Marketing Officials Meet (Continued from Pago A 1) current dollar exchange rate opens new exporting doors,” Wolfe said. ‘‘And the proximity of the Boston show should make it easy for potential Pennsylvania exporters to take advantage of this marketing help from the department. While the exposition is the fourth annual event, it's the first time the exposition, sponsored-by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, is to Marketing directors from state be held in the Northeast. Compa- departments of agriculture nies participating in the show may throughout the ten-state Northeast be eligible to receive financial region attended the meeting, assistance for export promotion Ronald Gaskill, Director of the and marketing programs from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Markets value-added product promotion BM n the State Department of Agri program sponsored by the U.S. was the coordinator. Northeast Cooperative Starts Milk Price Campaign WESTMINSTER, Vt. The Council of Northeast Farmer Cooperatives today announced a grass-roots campaign to stop furth er cuts in federal dairy price sup-, ports. “Dairying in the Northeast is threatened by Agriculture Secret ary Lyng’s reliance on “shotgun” price cuts to discourage surplus milk production in other regions. Such cuts cannot be “targeted” to just those who are overproducing, however. If we are to succeed in our efforts to stem the loss of farms in the Northeast, we must convince the Secretary to use a program of targeted supply management instead of indiscriminate price cuts,” said C.N.F.C. executive THE CHECKERBOARD OF HESS MILLS 6 S. Vintage Rd. Paradise, PA 17562 (717)442-4183 (717) 768-3301 Department of Agriculture Fore ign Agriculture Service. “One Pennsylvania exporter, Candy Company in Philadelphia, has received promo tional funding after registering for the exposition,” Wolfe said. “Gol denburg was awarded a $30,000 federal grant to increase export sales of their confectionary pro ducts in Europe and the Middle East.” director Steve Kerr. The 1985 Farm Bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a new whole-herd buyout or milk diversion program in order to prevent a build-up of surplus milk. Both programs have been used successfully in recent years to bring U.S. milk production into line with commercial demand, reduce dairy program costs and strengthen farm prices. The Farm Bill also requires cuts in the milk support price, however, if production is not kept in line witji demand. Estimates of total - milk supplies for 1988 and 1989 indicate that, unless the Secretary acts soon to reduce production, hj * Registered trademark of Ralston Purina Company II& Rt. 82 Unionville, PA 18375 (215) 347-2377 | PURINA CHDWS] National Ag Marketing officials met In Lancasterthls week to plan for the 1989 NAS DA Food Exposition In Boston and discuss other marketing Issues. The annual meet ing of the Northeast region included a team of Lancaster Co. Food Processors. The group stopped for this photo at Anderson’s Pretzel Plant. another price support reduction of $.50/cwt. will be made on January 1, 1989. A new surplus of milk is deve loping because of rapidly growing production in southern and west ern states. “It makes no sense whatsoever to allow surpluses to trigger farm price cuts when those cuts could be forestalled - and farm prices instead strengthened - by the expeditious use of tools that the Farm Bill’s authors explicitly included in the law,” remarked Kerr. “It makes even less sense when one realizes that those price cuts will reduce production in the wrong regions.” Farm prices are now more than Lancaster Farming, Saturday $2.00/cwt. lower than they were in 1983. Production costs have begun to rise after several years of mod erate declines. The “cost-price squeeze” that is developing will cause net farm income for North eastern Dairy Farmers to average 20% less in 1988 than last year. The price cuts are accelerating a structural shift of historic propor tions in the U.S. dairy industry. Growing regional surpluses are forcing milk prices down national ly. Farm numbers are consequent ly falling in the traditional North eastern dairy states, in spite of the fact that supplies in those states are very tight. While the C.N.F.C. supports the use of a program that will obviate further price reductions, it wants to structure them in a way that will preclude excessive reductions in farm numbers and milk volume in the Northeast. “It is vital that any supply control be targeted to the regions which overproduce, as Senator Pat Leahy, Congressman Jim Jeffords and other Northeast ern members of Congress have urged," Kerr cautioned. The C.N.F.C. therefore proposes the use of a targeted buy-out, one which would remove production capacity in those regions with more milk than they can market A targeted buyout would strengthen farm prices nationally without tak ing too much milk out of the deficit regions such as the Northeast. Casey Signs Coyote Bill Into Law HARRISBURG “The Coy ote Bill” was signed recently by Pa. Gov. Robert P. Casey, thus cul minating a successful three-year effort by the PA Stale Grange. The effort was aimed at aiding Penn sylvania livestock and poultry far mers to recover from devastating herd and flock losses caused by coyotes. The bill creates a coyote indem nity program that provides for up to $20,000 annually to recompen- sate farmers for livestock and ■ poultry injured or killed by coy otes. The funding for this program will come from the existing Dog Law Fund which generates more than $3 million annually. The effort began in 1985 at the grassroots level, when members of the Oak Hill Grange in Clearfield County expressed concern over the serious problem of farm animals killed each year by coyotes. A subsequent 1985-86 Penn State University study docu mented at least 128 sheep killed by coyotes in 1985. More recently, 80 sheep were killed in Greene Coun ty, while 20 sheep were killed in Bradford County. State Grange Master, Charles E. Wismer, Jc. said of the Bill sign ing, “We (the Grange) arc very pleased to be the initiator and the driving force in securing aid to Pennsylvania farmers through our efforts in getting this legislation enacted.” 21, 1988-Al9 'I
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