Farmers 9
(Continued from Page Al)
is the recipient of the other end of
the new computer technology. So
there is nothing in our world from
disarmament to foreign policy, to
banking, to currency, to trade, to
budget deficits that doesn’t in
some way include a farm issue.
“This shows how far the farmer
has come and it is a recognition of
how integrated our entire society
has become with the overlapping
and interlocking issues. No longer
can any segment of our society live
alone. And especially as farmers
you are a part of every
deliberation that goes in an in
dividual congressman’s office as
well as in the White House itself,”
Gekassaid.
Representative Samuel Morris,
Chester County dairyman and
chairman of the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives
Agricultural Committee told of the
current procedings for agriculture
in Harrisburg. “We have a busy
season ahead in the Pennsylvania
State Ag Committee,” Morris said.
“Several bills have already been in
and out of the agricultural com
mittee. The first bill to appropriate
$5 million through the Department
of Agriculture will allocate to
Pennsylvania State University
funding for Extension Service and
research. This will partly make up
for the cut in the federal funding
for Extension Service,” Morris
said. This bill passed the House
last week without a negative vote.
Another bill out of the ag com
mittee is the new commodity
marketing bill, which will enable
the advertising committees
representing the producers of
various agricultural commodities.
Greater decision-making authority
over the expenditure of moneys for
marketing and research. These
moneys were contributed entirely
by the self-imposed assessments
on the producer farmers. “As you
may remember,” Morris said,
“the restraints placed on these
boards by the general councils
opinion in 1985 caused the apple
growers to give up their par
ticipation in the program all
together.” This bill passed the
House and is now in the Senate.
The land preservation bill that
provides state money to be passed
out to the counties to purchase
conservation easements on farms
has also been introduced. “It is
rather costly,” Morris said. “And
we may have to cut down and
accept less money if we can get it.
But I have hopes of getting this
money because it’s the only sure
way to preserve agricultural land
in southeast Pennsylvania where
4
sC'is
Opinions
the pressure for development is
very heavy.”
On local property, Morris said
farmers are paying a disportionate
share. Local government bodies
and school districts should have
the option and flexibility of
determining the mix of property
and income tax. A bill is now
before the House Finance Com
mittee that would accomplish this.
The Animal Health and Diagnostic
Bill was reported out of committee
last week and was referred to the
Appropriations Committee. In
summary Morris said I believe we
can be optimistic about Penn
sylvania’s agriculture, our number
one industry.
In the legislative breakfast
Thursday morning, Keith Eckel,
president of the Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Association, urged the
farmers and congressmen to resist
any efforts to make major changes
in the 1965 Farm Act until it has
had a chance to work. Noting that
the programs under the 1985 farm
law have barely been in operation
a year, Eckel urged legislatures to
give it time to achieve its goals of
improved farm income, reduced
surplus stocks and increased
agricultural exports. “One of the
biggest threats this farm program
faces is the premature con
demnation its getting from those
persons who would like to see
farmers close the borders to im
ports and exports,” Eckel said.
“Other people would like to make
farmers more dependent on
government. Farm programs in
the past have suffered from con
tinual meddling before they have
had a chance to work or fail. That’s
happening now to the 1985 Food
Security Act,” Eckel said.
The PFA president told law
makers that while the 1985 farm
law is not perfect, it is a step
toward a more market-based
agriculture. We believe the farm
program is moving U.S.
agriculture in the right
Let’s give the 1985 farm program a
chance to succeed or fail before we
send fanners through another
torturous year trying to figure out
what the government is going to do
next.
Turning to other issues con
cerning fanners, Eckel said PFA
supports adoption of a con
stitutional amendment to require a
balanced federal budget. PFA also
believes that spending cuts to
balance a budget should be shared
by all federal programs including
entitlement programs.
Concerning the Reagan ad
ministration proposals for the
upcoming farm budget, Eckel said
PFA aposes plans to drastically
limit farm program payments to
each farmer and to increase an
nual cuts in program commodity
target prices. Agricultural credit
is once again a high priority item,
Eckel also told congressmen.
“Because our members borrow
PFU Testifies In
MESHOPPEN - The Penn
sylvania Farmers Union testified
for accelerated milk payments to
New York State Milk Producers at
a milk hearing in Syracuse, N.Y.
last week.
The hearing was called by
Assemblyman Bill Brackman,
chairman of the New York State
Assembly agriculture committee.
The agriculture committee is
having a total of four hearings
throughout the Empire State
listening to views on milk and
dairy problems.
Pennsylvania Farmers Union
and the Northern Tier Farmers
Union Milk Co-op’s testimony was
presented by Anlen Tewksbury of
Meshoppen.
Tewksbury testified in favor of a
statewide milk licensing system in
place of the present county-by
county system that currently
exists in New York State.
Tewksbury strongly urged the
committee to have language in the
New York dairy bill which would
“speed-up” the milk payments to
dairy farmers. Tewksbury urged
tiie advance payments dates be
changed from the 10th of the month
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Farmers At Legislative Banquet.
from various sources of credit and
hold varying amount of debt, we
are working on numerous ag credit
initiatives,” he said. “They include
providing help for the farm credit
system, which addresses all its
problems and serves the best long
term interests of the system’s
Favor Of Accelerated Milk Payments
to the sth of the month, and after
the bill is law for one year then the
payment date should be changed to
the Ist day of the month. The dairy
leader also urged the new bill to
require dairy cooperatives to
adhere to these payment dates.
The governor and the attorney
general’s office of New York State
are drafting new legislation to
cover the milk licensing probe in
New York State. The legislation is
also geared to improve payment
dates to dairy fanners as well as
improving the milk security fund
in New York State.
Currently, the New York State
law does not require milk handlers
to post bonds, and there is ap
proximately $3.5 million in the
New York State milk Producer
security fund.
Tewksbury claims the present
law gives dairy farmers
inadequate protection and P.F.U.
is urging the New York law to
conform closer with the Penn
sylvania law.
P.F.U. and Northern Tier are
recommending that milk handlers
who purchase milk from dairy
farmers or dairy co-operatives
borrowers. We also support the
creation of a secondary mortgage
market for agriculture to increase
sources of credit,” Eckel said.
“And we support long-term debt
rightoffs for banks and sufficient
funding for the Farmers’ Home
Administration.
should be required to post security
bonds to cover 75 percent of their
exposure on milk purchased.
If a milk handler is unable to
post bonds at the 75 percent level
then they should have the option of
bonds at 40% of their milk pur
chases plus contributing 3 cents
per hundredweight into an in
dividual handler security fund.
Tewksbury told the committee:
the present law in New York State
leaves dairy farmers in a
precarious position and must be
corrected.
Tewksbury urged the committee
and the legislators to move with
caution as they develop new
legislation to replace the licensing
laws in the Empire State. He
concluded by stating while we
favor statewide licensing for milk
handlers, we do so only if the new
law prohibits all milk handlers
from selling milk below their cost
of operation.