VOL. 31 No. 52
Inter-State, Lehigh Approve Merger
SOUTHAMPTON - The Inter-
State Milk Producers’ Cooperative
and Lehigh Valley Farmers boards
of directors have approved plans to
merge the two cooperatives to
form “Atlantic Dairy
Cooperative.”
Inter-State president Robert B. McSparran, left, and
Lehigh president Alpheus Ruth give the "go” to a proposal to
merge the two cooperatives.
Auctions Beef About Checkoff Program
BY JACK HUBLEY
LANCASTER - With a month’s
worth of the beef checkoff program
under their belts, livestock auc
tions are bracing themselves for
the second wave of paperwork with
the startup of the national pork
checkoff today.
Both programs are mandated by
farm bill ’B5, and both are
producer financed. The two differ
somewhat in their per-head
assessments and their im
plementation. While the beef
checkoff is a standard sl-per-head
fee, pork producers will be con
tributing one-quarter of one per
cent on the gross amount received
from all hogs sold.
Beef funds are collected by the
state beef councils and 50 percent
of the money is sent to the national
Farmers Tour Local Businesses
BY EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
I.ANCASTER - This year the
farmers visited ag-related
businesses on the Lancaster
Chamber of Commerce and In
dustry Tour sponsored by their ag
committee. Often the community
is invited to take a tour to the farm.
But on Thursday morning more
than 50 people left the Farm and
Home Center on a bus headed for
Lancaster Laboratories, Inc., on
New Holland Pike and Victor
Weaver, Inc., in New Holland.
At Lancaster Labs, Mr. and Mrs.
Earl Hess, founder of the growing
testing laboratory, hosted and
welcomed the group. Hess said the
response to the chamber tour
showed the kind of commonality
that business and fat ming have in
this area.
T.e firm was started 25 \cars
Four Sections
Boards Unanimous; Members To Vote This Month
The proposal to merge was
unanimously endorsed by both
boards of directors at a joint
meeting on Oct. 22. The plan now
awaits final vote by the mem
bership of both cooperatives. If
approved, the merger would
Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and
Research Board. The National
Pork Board will be collecting all
pork checkoff monies and refun
ding a percentage to the state pork
councils based on the number of
head they market. The more hogs
a state produces, the lower their
return percentage will be.
Both programs offer refunds to
producers not wishing to par
ticipate. Whether or not beef
producers receive their refunds is
contingent upon the outcome of a
producer referendum to be held
after the program has been in
force for 22 months. On the other
hand, pork producer refund
requests will be honored regar
dless of the outcome of a pork
referendum. The pork referendum
must be held within 24 to 30 months
ago as a place for “a chemist in
private practice,” Hess said. “Our
business grew out of my farm
background experience and
allowed us to start small and grow
with a family type operation much
like farmers do. Even now with 185
employees, we consider ourselves
an extended family. Though I must
admit, it gets harder to know
everybody personally as the
employee number grows.”
Hess listed several business
principles he thinks are very
important.
1. Delivery a high quality product
with a personal touch
2. Know what your product imput
costs are and make a reasonable
profit. Only with a profitable
business can you expect to grow.
3 Make no compromise on in
tegrity and honesty when dealing
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 1,1986
become effective Feb. 1,1987.
In announcing their plans, Inter-
State and Lehigh report a mutual
benefit for all members. Atlantic
Dairy Cooperative, they contend,
will achieve greater operating
savings and increased marketing
efficiency. The result will be a
higher return to members.
“The merger proposal offers
many advantages to both Inter-
State and Lehigh members,” said
Alpheus Ruth, Lehigh president.
“The most important are the
savings and efficiency resulting
from a closer working relation
ship.”
According to initial estimates,
Atlantic Dairy Cooperative will
realize annual operating savings of
nearly $1 million as a direct result
of the Inter-State-Lehigh merger.
This is achieved by streamlining
marketing and transportation
programs.
“The merger plan focuses on the
market and production strengths
of each cooperative,” said Inter-
State president Robert B. Mc-
Sparran. “It places us, as Atlantic
Dairy Cooperative, in a stronger,
more competitive position in the
marketplace.”
from the program’s Nov. 1 startup
date.
Both programs are grounded in
the premise that more dollars for
promotion means greater con
sumer demand, which in turn leads
to higher red meat prices. While
the farming community seems
ripe to embrace the concept, its
birth has proven to be a bit painful,
particularly for the auction houses
charged with collecting the funds
from livestock sellers.
“All these programs are putting
a tremendous burden on the
auctions,” says Jim DeGaetano,
president of Carlisle Livestock
Market, and past president of the
Pennsylvania Livestock
Association. “The thing I resent is
that they come up with these
programs and then they expect the
auction barns to do all the work.”
DeGaetano is particularly
miffed about a form called the
“Certificate of Non-Producer
Status.” The form’s purpose is to
avoid reassessing cattle that are
being resold within 10 days of the
first purchase.
“The form is very poorly writ
ten,” DeGaetano says, pointing out
that the document should be
simplified. There also seems to be
a distribution problem, he says. "If
the sellers have an exemption
certificate, they don’t have to pay
again, but the sellers aren’t getting
these forms.”
Another bone of contention
seems to be the beef checkoff’s
per-head charge. “I think it’s way
too high on those calves,” says
DeGaetano. Illustrating his point,
he notes that an average 60-pound
veal calf may bring 30 cents a
pound for a total of $lB. Of that
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Under the proposal:
• Atlantic Dairy Cooperative will
be headquartered at Southampton,
where Inter-State is currently
located.
• Cooperative dues will be 12
cents per hundredweight.
• The capital retain program
Don't Miss This Tax Meeting
LANCASTER - Penn State
management and tax specialists
will explain the many changes in
the tax law during an Extension
sponsored meeting at the Lan
caster County Farm and Home
Center Auditorium Nov. 24.
Dr. Larry Jenkins and Jesse
Cooper will give a comprehensive
review of provisions in the Tax
Reform Act of 1986. The review
will include a discussion on the key
points of the tax law that will affect
Charles E. Wismer was re-elected master of the Penn
sylvania State Grange in Reading this week.
Wismer Re-elected
State Grange Master
BY EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
READING At the four-day
Pennsylvania State Grange con
vention here this week, Charles E.
Wismer, Jr., was re-elected for a
two-year term as master of the
State Grange. Wismer was first
elected master in 1979 and re
elected in 1980, 1982 and again in
1984 to two-year terms. He has
been active on the local, county
and state levels of the Grange for
more than 30 years. Wismer's
efforts on behalf of the State
Grange, first as legislative
chairman then as master, were
largely responsible for many
legislative victories for the Penn
sylvania farmers. During his term
as master Wismer has also m-
Toduced many new services into
$8.50 per Year
will be ended for all Atlantic
members who have over four
years of membership in either
Inter-State, Lehigh or Atlantic.
• All Atlantic equities will be
placed on a five-year revolving
plan. Former Inter-State and
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farmers, small businesses and
individuals
The discussion will cover the loss
of investment credit and Capital
Gain Treatment, and the new rules
on depreciation
The information provided in this
meeting could help you make some
tax saving adjustments before you
close your books for the year.
Mark the date on your calendar
now and invite your tax consultant
to attend the program with you.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.
the Grange such as a food
cooperative, a credit union and an
insurance program. Wismer is a
dairy farmer in Montgomery
County.
One 01 the featured speakers at
the Grange meeting was Secretary
of Agriculture Richard E. Grubb.
Secretary Grubb used the occasion
to announce a major initiative by
the Pennsylvania State Depart
ment to promote export sales of
Pennsylvania food products in
European markets. Grubb said the
Department of Agriculture will
lead nine Pennsylvania food
companies to Berlin in January to
participate in International Green
Week.
' Pennsylvania foods >■ <.l be
displayed to a half million oMtors
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