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Milk
Up And Up And Up
SCRANTON (Lackawanna
Co.) — Most forecasters of milk
prices have stopped forecasting
and started guessing at how high
the Minnesota-Wisconsin Price
Series will go this fall. Every pre
diction so far has been surpassed
not by small amounts but gigantic
increases. The M-W started up in
April with increases of three to 21
cents a month but since July it has
been 43 to 73 cents a month and in
October it was a new record
increase of 77 cents to $13.87 with
no end in sight That makes a total
of $2.89 higher than the March
M-W; $1.99 higher than last year
and $3.52 above the support price
for manufacturing grade milk. All
of these are new records exceed
ing most of the old ones made in
1984 during the Milk Diversion
Program.
The reasons for the record highs
are just more of the same. Lower
milk production and increases in
cheese and powder prices that you
have had since March only higher
than you have ever seen before. It
seemed that block cheese prices
had peaked at $1.51 when they
stayed there through most of
October but started increasing
again near the end of the month to
$1.55 on the National Cheese
Pennsylvania Livestock
Dealer Charged
WASHINGTON. DC
Richard J. Burgess, a
livestock dealer in
Meshoppen, Pa., has
been charged by the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture with issuing
insufficient funds
checks. The checks
have since been made
good.
The USD A complaint
further alleges that
Burgess’ current liabili
ties exceeded his current
assets, and that he failed
to pay promptly for
livestock purchases.
Burgess buys and
sells calves in northeast
ern Pennsylvania,
northwestern New
Jersey and south central
New York.
A USDA official said
that dealers are required
under the Packers and
Stockyards (P&S) Act
to pay for livestock by
the close of the next bus
iness day following
purchase.
Calvin W. Watkins,
acting administrator of
USDA’s Packers and
Stockyards Administra
tion, said Burgess has a
right to a hearing mi the
charges filed by USDA
under authority of the
Packers and Stockyards
(P&S) Act. If the
charges are proven, he
will be placed under a
cease and desist order,
similar to a permanent
injunction. He could
also be suspended from
business and ordered to
pay a civil penalty.
The P&S Act is an
antitrust, fair trade prac
tice, and payment pro
tection law. It is
designed to assure free
and open competition
and to prevent unfair
and deceptive practices
Market
Exchange.
At the same time prices at Wis
consin .Assembly Points were
between $1.56 and $1.63 so it
looks like cheese is still on the
way up. That’s surprising as we
get this close to the holidays when
cheese prices start falling off after
inventories have been built up.
Powder prices on the other
hand, are competing in interna
tional markets and nothing has
happened yet to indicate they have
peaked either. In fact, they took a
bigger jump in October than they
did in September rising to $1.34
for a total increase of 55 cents
since March along with a 42 cent
increase for cheese during that
time.
Happy Thanksgiving
All of these record high prices
for powder and cheese percolate
down through Federal Milk Mark
eting orders and end up on your
milk check to give you your sec
ond consecutive month with a
record high blend or uniform price
of $14.67 paid by Order 2 hand
lers. That’s 67 cents higher than
last month and $2.27 higher than
last year. The Class I price at
$14.92 broke the record set back
in January 1985 and the Class II
price at $13.93 was the third con
secutive month of new record
livestock, meat and
poultry.
GRAIN U BRAIN TOUR
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Monday, Nov. 20, 1989 - 9:00 A.M.
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■ Cut Cost Of Grain Up To 12% Per
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■ Lifetime Warranty On Containers
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LOOKING FOR HIGHER
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LAPPS BARN E
highs.
With the M-W price going up
so rapidly and a two month lag on
the Class I price, your Class n
price for September was only
seven cents below your blend
price for August. For September
there’s only 99 cents difference
between Class I and Class II
prices. The Louisville Plan pay
back for October was 44 cents or
one cent less than September so all
of that 67-cent increase for the
month came from higher Class
prices in the market
All of these prices are the mini
mums that regulated Order 2
handlers must pay to producers
and don’t include the premiums
that all producers are now receiv
ing not only from the disaster
assistance payment of $1.05
required by the Pennsylvania Milk
Marketing Board on Class I milk
but additional premiums paid by
handlers through RCMA or other
wise to get a supply of milk.
Rising prices of powder and
cheese raise the minimum prices
handlers must pay but lower pro
duction in the milk shed gets those
over order premiums now. Milk
production in Pennsylvania and
New York has been lower than
last year for the last five months.
In all of the Federal Orders in the
northeast it is the lowest since
1980.
The Market Administrator in
Order 2 has issued a call order of
25 percent for November reflect
ing the tight supply situation there.
No one knows how long this will
5935 OLD PHILADELPHIA PIKE, GAP, PA 17J527
PHONE: 717-442-8134
WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL
Radio Dispatched Trucks
last with milk price - feed price
ratios improving monthly but it
wiU hot continue for long. so, get
it while you can and save as much
as you are able for the day when
powder and cheese prices go
down; milk supplies increase and
over order premiums will only be
possible through a cooperative.
Meanwhile have a happy Thanks
giving' for what you’re getting
Linda Hicks and George Wickersham Jr. were elected to
the Chester County Extension board last week at the annual
meeting. Hicks will complete the final year of a board mem
ber who moved out of the area. Wickersham will serve a
three-year term as will Angeles Porrata, who was unable to
attend the meeting.
WHAT FARMERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GRAIN BRAIN":
★ I saw a difference in herd health immediately -
★ Lower grain cost, higher milk production - Calvin Seller
★ The cows get feed every 6 hours regardless if I’m there
or not - Mahlon King
★ My herd average increased from 18,379 ib. to 19,745 lb.;
that’s 1400 Ib. in just 7 months and I didn’t add any
cows • Sam S. Stoltzfus
★ I’m getting more roughage into my cows • David Stoltzfus
★ I switched from a 7 Ib. to a 3 Ib. scoop because of feeding
less grain - John Kauffman
★ I purchased a 100 cow-Grain Brain and paid it off in just
120 days - (Maplehofe Dairy) Sam Click
Chester County Extension
Elects Board Members
UIPMENT
now with lower production and
higher prices.
Production Quotas
One of the main reasons for the
record high powder prices was the
production quotas put on Euro
pean dairymen to get rid of their
surpluses which had been dumped
on international markets at low
prices with the help of export sub-
(Turn to Pago A3B)
Mel Lantz
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