Dairyman shares (Continued from Page Al) this kind of buyout would be worth. That’s why you had a tremendous difference iin the bidding figures— from a couple dollars to a thousand dollars. There were no guidelines, no hints. You had to start from your side and make a financial estimate of things. For me it was a matter of looking five years down the road to determine if I was better off to stay in the dairy business or participate in the buyout. NEWSWANGER - Are you saying that the person who made the bid was the one who took the chance? MYER - That’s right. If you really wanted to participate in the program you didn’t want to make your bid too high. On the other hand you didn’t want to make it too low and loose a lot of what you could have received. What I did was try to think in terms of the number of dairymen that the government wanted to go out of business and the estimated amount of milk they wanted to go out of production. I did a fair amount of calling around the country talking to extension agents and agricultural leaders to try to get a feel from different parts of the country. I tried to find out what E 3 was the expected level of par ticipation. Nobody knew for sure. But it gave me an indication of what I might receive. On the other hand, you didn’t know if the government was going to put a top lid on the bidding or maybe open it up a second time for dairymen to make a bid. The rules of the plan were shared and you could learn what those rules said. But you didn’t know what the government was thinking about the value of the bid. NEWSWANGER • Was there, in your thinking, ethical or moral considerations involved or was this just good business? MYER - For me, all decisions have moral and ethical im plications. And certianly to discontinue the dairy business was a major decision. Yes, I did have quite a bit of reservation about participating in a government program whereby you get paid something that appears to be for nothing. I’m basically opposed to that system of ethics for govern ment. But in this case the reason I was willing to participate was that we know it’s costing the govern ment in the area of $l7 per hundred pounds to buy up the surplus milk, store and dispose of it. The LAWN & GARDEN TRACTORS JD4OO JD3IB JD3I7 JD2I4 JD2I2 JD2IO IH 1450 JD 112 JD 110 430 Gravely Jacobsen 1000 224 Case IDI Hahn 7 HP Snapper 11 HP JD 68 Rider JD 90 Rider 8 HP Casew/Bagger WN Tl 7 HP Wheel Horse Ford 7 HP JD 111 L>ractor 6216 Simplicity JD 116,16 HP THRIFTY DUTCHMAN SUPPLY "Your NewAgri Supermarket" 100 So. Railroad Ave. New Holland, PA 17557 HOURS; Mon ,Tues„ Wed 8 AM-s.3oPM,Thurs ,Fn BAM-9PM, Sot BAM-4PM M Um Of Umhek,H*M,Lmmt otr4* ht thoughts government wanted dairymen to participate so they could dry up five years of production. On the surface it looked like a hand out, but the government saves a lot of money in the end. It was designed to help and not hurt, so I thought ethically and morally it was OK. NEWSWANGER - Would you explain how the program is fun ded? Many people seem to not understand where the money comes from to pay for the program. MYER - I don’t have the pei> centages clearly in mind but at least initially 40 cents per hundred weight is to come off the price of milk to provide a portion of the money to pay for the program. Of course the government is already funding the milk support price program with billions of dollars each year. Some of the money saved from this program will go into the buyout plan. According to some sources, very little extra money will be needed. NEWSW ANGER • Do you think you are being well paid for your herd? Could you have been paid better? MYER - There is no way I could have dispersed the herd any other USED, FRONT TRACTOR SUITCASE WEIGHTS For John Ooero, IH &Case SKIP LOADERS NH 1775-16,900 JD 24-4500 WALK-BEHIND MOWERS 21" SP Toro 21" SP Lawn Boy 20" JC Penney Echo 702 McCullough 1010 11l Rototiller >WEW! MISC. Post Hole Digger, 3 Pt. JD 31 Tiller JD 33 Tiller JD Cornplanter 1 Row Cultivator 2 Row McKissic Shredder 3 Pt. Mott Mower 3 Pt. Seeder Herd 2 Btm. Plow #3O IH Walk Behind Snowblower CTOR! (717) 354-2266 INS. CHAI way and got the equivalent. Of course, the restrictions on the farm property for the next five years decreases the value of the farm. But animal for animal, there is no way 1 could have dispersed the herd for an equal payment. NEWSWANGER - I know you have some reservations about how this program has been reported in the mass media and to the general public. Would you care to comment on this? MYER - I thought it was un fortunate that all tiie dollar facts and figures should be shared with the general public because many of the people can understand dollar values but don’t understand the rest of the program. If the public reads information about fairmens who receive thousands of dollars, it appears as a free handout without giving the details of the costs that are involved. It gives an incorrect impression. One factor that should be known is that we must beef an animal no matter how good of a milk cow she may be. We have a cow milking 113 pounds of milk per day and another milking 111 pounds. They’re top dairy cows. But they will be sold for ham berger now. In addition, your facUities designed for producing milk must be idle. What do you do with the dairy bam and equip ment? NEWSWANGER - Is there any sentimental attachment involved NOW THRU APRIL 30th MIRACLE-GRO HP List $11.49 J^OryT —%n SALE s9*6o Stop Insects... Weeds... ni t/"i u/TCrn z* Plant Disease. . UUVjWIOUjIv « POLY SPRAYER fer < 3 Gallon Ust W*> * 9O OK SALE GARDEN FERTILIZER 'K'lvSrlS List $6.29 WWws ...the easiest way to grew on earth! JOBE’S FRUIT TREE SALE $3.50