fOL 33 No. 7 RCMA, Best Hope For Local Dairymen Facing Major Price Cuts BY KARL BERGER Special Correspondent FREDERICK, MD. It still isn’t working the way its suppor ters intended, but the Regional Cooperative Marketing Agency has emerged as the best hope of area dairymen facing the near cer tainty of major price cuts in 1988, according to area dairy leaders ranging from Vermont congress man James Jeffords to Lancaster County Extension agent Glenn Shirk. The failure of efforts to avoid or delay the 50-cent support price cut Secretary of Agriculture Richard Editor’s Note: Due to the holiday, many markets were closed this week and others were not reported. All markets avail able to Lancaster Farming are included in our usual A Section market pages. Farmer Who Learns To Read Featured On National T.V. BY BARBARA MILLER Lycoming Co. Correspondent DANVILLE “If that farmer can learn how to read, so can I,” remarked a student recently when embarking on an adult literacy course. Statements such as the above are music to the ears of “that farmer,” Neil Wertz, a successful 40-year old hog and grain farmer currently From The Staff At Lancaster Farming Seedsmen’s Association Appoints Executive Director BY USA RISSER LANCASTER Members of the Pennsylvania Seedsmen’s Asociation unanimously voted Elmer Appelgate to the newly created position of executive Sector. Appelgate, who has been ln the seed industry for 52 years, w iU assist the association president m carrying out his duties. Appel ate also was made an honorary Member of the organization. Appelgate recently retired from Hoffman Seeds after 23 years with •he company. Prior to that he was employed by Seaboard Seed Com- Lyng is expected to levy Jan. 1 has refocused attention on over-order pricing. In Federal Order 4, the .Middle Atlantic Cooperative Milk Marketing Agency has been rela tively successful in setting prices above'the minimum required by federal regulators and passing along the premiums to producers. RCMA, which pperates primarily in federal orders 1 and 2, has been somewhat less successful, accord ing to industry sources. The two agencies are linked by the intermingling of milk supplies between orders 2 and 4. Although MACMMA officials have said they can continue charging pre miums if RCMA’s efforts break down, they acknowledge that RCMA’s lack of effectiveness to date sets a limit on the prices they charge. Payments Ed Anna, RCMA’s executive director, preferred to focus on the positive in a telephone interview last week, noting that the being featured on national televi sion as December Learner of the Month by Project Literacy United States (PLUS). Neil and his brother, Leon, farm 500 acres raising feed for their modem 1100 pig farrow to finish operation. Three years ago Neil enrolled in a local adult literacy program, (Turn to Pago A2O) pany of Philadelphia. During these years, he had been involved with the Pennsylvania and New York Seedsmen’s Associations, the Pennsylvania Foundation Co-op, and the American Seed Trade Association. Members also voted former vice president, Frank Welch, to the association’s president’s office; Dennis Shoop is vice president; and Fred Leplcy remains secretary-treasurer. r In other business, Robert Kalton reported for the Farm Seed Com- (Turn to Pag* A3B) LancMttr Farming, Thursday, Dacambar 24, -1987 agency paid its first premiums to member farmers several weeks ago. “It was a while in coming,” he said, “but I think everyone con nected with RCMA recognizes the significance of those Erst checks. We have kept our commitment to our farmer members.” The payments, for milk that had been shipped in September, totalled $2.5 million to about 22,000 producers in New York, New England, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. New England dairymen received about $1.7 million of this total; their premium amounted to 37 cents a hundredweight, Anna said. Producers in the other five states, where RCMA support is less com plete, received the remainder; their premium varied from a low of nine cents to a high of 24 cents. The latter totals in particular have struck some observers as pal try compared to RCMA’s Neil Wertz with family reading to Alan, youngest. Family members left to right - Jen nifer, wife Susan, Nell with Alan, and Gerald In front. Holiday Deadlines The office of Lancaster Fanning will close for the holi day at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31 and will reopen at 8 a.m. Mon day, Jan. 4. Deadlines for the Dec. 31 issue are as follows: Mailbox Market Ads - Noon Monday. Public Sales Ads - Noon Monday. General News - 5 p.m. Monday. Classified Section B Ads - 5 p.m. Monday. All Other Classified Ads - 9 a.m. Tuesday. Late-breaking News - 5 p.m. Tuesday. Three Sections announced premium of 73 cents that month, but, Anna said, few dairymen recognize the reasons for the difference, Like MACMMA, RCMA limits its ever-order bargaining efforts to Class I milk used for fluid sales. Suit Filed Against Milk Dealers SYRACUSE, N.Y.— RCMA who represents dairy farmers in 11 northeastern states filed a lawsuit here Friday (Dec. 18) against four milk dealers for failing to comply with an over-order pricing system. The Regional Cooperative Mark eting Agency Inc. (RCMA) said it was taking the action to recover money and enable it to pay pre miums to its 22,000 members. “In the cases of Farmland, Boice, Sunnydale and Mohawk, we have reached a point where negotiations have generated no results. Farmers are tired of double-talk. All we want for our members is what they deserve;)# Here’s The Way We Heard It HARRISBURG The Pen nsylvania Department of Agricul ture and several farmers from the Keystone State have created a “Reindeer Rest Area” in Harris burg. The special feeding station will be available to travelling rein deer Christmas Eve in the parking lot of the State Farm Show Com plex on Cameron Street. Hungry sleigh-pullers will find hay, com, water, and a quiet place to rest between special deliveries. Pennsylvania Secretary of Agri culture Boyd E. Wolff indicates $8.50 Per Yeaf The prices paid by handlers arc pooled, however, so that ail RCMA members, at least in the same order, share more or less equally in the proceeds. Balance less than half of the Order 2 milk (Turn to Pago A 27) fair price for milk,” said William Zuber, president of RCMA. The suits filed in New York State Supreme Court name Farm land Dairies Inc. of Wallington, N.J., Boice Brothers Dairy Inc. of Kingston, N.Y., Sunnydale Farms Inc. of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Mohawk Dairy of Amsterdam, N.Y., as having tried to undermine RCMA by either failing to pay the Class 1 differential due RCMA on members milk or by failing to pro vide data on individual farmer shipments of milk, thus preventing RCMA from issuing pooled pre checks to its members. the idea came from Pennsylvania fanners and he applauded the effort, “Once again the people who provide our food have demon strated their commitment to put ting nourishment where it’s needed.” “The Farm Show Parking lot is a perfect place for fast feeding of hungry world travellers in a hur ry.” said Wolff, “The location provides a secluded Christmas Eve rest slop and offers safe landing approaches from the north without interfering with other air traffic in the Hanisburg area.”
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