Faith And Farming Speaker
(Continued from Page A 24)
what they were talking about.
When they told you gold was $BOO
an ounce was good and it would
only go higher and now it’s only
$3OO now, they didn’t know what
they were talking about. There is a
law of supply and demand in
economics that finally sets in. So
we have a high real cost of money.
I know that the prime rate is 7M>
percent today, but inflation is two
or three. So the real cost of money
is four or five percent. So suddenly
all of the interest rates are down.
Your real cost of money is still high
by historical standards. We still
need to work down the deficit and
get that interest rate down further.
We have tremendous leverage
out there that was created by this.
Why all at once did the banker
wake up to cash flow? You know
that up until about two or three
years ago most bankers couldn’t
even spell it. All at once they
couldn’t roll that debt over because
your land prices were going down,
and you didn’t have the equity.
Suddenly they were not only
demanding interest but also
principle and it wasn’t there. You
know the truth of the matter is that
it wasn’t there in the good times.
But suddenly the bankers set into a
panic. I’m not very much involved
with the bankers today. I know we
have a lot of good Mennonite
bankers. They were the ones that
promoted all this thing in the 70s.
Now through panic, they are not
TRUCKLOAD SALE
K&Boor^ —^l/^
AGITATORS Qj Q U AUGERS
S K S
# FEED BINS
'S
f
*' r ' tttf
aßv automatic farm systems
Q| H 608 Evergreen Rd., Lebanon, PA 17042
Ml ,717) 274 5333
$ Cheek Our Low Prices Before You Buy
allowing an awful lot of people to
work out of it in the ’Bos.
I can tell you there are people
that can’t work out of it. Those
people are in a crisis. And they
have to do something else. We have
rural America in a crisis. But you
know when things look the
bleakest, you can look for a
brighter future. It’s here. All of the
right things are being put in place
today for productive agriculture in
the next few years. I’m not going to
say whether it’s 1988, 1989, 1990.
The productive agriculture that’s
being put in place is not going to be
a lot different than the productive
agriculture of the ’sos and ’6os
except there will be a lot less
people doing it because of what’s
happened. You can’t go back and
redo time. But the people that will
get productive and can get
productive, it’s going to come
around.
Costs are going down. We had in
our Witchita paper today the
president of the Farm Bureau in
Kansas saying, “I think we bot
tomed out.” TOis is the first time
you’ve read that. The reason he’s
saying that is his costs are going
down. We are beginning to do
things that will have agriculture
back productive in the 19905. We’re
going to have a new look at labor
versus capital. I tell people every
where that I council, “For good
ness sake, I sold you all that
equipment in the 70s, but now you
need to look at all of that equip
A
> *
■; i 1
• In
/ V *
If”
ment and decide how many horse
powers you need out there on the
farm. Match it up.” There is labor
available again. You’d be sur
prised. But there are a lot of people
without jobs. You need to match up
your capital requirements with
your labor requirements and get
that ratio back in line if you’re
going to survive in the ’Bos and
’9os. I’m not saying that you go
back to the horse and buggy or any
of those things. Technology is
there, and it will get better. But
you’d better match it with what
your requirements are.
None of you people in this room
have to do this. I know that. But
there are an awful lot of farmers
out there including my own father
who had more horsepower on the
farm than he could possibly ever
use during that period.
HPI Sends Cows To Mexico
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Dairy
cows that would have been used for
hamburger in the United States
are now on their way to producing
nutritious milk for poor children in
Mexico, thanks to the effort of
Heifer Project International
(HPI), the U.S. based, agriculture
development agency. Already,
families in 29 poor rural com
munities have received the 334
heifers distributed by HPPs
Mexico office in cooperation with
TV) i
BREAKING MILK RECORDS!
Lancaster Farming Carrias
DHIA Itoportt Each Month!
I I
I |
i *r £
s x* 5
I i
I «
! i
I *
I i
3 i
I I
i I
I I
I I
;t's bridge the gap this
1 joyous Holiday season as are spread ||
g the word of everlasting love. H
I F. ERNEST SNOOK I
RD 3 - Box 84, Mifflinburg, Pa. 17844 - Phoney 717-966-2736
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 20,1986-A25
30 YEARS AGO
Washington ... A rise in output
of both crops and livestock
products to record levels in 1956-57
is enabling world agricultural
production to keep pace with ex
panding population.
The U.S. Dept, of Agriculture
reported today that world
production of crops and livestock
rose to a new high level 120
percent of prewar (1935-39) in
1956-57. The level was 118 percent
in 1955-56, and 116 in 1954-55. The
corresponding percentages for the
Free World alone for those seasons
were, respectively, 126, 125 and
122.
ten different
community
organizations.
Since June, Heifer Project has
been collecting dairy heifers
scheduled to be slaughtered under
the federally sponsored Dairy
Termination Program and ship
ping these cattle to poor families in
other countries where milk is
badly needed. Once there, the
cattle will be used to produce milk
for the families and their com
munities.
A total of 541 cattle saved from
slaughter have been shipped in the
last five months. Mexico has
received a total of 495 animals,
with another shipment of 300
heifers scheduled to go to Mexico
in November. Poor families in
Jordan have received 46 heifers
and a shipment of 50 heifers is
slated to go to Honduras in
November.
THIS WEEK
Washington ... Restaurants
purchased a larger share of fruits
and vegetables in frozen form than
the national average for the same
commodities, according to a
recent sample survey of 462
restaurants conducted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Harrisburg ... Effects of poor
quality hay and ensilage produced
on Pennsylvania farms under
handicaps of excessive summer
rains were reflected in a down
trend in milk production this
November, the State Department
of Agriculture said today.
A decline in the number of
layers has dropped total egg output
on Pennsylvania farms during
November to about one percent
below the same month last year.
About 300 million eggs were
produced last month.
Southern Lancaster County
Farmer-Sportsmen’s Association
plans to increase game for the
hunters. At its meeting in
Quarryville Firemen’s Hall,
Monday evening, it was voted to
purchase 500 pheasants for
stocking purposes. Roy H. Weaver
of Strasburg Township, will grow
the pheasants.
While the average American is
eating more meat than ever before
163% pounds per capita in 1956
he has also been enjoying a
higher standard of living. Ac
cording to the National Livestock
and Meat Board, which is holding
its semi-annual meeting in Omaha,
an hour of wage-earning time now
buys as much or more meat than at
any time in recent years.