IOL3I No. 27
Farmers Buy Packing Plant
BY MIRIAM GREENFIELD
Lebanon Co. Staff Correspondent
SHAMOKIN “It’s a great day
jr agriculture,” Keith Eckel,
resident of Pennsylvania Ear
ners’ Association, said Wed
lesday morning in Shamokin.
Arnold Lueck celebrates 25 years on the job as Lancaster
County's agronomy and horticulture expert. In the photo
Lueck compares alfalfa samples at the Penn State research
farm in Lancaster County. See story page 31
2nd Conservation Reserve
Signup Begins Monday
HARRISBURG Farmers who
issed the boat the first time
ound will have a second chance
hop aboard the Conservation
eserve Program as of Monday,
ccording to ASCS conservation
ogram specialist, Richard
ennay, the second CRP sign-up
sriod will begin Monday, May 5
id end May 16.
The goal of CRP is too take the
ition’s highly erodible land out of
iltivation. By removing more
an 40 million acres, of this
arginal land from food
oduction in the coming decade,
SDA hopes to lower soil erosion
hile reducing crop surpluses.
Another benefit of the program,
wording to SCS resource con
irvationist Richard Heidecker,
ill be the creation of higher
lality wildlife habitat. Since CRP
;reage must be converted to
irmanent vegetative cover, such
; grasses and trees, “this
esents an ideal time to improve
ildlife food and cover on farms,”
tys Heidecker.
Wildlife returns the benefits to
rmers through insect control,
ime birds eat heir weight in
isects daily, Heidecker says,
i Farmers will receive annual
mtal payments after Oct. 1 of
ach calendar year for acreage
tat qualifies. CRP acreage may
Five Sections
Eckel presented a plaque to
Eugene Eisenbise of Hershey,
president of Penn Mar Coop, a
cooperative of 64 central Penn
sylvania fanners- hog and cattle
producers- who recently acquired
the Shamokin Packing Co.
not be farmed for 10 years.
In addition to annual rental
payments, farmers can receive 50
percent of the cost of establishing
permanent cover on the land.
In determining acceptable bids,
USDA divided Pennsylvania into
two bidding pools. Pool 1 included
the southeastern part of the state,
where the maximum acceptable
bid was $65. The remainder of the
state was labeled pool 2, with a
maximum bid of $6O.
During the March sign up, 397
bids were submitted on 13,662
acres, but only 2,463 acres on 93
farms were accepted. This was a
long way from ASCS’s goal of
82,000 acres during the initial sign
up.
Nationally, bids were accepted
for 838,356 acres on 10,307 farms.
The average price for all bids
accepted was $41.82.
Penn State extension economist
William McSweeny thinks that the
dairy herd buy-out program may
well have contributed to CRP’s
anemic performance, since the
buy-out sign-up overlapped CRP’s
signup period. “Farmers may find
they have more time now to give
the Conservation Reserve
Program serious consideration,”
McSweeny said.
Those interested in the program
should contact their county ASCS
offices.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 3,1986
“The future of our marketing
endeavor hangs in the balance,”
Eckel said. He was referring to the
new role of the farmer, the
evolution of the farmer from just
producing food, to processing and
marketing the food and getting it to
the consumer.
We used to think of the farmer’s
job' as a job very distant from the
consumer, but Milestone Brands
Cooperative, a division of the
Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association has just taken the first
step m bringing the farmer’s role
more in touch with the consumer.
From now on, farmers will be
processing and marketing as well
as producing the food we eat.
The Shamokin Packing Com
pany, which had been producing
Chief brand hot dogs, hams,
kielbasa, and other processed
meat for over 25 years at the
Shamokin site, will continue to
operate under the ownership of
Penn Mar Cooperative Inc. Penn-
Mar is a group of 64 central Penn
sylvania hog and cattle producers
who have incorporated to control
processing and marketing as well
as growing food.
Penn Mar acquired the Shamokin
plant April 7 with the cooperation
of the Pennsylvania Cooperative
Marketing Association (PACMA)
and Milestone Brands
Cooperative, both divisions of the
Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association. Royal Palmer,
director of sale for Milestone
Brands Cooperative, which in
cludes Penn Mar and PACMA, said
the plant manager Richard
Bobkoskie and the 77 persons who
(Turn to Page A 22)
Ardrossan Cow Tops National Sale
BY MARTHA J. GEHRINGER
HARRISBURG They expected
her to be the belle of the sale and
Ardrossan S U Class Bell didn’t
disappoint anyone as she garnered
the high price of $4,100 at the
National Ayrshire Sale here on
Friday, April 25.
Ardrossan S U Class Bell was the high selling animal at the National Ayrshire Sale with
the price of $4,100. Pictured from left are; Sue Kulp, assistant herdsman at Ardrossan;
Heinz Meilke, herd manager at Ardro&an; Don McNeil, buyer; Tom Whittaker,
pedigrees; Milton Crosby, auctioneer; and Dale Maulfair at the lead.
Milk Promotion at Penn State
Ready to show the milk promotion trophy, Joe Paterno
(left), coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, and Donald
Duncan, Chairman of the State Advisory Board of the Penn
sylvania Dairy Promotion Program, kick off the milk
promotion program last Saturday at the Penn State Blue &
White football game.
The hand crafted milk can trophy will be awarded each year
to the winner of the Penn State-Pitt football game on a
rotating basis. In addition, a duplicate milk can will go to the
winner of the Penn State-Temple game.
While these large trophies will move from college to college
as the winner emerges, small replicas of the milk can will go
to each player to keep as part of his college memorabilia.
This 4-year-old cow, bred and
consigned by Ardrossan Farms,
Mrs. H.H.M. Scott, Villanova, was
purchased by the Don-Sher Farm
and Lika Company from Ellenburg
Center, NY.
She is the daughter of Oak Ridge
Ace’s Sultan. As a 2-year old she
$8.50 per Year
produced a record of 17,060 pounds
of milk and 705 pounds of fat with a
4.1 percent test.
Her dam, Ardrossan S.V.C
Belltime, produced a record of
23,050 pounds of milk and 867
(Turn to Page A3O)