
there seems to be a shift even
among those who still have the
finances, to get on a more solid
footing. Farmers know now that
they can’t count on the government
to bail them out of mind boggling
financial losses. Or to provide
programs that will take care of
large farmers when crop prices
fail. They know too that escalating
land prices of the past 15 or 20
years are just that - a thing of the
past. No doubt there will be some
land inflation but not enough to
carry an otherwise failing farming
operation.
Hardly a farm magazine arrives
in the mailbox these days that
doesn’t include a story about a
farmer who has learned his lesson
and is cutting back. Some have
swallowed their pride and ad
mitted failure to their creditors, to
their family and hardest of all to
their peers. They have given up the
far flung rented acres, the ex
pensive and seldom used four
wheel drive tractors and super
sized combines. Their stories are
heart breaking when you think of
where they were and where they
are now. Some tell of million dollar
losses, of losing the family farm, of
greatly damaged pride of self
confidence.
Some of those who have scaled
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 15,1984-C3
back and who have come to grips
with their pride are enjoying life a
lot more. They talk of time to
spend with family and friends, of
being better organized and doing a
better job of farming. They talk
about pride in their productivity
and the way they care for their
equipment, livestock and land.
And they talk more about the basic
values that made farming great in
decades past.
Some farmers are destined to
operate huge enterprises and do
well. Others for a variety of
reasons just aren’t up to it. They
lack the financing, the
management skills, maybe even
the motivation to deal with such a
tremendous task. A lot of farmers
have found this out the hard way.
Others are still learning. A two
thousand acre spread isn’t within
the grasp of every farmer and
FmHA plans public meeting
HARRISBURG At 10 a.m. on
Jan. 9, 1985, the Farmers Home
Administration (FmHA) will hold
a public information meeting in
Room 202 of the Federal Building,
3rd and Walnut Streets,
Harrisburg, for the purpose of
discussing FmHA’s Draft Natural
Resource Management Guide.
FmHA circulated a Draft
Natural Resource Management
Guide for review and comment to
appropriate Federal and State
Agencies, State and regional
NORMAN D. CLARK
&SON
Rt. 75
Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682
HUBER'S ANIMAL
HEALTH SUPPLIES
810 Tulpehocken Rd .
Myerstown, PA
717-866-2246
MILLER EQUIPMENT CO.
R.D.«I
Bechtelsville, PA
215-845-2911
ZIMMERMAN'S
FARM SERVICE
Bethel. PA
717-933-4114
WEAVER'S STORE, INC.
R.D. #1 Denver
Fivepointville, PA
215-445-6791
PiKEMUE
EQUIPMENT, INC.
r.d. n
Oley, PA
215-987-6277
SHARfIESVILLE
FARM SERVICE
RDI, Hamburg, PA
215-488-1025
UMBER6ERS MILL
Rt. 4 Box 545
Lebanon, PA
717-867-5161
RB&HENRV
EQUIP., INC.
New Berlinville, PA
215 367-2169
’ 1
iMjii «jp fatal fatal
•tnlWh • i n)APSi*
some of those who reached for it
and even got a good hold on it have
had to let go. There may be some
loss of pride in that realization but
I still think a farmer who can
manage 200 .acres well - well
enough to make a living - is a lot
better off than one who is
scrambling over two thousand
acres going deeper in debt every
day and unaware of whether he is
making a living or not.
It’s a period of difficult ad
justment in agriculture. A time
when some solid fanners are in
serious trouble and some not so
solid are going under. There is
little joy even among those who
can say “I told you so”. Those who
survive this period will have
learned some valuable financial
lessons. Ones that will serve them
well when the boom years come
again to American agriculture.
review agencies assigned the
consultation requirements of
Executive Order of 12372, as well
as interested localities, groups and
citizens. The Guide is a brief
document of major environmental
standards and review
requirements that have been
promulgated at the federal level as
well as those that are particular to
the State. Copies of the Guide can
be obtained by writing or
telephoning the State Office.
U.S. signs agreement
WASHINGTON, D.C. Agriculture John R.
Secretary of Block and Mexico’s
life, Secretary of
Agriculture and
*® Hydraulic Resources,
jiff Eduardo Pesqueira,
H have met to sign two
jar agreements-an ex
£• tension of a long-term
«® soil conservation
2? project and a new
« memorandum of un
jar derstanding for
& cooperation in forestry.
W The signing of the soil
conservation amend
ment extends a current
jar program of drainage
and reclamation
1® projects in Mexico’s
tropics. The other
agreement provides
•at bilateral scientific and
y& technical exchanges for
«® research, education,
g training, information
w exchange and
jar management relating to
& forestry.
Block said the United
g States and Mexico have
a long history of
jar cooperation in scientific
and technical ex
*® changes and in the
jiff control of agricultural
diseases and pests,
jar “We share a lot more
& than a 2,000-mile bor
*® der, we share each
iff other’s markets,” Block
» said. “We are Mexico’s
jar best customer and they
& are our fourth largest
j® market for agricultural
W commodities.”
H| Discussions which
f followed the signing
ceremony included
these topics:
ff ~ Extension of the
screwworm eradication
jar program into other
& Central American
*® nations;
iff - Setting up a toxic
H| residue monitoring
jar program to assist
j& Mexico’s meat export
•® program;
iff - The possibility of
establishing an allot
jar ment for high-quality
(R U.S. beef, principally
I® for Mexico’s tourist
gff trade;
U| - Entry of Mexican
citrus into the United
States.