VOL. 30 No. 42 Crowds gather at Ag Progress Equipment displays, instructional areas, tours and demonstrations were the order of the day at Penn State’s annual Ag Progress Days celebration. For more on the events at Rock Springs, turn to page A2O-21. Block says Reagan to press Congress on Farm Bill BY JAMES H. EVERHART W ASHINGTON Agriculture Seuetary John Block said the Admimstiation will put the pressure on Congress to write a Faun Bill before current legislation expires Oct 1 The Administration, including the I’icsident, will be pushing hard to get the job done on time," Block said at a telephone press con fen nee Tuesday in Washington He used the term ' cruel" tit desu ibe the effect of the indecision on fanners who must make crop decisions for next year, based on a farm policy that has yet to be drafted ‘We started this year with a lot of high hopes, about helping to boost our exports, and ending this buildup m stocks of grain, and backing away from acreage oonliols and reducing the cost of government and writing a sound farm program to help this industry out oi some of the problems we fau Foi the piost part, he added, I ni not sure how much closer we are now than we were two, three or foui months ago ” The Reagan Administration, he said, will insist that Congress stay *'thm its budget resolution on •Pending. And that means, he said, Vgislators will have their *°rk ut out for them when they r eturn from their recess next month Fanners, he said, want less j^frSections government involvement in agriculture And the Ad ministration is attempting to cut down that involvement, and make American products more com petitive on world markets, b\ gradually cutting back on farm spending, though in a i om passioriJite ' wav The Farm Bill budget figuie accepted by the legislators and the administration, he said, would include x 'a considerable amount of money as an income transfer to farmers during this transition period." That $35 billion spending level, he said, is "a record amount of money It’s not chintzy, it’s generous and if it is spent properly, we’ll be able to help farmers during this transition ” The money, he added, will be directed toward family-size farms, -with a payment limitation of $50,000 per farm. Block said he is convinced that Congiess can create “a program that looks toward growth, looks toward exports and still is within the budget guidelines ” On other topics, the USDA secretary made the following comments Livestock prices: “I am very much aware of the depressed state of livestock, beef in particular, and as a hog farmer myself, I’m not that excited about the hog prices (Turn to Page A3l) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 24,1985 Pa. peach crop smallest in years BY SUZANNE KEENE LANCASTER - This year’s PennsyK ania peach crop is one of the smallest in recent history due to extensive frost and hail damage in some counties Peach production in the state is forecast at 30 million pounds this year. fai belov. the 85 million pounds produced in 1984, said Wally Evans, dnectop-of the Crop Reporting Service We wind up with a crop toi Pennsylvania this year that would probably be the smallest crop since 1967," he said Pennsylvania is the fifth largest peach producing state in the nation, following behind Califor nia, South Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey Peach production in the nation is expected to be down about 20 percent from normal For Pennsylvania peach producers, the frost damage translates into approximately a $6 million loss in income, according to Larry Yager, Penn State Ex tension marketing agent. The small crop is primarily the result of winter freeze and frost damage and some hail damage in the spring Adams and Franklin Counties, the state's two largest peach producers, were the hardest hit, while I Lancaster County's peach crop received less severe damage, Yager said. A warm Christmas season, followed by severe cold in mid- January, killed man> of the earh (Turnto Page A 10) July milk output jumps 8 percent BY JAMES H. EVERHART WASHINGTON - The nation’s milk production rose to 12.4 billion pounds in July, exceeding year-ago totals by eight percent and setting an all-time high for the month. month’s increase in output was the latest in a senes of large production increases, which have been recorded since the dairy diversion program ended April 1 The July increases, however, were the largest in recent months and gave further .ndication that production is continuing to build momentum 'We always had the Capacity there,' said Lackawanna County extension Director Tom Jurchak ‘We didn’t lose that many cows during the diversion program So, now, the teed is cheap enough, and they can pour it to them and you’ll get more milk.” Cow numbers were up 2.8 per cent, to 11 1 million, while production per cow climbed 5.3 percent to 1,120 pounds, according to Charles Cunningham, deputy director of USDA’s Commodity Analysis Division. In Pennsylvania, milk production went up seven percent, to 858 million pounds, while per cow production jumped 5.4 percent to 1,160 pounds. Cow numbers were While Jim Erb and daughter Diana report an excellent peach crop on the family's Brook Lawn Farm near Lancaster, many producers elsewhere in the state have suffered from slim pickings. (Photo by Jack Hubley) 17.50 per Year up slightly less than two percent, to 740,000. Around the region, New York recorded a four-percent increase in July over year-earlier levels, while Maryland dairymen recorded an 11 percent increase And while most experts believed that falling milk prices would eventually bring production into line, Jurchak noted that milk output will continue to rise as long as the cost of feed remains relatively low The price of milk has been going down, that’s true,” said Jurchak “But the feed’s going down in price even faster.’’ Asked what he thought woulc have to happen to slow down the flood of milk, Jurchak said a good gram harvest and ample supplies of cheap feed probably mean production will continue to in crease. “I don’t see anything in the woods to drop it down any,” he added. The timing couldn’t be worse, he added, coming as it does as the Congress is preparing to go back in session to resolve farm policy for the next four years. “With so much at stake,” he said, “this thing’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.”
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