WJiB a A
VOL. 32 No. 3
Inter-State, Lehigh Members Approve Merger
BY MARTHA J. GEHRINGER
LANCASTER Members of
Inter-State and Lehigh Valley
Farmers approved the merger
between their cooperatives with a
91 percent affirmative vote,
spokespersons for the co-ops an
nounced Thursday at Inter-State’s
annual meeting.
The new co-op, Atlantic Dairy
Cooperative, will begin operations
on Feb. 1,1987.
A breakdown of the vote reveals
that Inter-State members voted in
favor of the merger by 92 percent
with 400 members casting a ballot.
Of the 500 Lehigh Valley votes
received by Nov. 19, 89 percent
were affirmative.
Lehigh members had the option
of voting in person at the various
district meetings held throughout
the state or by mail postmarked by
Nov. 19. Judging by the response at
their district meetings Lehigh
officials do not expect the ballots
Pa. Extension Agents Look To
Future At Annual Convention
BY MARY MAXWELL
Centre Comity Correspondent
UNIVERSITY PARK - Cooperative
Extension staff members from throughout
Pennsylvania met this week at the Keller
Conference Center on the Penn State
University campus. The 400 participants
■ttended four days of meetings and
workshops centered around the theme
Tools for the Future.”
Chief among the tools, said Jim
Welshans, Dauphin County Extension
director and conference co-chairman, is
electronic technology. Its effects are just
beginning to be felt in Extension program.
The conference also addressed tools
which have been around a long time:
communication skills both writing and
speaking, and community volunteers.
Keynoter James Meyers, associate
director of California Cooperative Ex
tension Service, speakmg on “Managing
for the Future: Implications for
Cooperative Extension,” discussed the
changes and challenges he expects to see.
Meyers recognized that many more
Experts Predict Mixed Economic Bag At PFA Meeting
Accompanied by his wife Rosemarie, Paul Yahner (center)
accepts PFA's Distinguished Service Award from association
president Keith Eckel.
still in the mail to alter the per
centage.
Inter-State members voted on
the proposed merger on Nov. 14 in
Lancaster at the first general
membership meeting in the history
of the cooperative. The
Southampton based co-op held the
meeting in accordance with its by
laws which require a general
membership meeting for voting on
a subject of this dimension.
Lehigh Valley needed a majority
of the votes cast to be affirmative
for the merger to go through. Inter-
State needed a positive vote from a
majority 10 percent of their
membership for the merger to be
validated.
Atlantic Dairy Cooperative will
provide additional market
strength and savings members can
easily identify, William Stout said.
Stout, general manager of Lehigh,
noted there are long term benefits
diverse groups now seek help from Ex
tension programs. In addition to the
traditional farm family the beneficiaries
of Extension programs now include
consumer and public health groups, farm
laborers, commercial growers and animal
rights activists.
Meyers also anticipates new economic
challenges. Funding agencies will expect
programs to be more cost effecti'c and
that demand will aifticulties for
traditional Extension programs.
Meyers thinks cooperative extension
needs to do more than disseminate in
formation. “We need to be more active in
promoting research which helps to solve
local problems. Results of that research
will help us justify our budgets before
, federal and state funding agencies.”
Funding constraints may also affect the
current geographically-defined extension
system. “Maybe there are too many
; duplicated services with our rigid county
structure,” he added, “and a wider
regional plan may prove efficient. ”
(Turn to Page A2B)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1986
and initial benefits for the mem
bers.
The initial and most visible
benefits are cost reductions in the
field through rerouting hauling
routes. Stout said there is easily $1
million and possibly more to be
saved in this area. Paul Hand,
general manager of Inter-State,
explained that some routes could
possibly be combined before Dec.
1.
Reduction of the duplication of
professionals will also create a
savings for members. Lehigh
presently employs 20 people.
Fieldmen comprise half of this
force. Stout noted that all em
ployees were offered a job but only
the fieldmen and two office per
sonnel would transfer to the new
co-op.
The capital retain program will
be ended for all Atlantic members
who have over four years of
(Turn to Page A 26)
BY JACK RUBLEY
HERSHEY A panel if experts
walked out on a limb at the Penn
sylvania Farmers’ Association’s
annual meeting on Tuesday and
took a look at the state of the 1987
ag economy and its impact on
dairy, livestock, grain and
vegetable farmers.
The afternoon market outlook
sessions were one part of the state
PFA program that ran from Nov.
17 to 19 at the Hershey Lodge and
Convention Center.
For the most part, the presen
tations were upbeat, save for Ron
Manley’s look at the beef and grain
situations. Representing PFA’s
marketing cooperative, PACMA,
Manley noted that “the govern
ment has control of the grain in
dustry at this point.” Corn is
selling in the $1.70-to-1.90 range op
the futures market, and Manley
Paul Hand, left, Robert McSparran and Robert Dever
addressed the members at Inter-State's annual meeting this
week.
Equipment Industry Outlook
Shows Gradual Improvement
BY SUZANNE KEENE
LANCASTER Farm equipment
manufacturers and dealers have seen the
last of the “good old days” of the
prosperous 70s when farmers were buying
tractors and combines faster than
manufacturers could produce them.
When the farm economy took a turn for
the worse in the late 70s and early 80s, the
equipment business suffered as well. But
the good news, equipment manufacturers
said this week, is that the light at the end of
the tunnel is getting brighter.
“I think we’ve reached the bottom,” said
Richard Bielby. regional sales manager
for Deutz-Allis Corporation. Bielby and
seven colleagues from the industry
discussed future industry trends during
the Pennsylvania Farm Equipment
Dealers Convention here this week.
However, Bielby cautioned, the financial
shakeup will continue, but at a slower rate.
“The hurting will gradually heal,” he said.
But the mending process will not happen
overnight. Bielby said he sees no
significant improvement in major
sees no prospect for an upturn in
the near future, based on the
amount of corn currently in
storage.
“Chances are there will be some
upside possibilities on soybean
meal,” said Manley. The extent of
government soybean programs
may contribute to a healthy
market next year, he said.
The swine business is one of the
brighter spots on the 1987 horizon,
said Manley. “We think the hog
prices are going to stay with us for
a while,” he said, predicting that
the healthy market may last into
June of next year. He attributed
the sudden rise in hog prices to the
Chernobyl nuclear incident, when
Japan switched from the Scan
dinavian countries to the United
States for its hogs. PFA’s main
concern regarding hogs is that
(Turn to PageA39)
Five Sections
machine sales during the coming year.
Other equipment dealers predict a
similar future. Don Peters, regional
manager for Massey-Ferguson Co., ex
pects his company to experience little or
no growth in 1987. However, Peters said he
is optimistic that industry restructuring
could bring back sales by the end of year
and the company may see small profits.
But, he added, “We will not get back to
the goodolddays.”
Mark Johnson, sales manager for John
Deere Co., reported that his company will
lose money in 1986. “We don’t see ’B6 as
being a very positive year.’’ But, he
continued, “We do now see a little dimple
of light at the end of the tunnel "
That light comes in the form of lower
interest rates and declining fuel and land
prices. Decreased input costs could mean
some farmers will be able to purchase new
equipment in 1987. Many farmers have
been waiting for the economy to turn
around before rcplacmg old equipment.
(Turn to Page A 18)
Holiday
Deadlines
The office of Lancaster
Fanning will be closed on
Thursday, Nov. 27 in ob
servance of Thanksgiving.
Deadlines for the November 29
issue are as follows:
Mailbox Market Ads - noon
Monday.
Public Sale Ads - 5 p.m.
Monday.
General News- noon Wed
nesday.
Classified Section B Ads - 5
p m. Tuesday.
All other classihed Ads - 9
a m Wednesday
Late-breaking new --Bam
Friday.
$8.50 Per Year