End of price supports could disrupt dairy economy
ITHACA, NY - President
Reagan’s plan to eliminate the
dairy price-support program
would cause severe disruption to
the nation’s dairy industry, says a
Cornell University agricultural
economist.
“It would set in motion a barrage
of new free-market forces in an
industry which has been largely
protected from such things,” says
Andrew Novakovic, an assistant
professor of agricultural
economics in the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell.
The Reagan administration
proposes ending the government’s
current practice of buying surplus
dairy products by October 1987 and
replacing the traditional support
program with a direct payments
program. Reagan’s plan has been
received cooly by ’ both
congressional agricultural policy
leaders and dairy farmers.
Currently, surplus milk can be
processed into cheese, butter, and
nonfat dry milk - products which
the government stands ready to
buy at preset prices if they are not
sold otherwise. In turn, these
government purchase prices
support farmers’ milk prices. In
THE VICON SYSTEM.
MAKE IT WORK
FORM
Sometimes it seems we spend half our
lives fighting the system But there’s one
system that’s
always on your
side—the Vicon
Haying System.
With a Vicon
KM Mower/
Conditioner, one
of our heavy-duty
hay rakes or ted
ders, and a new
Vicon Square Baler, you can make hay
faster, better and more economically.
The KM 321, for instance, is the fastest
mower/conditioner in the world. It’s 30
percent faster than conventional mower/
conditioners. A new drive unit lets you
operate non-stop. Take square comers
without drive line vibration or danger of
And even if you
, dew
crop,
le KM
321
won’t
Plug,
and
leave you worrying about leaf loss.
The Vicon line of tedder/rakes are just
VICON FARM MACHINERY, INC.. RO. Box 6313, Chesapeake, VA 23323 804/485-1600
1987, under Reagan’s plan, the
government would cease being a
buyer.
“Long before October 1987
arrives, cheese and butter
manufacturers would begin
scrambling, trying to line up new
buyers for their products, because
the federal government would no
longer be a buyer,” Novakovic
says. “Some would find new
markets, but at lower prices since
other processors would try to do
the same thing. It would become a
buyer’s market.”
“If dairy product manufacturers
earn less for their products,
naturally the milk price would fall,
too,” Novakovic notes.
This decline in farm milk prices,
however, would be somewhat
offset or limited by a new gover
nment program of direct payments
based on a target price. Under this
new program, dairy farmers
would receive a direct subsidy if
farm prices fell below the target
price.
The Reagan plan calls for target
prices substantially lower than
current support levels. So, farm
prices might have to fall from the
current $l3 per hundredweight to
won’t
would be made. In addition, total
payments to each farmer would be
limited to $20,000 per year in the
first year and wouiu decline to
$lO,OOO per year on October 1,1989.
This target-price program would
begin on October 1,1987.
“Critics of this proposal have
charged that the proposed target
prices and payment limits would
be so low as to be meaningless and
ineffective,” Novakovic says.
“The administration defends the
aproach by arguing that a farm
economy without heavy in
tervention will be a healthier in
dustry in the long run.”
Established by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, the
milk support price places a floor
price under the farm price for 100
pounds of milk (approximately
11.6 gallons). Recently farm prices
have been supported at levels that
have resulted m more milk being
produced than can be consumed
commercially. The government
has purchased the excess in the
form of manufactured dairy
products, thus holding farm prices
up.
The milk diversion program,
which had no effect on the support
price itself, was instituted in
as efficient in their own right. They’re
versatile, ideal for short crops and eco
nomical, too. They rake or tedd quickly
and cleanly. Available in two working
widths to fit any farm. With easy tine
replacement. And best of all, Vicon
tedder/rakes are gentle on your crop.
Last but not least, you’ll find that Vicon
SP Square Balers give you the convenient
range of bale sizes and weights to meet
your haying needs. All have a combina
tion auger/feeder fork which moves the
crop evenly into the full width of the bale
chamber. So you get consistent bales of
even density, time after time. The Vicon
is also available
with a hydrau
lic bale thrower.
For more in
formation on
Vicon Haying
Systems, or the
name of your
closest Vicon
dealer, just call or write. We think you’ll
see that when you can’t beat the system,
there’s only one thing left for a grower
to do.
Join it. .
Jain the (jfii) revolution
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 6,1985-AI7
January 1984. It pays farmers $lO
per hundredweight for decreasing
the amount of milk they market
relative to what they had marketed
in an earlier base period. In ad
dition, the government collects a 50
cents assessment per hun
dredweight of all milk sold;
assessments of one form or
another began in April 1983.
In April 1985, the milk diversion
program will end; farmers will no
longer be paid for reducing milk
sales. The 50 cent assessment is
also ending at that time, and with it
a reduction by USDA of the milk
support price from $12.60 to $12.10
per hundredweight is expected.
For dairy farmers, the dropping
of the assessment on their milk will
balance the decrease in the sup
Broiler chicks need more
vitamin D 3, study says
COLLEGE PARK, MD - How
much vitamin Ds should broiler
producers feed their young chicks?
According to a new study from
the University of Maryland’s
department of poultry science,
Sudenga ELECTRO ®
COMPUTA-BATCH
THE TOTALLY AUTOMATED .
BATCHING SYSTEM THAT /T
WILL SAVE YOU TIME
AND MONEY' / j|
\ I
Thf Computd Batch is jn on farm feed processing system that
will automatically select weigh grind and mix up to 12 mgred
tents v ith 99 9% accuracy Based on tests in actual feeding sit
nations the Computa Batch will save 15 to 50% in costs over a
PTO itiixi r qnnder or buying finished feed Ask for a FREE
COST COMPARISON ANALYSIS to see how much your actual
savings wim/UI In
The horu-onnl mixer continuously produces any numhi r of t
ton bate hr s The mill is available in hammer or roller styles The
user friendly computer stores up to 60 formulas and offers
complete n cord keeping
port price. But come this summer,
another 50 cent decrease in the
support price is almost a certainty,
according to Novakovic.
Further price cuts are likely,
even if the Reagan plan is not
adopted, Novakovic predicts. At
this point, Congress will more
likely be receptive to revising the
traditional price support and
product purchase program.
Nonetheless, getting production
back in line with consumption may
necessitate further price cuts.
“Any new method of settmg
dairy price supports should be
flexible, perhaps equipped with
upper and lower limits, and it
should reflect changes in supply
and demand conditions,"
Novakovic emphasizes.
they should get twice the amount
recommended by the National
Research Council.
“Our data show that feeding the
current NRC recommendation of
200 IU of vitamin D 3 per kilogram
of diet results in lower overall
performance of newly-hatched to
eight-week-old broiler chicks,”
says Jimmy T. Lofton, the prin
cipal researcher in the study.
Lofton and his graduate advisor,
Dr. Joseph ff. Soares, Jr.,
recommend instead a dose of 400
IU per kilogram of diet to produce
optimal results in young broiler
chicks.
Some commercial producers
feed their young chicks five to 10
times the NRC requirements,
anticipating greater than optimal
results.
While the practice does not seem
to cause adverse effects, Lofton
and Soares’ data show that such
“overdosing” of vitamin Da
produces no beneficial effects in
young broilers.
Broilers fed less than 200 IU of
vitamin Da per kilogram of diet
may suffer from lower body
weight, take in less food, and lose
strength in the bones in their legs,
according to the study.
Low Cost Computorizod
Food-Mill With 99.9% Accuracy
For More Inforamtion Clip & Send To
NATURAL DRYING SYSTEMS. INC.
Box 599 Brownstown, PA 17508
CALL: 717-696-6519