Lane. Co. Farmers Hold Annual Meeting
The Lancaster County Farmers’
Association held their 35th annual
meeting Monday evening at the
Country Table Restaurant in Mt.
Joy. Donald Ranck, President,
called the meeting to order after
dinner and reported that “The
year 1986 will go down in history as
a period of enormous uncertainty
in agriculture. Low commodity
prices continue to cloud our future
and pressure our industry. ’ ’
“One Lancaster County Far
mers’ Association member
remarked recently: “In 1986 I
didn’t make too much profit. In
fact, in all my years of farming, I
never could make TOO MUCH
profit!
“Seriously, though, agriculture’s
basic problem is one of world-wide
over supply of basic commodities.
In times of over-supply, those who . .. ...... .
have the best marketing systems ‘ s “PP hes “ Southeast
prosper. The Farmers’ Aviation are 4to » Percent below customer
Is working hard at developing needs ; . the h combined result of
marketing tools that we can use fcent high tempera ures and a
Watch for new opportunities! fede " al government pro ?. ra “
Thirty-five years ag™ vhen the " ;ducmg the natlons
Farmers’ Association first
organized, the stage was set for in
serious over-supply* It you would £
customers and convert milk
Schapsmeier entitled, Ezra Taft . . oroducts such as
Benson and the Politics of
Agriculture: the Eisenhower
Years, WSMMI to get an eieeUent “J heas ™ re esSenclna sim'|S
the scenes, as well as in public, at b
that time of low commodity prices. m f ' r , u . .
„„ iJT . “This is one of the tightest
In order to tell an accurate , . , , £ .
story about agriculture to the supply sltuatlons we ve faced at
graeraf puWicf ri yourßoard of ’ time of the y f r ’” said Dr ' A 1
Directors has expanded the “Ag. in ortego ’ f onomist and senior vice
the Classroom” project this year, P residen for the LouisviUe-based
with excellent leadership from cooperative We ve resisted
Jane Fshleman and manv bnn B ln g mllk ln from the U PP er
volunteers who took time to visit hlgh
their elementary schools taking pnces they are demanding.
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along animals, crops, retail
products, literature, and a real
zeal to tell it like it is.
“Park City Week, led by Ruby
Bollinger, filling all eight malls of
this 185-store complex, and
brimming with activities for young
and old alike, was a real winner
again this year.
“Farm-City Weekend, organized
by Ike Geib and Paul Hartz, was
very popular and took the general
public, both city dwellers as well
as farm families, to a wide variety
of farms.
“These public relations projects,
as well as all of your legislative
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Southeast Milk Supplies Tighten
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efforts, your commodity com
mittees, and your service com
mittees-for insurance, Safemark,
FMBAS, policy development, local
affairs, membership, advisory
councils, and a Host of special
womens’ activities take an
enormous amount of volunteer
time from a few, and a smaller
contribution from many others, to
do an essential job of com
munication. Your help is valuable
and most appreciated by your
Board of Directors.
“This past year, Pennsylvania
farmers donated more than 10,000
tons of hav. and time and monev,
Supplies of milk began to tighten
in the Southeast this summer as
many dairy farmers began selling
their herds in response to the Dairy
Termination Program initiated by
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to temper a
national milk surplus. Although
the surplus seldom applies to the
Southeast, many farmers in the
Southeast still committed to
slaughter their herds under the
federal program.
The Southeast is losing about 12.5
percent of its milk production over
the span of the 18-month program.
Ortego noted that local dairy
farmers participated in the
reduction program at a rate higher
than the national average.
“The buyout program has
already realized a net drop in milk
production of 3 to 5 percent from a
year ago,” said Ortego. “But on
top of that, the unexpected high
temperatures the first week of
October resulted in production
declines of up to 18 percent below
< «• ys •'*«
A number of
risk-reducing
characteristics.
You can count on G-4626 in your well-balanced corn
program. Top-notch plant health makes this hybrid an
ideal choice wherever disease pressures are common.
But the good news doesn’t stop there. The yield poten
tial you get with G-4626 makes it an excellent selection
for many areas.
You’ll also reduce risks at harvest time. G-4626
dries down fast so you can get it out of the field right
on time! Aod tefull^season, high-yielding ability lets you
Plan on planting plenty of G-4626. Call your Hoffman
representative today.
MrJfry»r>r» fitiiiiifr Isii*
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Undlsvtte.PA.l7s3B
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.mmamrn* Funk* Q-Hybrid and
defifln are trademark* of
Clba<>eißyCorpQiwlon.
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voucanb^d(^ri
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 18,1986-A2l
too, to help assuage the effects of
the drought in the Southeast, as
well as in south-central Penn
sylvania and parts of Maryland.
This truly remarkable response
shows widespread goodwill toward
our neighbors.
“By being active members and
taking responsibility for our own
profession, we will surely survive,
and likely prosper, without
becoming distraught, without
protesting violently, without
blaming everybody else. Behind
the dark clouds of low prices is a
rainbow of marketing strategies if
we look for them. May God bless
the prior month’s level in some of
the hardest hit areas."
Some of these declines were
partially offset by varying weather
conditions in other production
areas which enabled dairymen to
absorb much of these losses by
moving milk within its marketing
area.
Cooler temperatures are ex
pected to partially restore
production levels, although Ortego
predicts the market will be in close
balance throughout the fall season.
“Producer organizations in
Minnesota and Wisconsin were
demanding premiums of up to $7
per hundredweight to provide
supplemental milk for these
markets, plus the cost of tran
sportation which would be another
$2 to $3, depending on the
location,” said Ortego. “We’d be
looking at milk costing over $2O per
hundredweight delivered in areas
as far away as, for example,
Atlanta or New Orleans.”
Producer prices have increased
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you and your family as you help
yourselves and your neighbors
with your time, your energy, your
wisdom, and your other resour
ces.”
In the business meeting the
following persons were elected to
the local board of directors;
District 2, Isacc Geib, Manheim;
District 3, Marvin K. Witmer,
Lititz; District 4, Walter
Augsberger, Reinholds; Districts,
Earl Newcomer, Washington
Boro; District 8, Paul Hartz,
Morgantown; District 10, Gordon
Hoover, Gap; and District 11,
James A. Hess, Quarryville.
somewhat in the Southeast this
fall, partially offsetting increased
assessments dairy farmers were
charged both to help pay for the
Dairy Termination Program and
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget
reductions. Producer prices have
not increased sufficiently,
however, to encourage local dairy
farmers to boost production to
meet increasing demands of the
southeastern markets, Ortego
noted.
“This strong consumer demand
for milk certainly indicates that
the Southeast is a growing con
sumer market and that consumers
are recognizing the real value of
milk as compared to other
beverages, both m terms of price
and good nutrition,” said Ortego.
Dairymen is a regional
cooperative marketing milk from
its 7,000 producer members both to
independent dealers throughout
the Southeast and through its own
Flav-O-Rich and Farm Best
facilities.