A22-Lancnter Fanning, Saturday, My 20,1985
CORNING, IA - DeVon
Woodland, president of the
National Farmers Organization,
announced today that he is inviting
Farm Bureau criticizes
recent farm legislation
WASHINGTON - The American
Farm Bureau Federation strongly
opposes Farm Bill proposals
recently passed by two House
subcommittees. The nation’s
largest farm group warns the
legislation fails to send a clear
market signal to producers and
creates farm policy that is un
tested.
“The 1985 Farm Bill must reduce
existing incentives for over
production, ensure price com
petitiveness for U.S. farm products
and most recognize that all
commodities are interrelated and
any change in supply and demand
of one affects the other,” said J
AFBF President Robert Delano.
“The marketing loan and dairy
programs approved by the House
Agriculture subcommittees do
none of these tasks. Rather they
encourage overproduction, exert
negative impacts on other
agricultural industries and raise
mcertainties about future farm
program costs,” warned Delano.
The House Dairy Subcommittee
has passed legislation which
revives the recently-ended dairy
diversion program, places
assessments on production and
raises the Class 1 differentials in 35
federal milk marketing orders.
“We strongly oppose the dairy
diversion and assessment
programs. We must avoid any
proposal which fails to send a clear
signal to producers. The previous
dairy diversion program placed
the burden of cost on the producer
without passing any of the benefits
on to consumers. We don’t believe
this is the answer to problems
facing the .dairy industry,” said
Delano.
Farm Bureau’s dairy proposal,
which calls for a support price sA
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NFO meetings seek action to 6 cash flow 9 agriculture
farmers, ranchers, agricutural
lenders, and rural business people
to a series of strategy and action
at 90 percent of the average of all
milk prices for the previous three
years is intended to bring supply
and demand in balance without the
use of assessments or diversion
programs.
Earlier the House Wheat,
Soybeans and Feed Grains Sub
committee approved legislation
authorizing a marketing >loan
concept that is supposed to ensure
that commodities move at market
clearing levels by encouraging the
marketing of crops rather than
forfeiting them to the government.
The “encouragement” would
come from reductions in what
producers would have to pay back
to the government on Commodity
Credit Corporation loans.
Producers with marketing loans
would be allowed to pay back only
the prevailing market price for
their crops, thus keeping the dif
ference between the loan rate and
the market price. “The marketing
loan essentially creates another
kind of deficiency payment and
would likely keep market prices at
or near loan levels and leave us no
more competitive than now,” said
Delano.
The subcommittee also ap
proved a payment-in-kind of up to
10 percent of the amount of com
modities under loan to producers
who pay back their loans.
“As approved By the sun
committee, the legislation does not
appeare to help us become com
petitive very quickly in world
markets. The proposals also carry
an unknown price tag,” said
Delano.
Delano called on Farm Bureau
members to contact their
representatives during the July 4
recess to express their concerns
about the legislative proposals.
meetings to be held in 11 states in
August.
Woodland said the series of
“Meetings for Action to Cash Flow
Agriculture” will begin Aug. 5 with
a Minnesota meeting in Owatonna.
He said NFO members will urge
farmers and ranchers from all
farm organizations to join them at
the meetings.
Other meetings scheduled are
Fargo, N.D. on Aug. 8; Sioux Falls,
S.D. on Aug. 9; Lincoln, Neb. on
Aug. 13; Louisville, Ky. on Aug. 15;
Edwardsville, 111. on Aug. 16;
Marshalltown, lowa on Aug. 20,
and Burlington, Vt. (Hi Aug. 21.
Others will be announced within a
few days.
At these meetings, Woodland
said, NFO leaders will present a
plan to push farm prices high
enough to make it possible to cash
flow agriculture. All producers are
on “the same sinking ship,” he
said, and an agriculture-wide
effort is needed to turn the
situation around.
“There is enough money in the
marketplace to pay agriculture’s
bills and retire its debts but far
mers and ranchers will have to go
after it,” he said. “We can reverse
the trend toward lower prices and
return prosperity to agriculture if
we focus in together on the
marketing system.”
Woodland noted that the
economic situation in agriculture
is deteriorating rapidly. He said he
is -particularly disturbed by
statements claiming agriculture is
in transition and that farmers and
ranchers will have to adapt to
lower farm prices.
“The transition we are being
asked to accept is the transfer of
land ownership and livestock
operations from efficient owner
operators to ownership by nonfarm
corporations and other off-farm
investors,” he said. “Family
agriculture is the backbone of our
production system and any
transition that threatens to destroy
the owner-operator system is
unacceptable to us and bad for our
Beef Feeders Who Attend
Our Free Seminar Will Know
Mote Than Thu
There is an simple wav to get up-to-date information about running
a feedlol operation Attend our 1985 beef feeder meeting and we will
leach you to increase your profits by lowering your financial nsk
The featured speaker is Dr Harold Harpster.
Associate Professor of Animal Science. Penn
sylvania Slate University
Our meeting is free, and so is
the lunch, to feedlot operators, but
space is limited. Call our toll free
number 1-800-323-1037 to
reserve your place
Why let the other fellow know more
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DATE; Thursday. August Ist. 1985
TIME: 10 a-m. (registration from 9 to 10)
PLACE: LANCASTER FARM AND HOME CENTER
1383 Arcadia Rd.
Lancaster, PA.
Lunch will be provided.
hor reservatioas -and information call toll free in Pennsylvania 1-800-323-1037
Livestock Nutritional Services
1985tbungs
country.”
Woodland said Bob Arndt, a
southwest Minnesota farmer, is
directing nationwide coordination
of the meetings. His activities
include setting up a com
munications structure that will tie
all farmers and ranchers together
nationwide.
“This isn’t a farm organization
problem,” Arndt said. “It’s a
farmer problem and the help of all
producers is essential in heading
off this so-called transition and
carrying out a plan to get enough
Nottingham Country Fair
Homemade country crafts are a popular feature of the
Nottingham Park Country Fair. Pictureid above, a visitor to
last year's event admires the stencilling exhibit beneath the
shady trees of the park, located in West Nottingham
Township. The fifth annual Country Fair will be held Aug'. 3
and 4,11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The crafts sale will feature approximately 50 local artisans.
In addition, there'll be live music on center stage all weekend,
4-H Club activities, agricultural displays and demonstrations,
and plenty of country-style food. Special Saturday activities
include a fair parade, turtle races, frog jumping contests, and
pie eating competitions. Admission is $1 per car each day.
Nottingham Park is located south of Oxford, off the U.S.
Route 1 bypass. For more details on the Country Fair, call the
Park Office at (215) 932-9195.
income from the marketplace to
put profit back into agriculture.”
Arndt said the number of rural
people who participate in the
meetings for action will determine
how long it will take to increase
farm prices to a fair level. “I
believe enough people in rural
America are ready to stop this
theft of income from agriculture
producers to reverse the trend
toward lower and lower prices, and
get back on the road to economic
justice in the shortest possible
time.”
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