ASO-Lmcaster Farming, Saturday, Octobar 19,1985
COLLEGE PARK, MD - A 15-
month effort by Congress and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to
reduce dairy surpluses in this
country was both a short-run
success and a long-term failure,
according to two University of
Maryland agricultural economists.
The dairy diversion program,
established by Congress in 1983
under the Dairy and Tobacco
Adjustment Act, proved successful
Maritime
WASHINGTON - Maritime
interests won the opening round in
the cargo preference dispute with
a victory in the House of
Representatives, but farm
representatives claim the issue is
not yet decided.
By a 245-179 vote, the House of
Representatives defeated an
amendment to the Farm Bill which
would have limited cargo
preference to food-aid shipments.
Farm interests led by the
American Farm Bureau
Federation called for the exemp
tion of farm products sold under
the commercial export program
such as blended credit. The cargo
preference law requires that 50
percent of government-generated
trade be shipped on American flag
vessels.
Farm representatives claim the
cargo preference efforts will
backfire. “The programs will be
too expensive,” charged Paul
Drazek, international trade
specialist for the American Farm
Bureau Federation. These added
requirements will make the farm
export programs unworkable. The
Farm/City event adds Pedal Pull 9
LANCASTER - In conjunction and 7-8.
with the Annual Farm/City Week Each child that participates will
to be held at Park City, children’s receive a small prize. Additionally
pedal tractor pulling will again be first place winners receive a major
held Saturdaj, Oct 26 at 3p m on award and second place winners
the sidewalk between the Gimbels receive a jacket patch Prizes are
and Watt & Shand malls furnished by the four sponsoring
Sponsors are: Lancaster Ford •'-farm machinery dealers. Pull will
Tractor, Landis Brothers, Messick be managed by Dave and Mike
Farm Equipment, and L.H. Nolt of Paradise, Pa
Brubaker Farm Equipment. Sign-up by the children’s parents
All equipment including pedal should occur at the Lancaster Ford
tractors will be furnished. Classes Tractor display earlier in the week
include girls or boys, ages 3-4, 5-6, in the Park Cih Mall
Diversion:
during its 15 months because the
total farm marketings of U.S. milk
fell in that period.
And, taxpayers got a break
during the 15 months the program
was in effect because the cost of
the program was paid by dairy
farmers and the federal govern
ment actually reduced the amount
of surplus dairy products it pur
chased for storage.
However, the program did not
interests win first round
upshot is that farm exports will not
expand and therefore, no benefits
will accrue to the maritime in
dustry. We are not taking an anti
mantime position. We simply want
to reestablish a healthy com
mercial export market for U.S.
agriculture. This cannot be ac
complished if cargo preference is
forced on commercial export
programs,” said Drazek.
The U.S. maritime industry
charges that the cargo preference
is necessary because other
countries subsidize their merchant
marine. “We have never said that
the U.S. merchant marine should
not be subsidized in order to
compete or for national security
purposes. But, adding the cost of
those subsidies to the price of U.S.
farm exports is not the solution.
We seriously doubt that other
countries subsidize their maritime
industries in a similar fashion.”
Cost studies show cargo
preference raises the cost of farm
exports by as much as $7O per ton.
Until a court ruling this past
spring, farm products sold under
the blended credit program
some good news, some bad
provide a permanent reduction of
milk production, say Robert J.
Belter and John W Wysong,
specialists in the university’s
Department of Agricultural and
Resource Economics*
‘ln fact, total milk production
skyrocketed after the end of the
diversion period on March 31 of
this year,” says Belter.
"The cost to the taxpayers for
surplus milk purchases by USDA’s
operated outside the cargo
preference requirement. “The
immediate effect of the court
decision was the end of the blended
credit program because the added
costs of cargo preference totally
nullified the benefits of the
program. As a result, farmers
have lost a great deal and the
maritime industry has gained
nothing from the ruling," Drazek
said.
"Cargo preference of one form
or another has been m place for 30
years and in all that time it has
done little to sustain this country’s
shipping industry,” Drazek added.
MILLER DIESEL INC.
6030 Jonestown Rd., Harrisburg, PA 17112
717-545-5931 Interstate 81 Exit 26
Commodity Credit Cooperative in
1985 is approaching $1.5 billion and
climbing,” he adds.
One reason why milk production
rose after the program ended this
year; many producers who par
ticipated in the program found
ways to get around making a
permanent commitment to
reduced production.
A significant number of dairy
producers used practices such as
reduced feeding, delayed
breeding, and feeding milk to
livestock to create a temporary
reduction of milk production and
marketings, according to Wysong.
■ This enabled dairy producers to
increase immediately following
the diversion period,” says
Wysong.
In addition, farmers replaced
more cows-which is an indication
of gearing up for production-at the
end of the program than they had
in any previous year since 1965, he
adds.
Belter and Wysong say a number
of factors may have contributed to
the program’s long-term failure.
Fifteen months may be too short
of time to expect a permanent
downward adjustment in milk
AUTO/TRUCK DIESEL
TREATMENT totally
disperses water.
It eliminates water even better than water separators It also
keeps injectors clean, improves engine efficiency, and con
tains no harmful alcohol. Use it in every tankful all year
round
IT COSTS SO LITTLE TO PROTECT SO MUCH
Use Polar Power from Dec. thru Feb to prevent waxing &
gelling. It also disperses water. Gas Treatment treats leaded
& unleaded gasoline. Totally disperses water, increases
m " eage DIESEL FUEL INJECTION &
TURBO CHARGER SPECIALIST
production, they say.
The low cost of feed grams may
be too attractive to expect farmers
to reduce feeding this year and
next.
Milk support prices, although
lower than in 1983-84, may still be
too high to bring about reduced
production, they add. Feed prices
declined in recent years as
production surpluses of corn and
soybeans returned.
“Reducing the support price, as
painful as that might be, would
permit to some degree the survival
of the most efficient producers, or
it might separate out the producers
with the greatest equity capital
base and those with access to
capital and credit resources,”
Belter says.
A longer diversion program, the
two agricultural economists say,
might help reduce national dairy
surpluses by diverting dairy
production resources to other
types of farm enterprises.
A healthier domestic and foreign
market for other agricultural
commodities might provide in
centive to dairy farmers to move to
other lines of productive endeavor,
according to Belter and Wysohg
FPPF