Al2-imcaster Farming, Saturday, Fabruary 23,1985
Maryland’s ’B4 farm output
Agriculture in Maryland served
up quite a 1964 birthday present to
help celebrate the state’s 350th
Anniversary; it set all-time
production records in three of its
leading sectors: corn, soybeans
and broiler chickens!
According to the latest estimates
of the Maryland-Delaware Crop
Reporting Service, com produc
tion in 1984 was 69,620,000 bushels
breaking the earlier mark set in
1981 and soybean production was
12,325,000 bushels breaking a
record that had been set in 1982.
Cora and soybeans are the
number one and two leading field
crops in the state and are the feed
mainstay of Maryland’s number
one commodity: broiler chickens.
The production of broiler chickens
in Maryland last year is also
estimated to be a record breaker at
275 million plump, 4.1 pound
chickens.
Previous high for Maryland
production of broilers was 267
million birds in 1982.
Maryland's broiler production is
part of the Delmarva poultry
complex, which as a whole, saw
production of 483 million birds, up
from 468 million in 1983. At today’s
feeding rates, it takes about 8
pounds of com and soybean ration
to produce a broiler chicken.
Thus, the poultry industry on
Delmarva used about 3.8 billion
pounds of com and soybeans to
produce its huge chicken crop in
1984.
The 1984 production rebound in
Maryland is particularly
noteworthy in that it came on the
heels of drought-ravaged 1983
which saw some of the worst
growing conditions in SO years with
greatly reduced com and soybean
production and an extremely poor
quality tobacco crop.
Another record-breaker in 1984
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was barley production at 5.5
million bushels shattering a record
that had stood since 1969.
Other segments of Maryland
agriculture showing strong
production rates in 1964 include:
• Dairy - production of about 1.5
billion pounds of milk. The dairy
industry is Maryland’s second
most important segment when it
comes to cash value in agriculture.
• Wheat - production of over 6
million bushels in 1984 for one of
the larger outputs in the state’s
recent history.
• Tobacco - the state’s first cash
crop, is estimated at 31.2 million
pounds, an average size crop.
However, planters report that the
1984 leaf is of exceptional quality,
of good color and very thin leaf
making it one of the best crops of
recent years.
• Hogs - the 1984 pig crop came in
at 417,000 pigs.
• Mushrooms - 2,146,000 pounds.
• Fresh market vegetables -
mainly tomatoes, with a
production of 28.8 million pounds,
or 14,400 tons.
• Processing Vegetables - 119,990
tons breaking out as 48,640 tons of
sweet com, 4,080 tons of peas and
52,580 tons of tomatoes.
These numbers are particularly
more impressive when compared
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1983.
A few examples in the crop areas
show that corn production was up
by 81% over 1963! Soybean
production was up by about 20%,
tobacco production by 5%, wheat
up by 6%, barley up by 11%,
processing vegetables by about
37%, fresh market vegetable
production by about 9%, apple
production up by about 7%.
One Maryland crop, however,
was literally ‘nipped’ by weather
in 1984. That was the peach crop
which came in at about 18 million
pounds, down about 14% due to a
hard freeze.
The production increase for
broiler chickens is believed to be
up by about 5% representing a
truly remarkable rate of growth
for a single year. Dairy production
was off somewhat by about 5%
reflecting impact on Maryland of
industry and government
programs to reduce surplus
production.
One conclusion to be drawn from
the outstanding production
rebound of Maryland agriculture
in 1984 from the disasters of 1983 is
that agriculture is truly a “modem
miracle” in that it responds
quickly to good weather for crops
and improved markets for
livestock.
Federal user’s fees
(Continued from Page Al)
supports a separate cost-cutting
measure called “less-than
continuous-inspection,” which
would allow inspectors to review
plants randomly without requiring
that each piece of meat be viewed
individually.
Inspectors could still see half of
the company’s product, which
would be a “pretty good indication
that a company’s entire production
line was pretty wholesome,”
Allwein said . wtAlUi
The poultry group, he added, will
be lobbying actively with the
state’s congressional delegation,
attempting to find support for their
proposal.
He noted that Sen. Arlen Specter
had seemed especially persuaded
by the group’s contention that the
measure would cost the state jobs
because of packers’ attempts to
offset costs incurred by the new
program.
Although no other state
organizations seemed to be taking
on the leadership in fighting the
measure, several individuals and
companies spoke out against the
proposed fee arrangement.
Ben Burkholder, a vice president
at Victor F. Weaver in New
Holland, said his firm would m«ka
its case through the poultry
federation and other national
organizations.
He did note, however, that his
company, with about 18 federal
inspectors on site, would even
tually face costs of as much as
$700,000 annually for the inspection
program.
Costs at the Hatfield Packing
plant in Montgomery County, on
the other hand, could surpass
$l,OOO a day, said Executive Vice
President “Butch” Clemens.
And, he said, the inspectors
hired by the feds are not the kind of
people he’d hire in his own
organization.
“Our own quality control people
find a lot of things they never see,”
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Clemens said. With $l3O million in
annual sales, Hatfield employs 700
workers and slaughters more than
3,500 hogs daily.
Officials at the Pennsylvania
livestock Association and the
Pennsylvania Pork Producers
Council both say their
organizations have adopted a
“wait-and-see" posture on the new
proposal.
“I guess a lot of people aren’t
paying attention because it’s been
discussed before,” said John
Henkel, President of the Penn
sylvania Livestock Association.
He added that he doubted the
public would accept an inspection
program that is financially sup
ported by the producers them
selves.
The thought was echoed by Herb
Schick, secretary-treasurer of the
Pennsylvania Pork Producers
Council.
“Will the consumer have faith in
this kind of set-up?” Schick asked.
Livestock producers themselves
had little to say about the
legislation. But at least one felt
uneasy.
'“lnvariably,” he said, “we’ll
pay for it. You don’t think the
packers and processors aren’t
going to pass along some of those
costs to us, do you?”
Farm Calendar
(Continued from Page A 10)
Thursday, March 7
Pennsylvania Potato Growers
Institute, Sheraton Inn, State
College
Poultry Progress Day, 9:30 a.m. to
3 p.m.
Friday, March 8
Dairy Breeders Institute, Farm
and Home Center.
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