MEDIA, OH The production of milk in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania has dropped 7.8% for the period of June through October, 1989 compared to the same period last year. This regional decrease, caused hy weather and shifting economic trends, is five limes greater than the national average and comes at a time when milk prices are climb ing to record levels. ‘This uncertainty of milk pro duction is caused by poor quality feed supplies resulting from this year’s wet spring coupled ith the uncertainty of producer milk prices in 1990”, says Tom Croner, president of the Producers’ Equalization Agency and a dairy farmer from Berlin, Pennsylvania. Although milk prices paid to dairy farmers will reach record levels this fall and winter, Croner ques tioned whether local milk produc tion would rebound. Croner adds, THINK AHEAD... Read Futures Markets on Page 3. Milk Production “even though dairy farmers cannot change the quality of feed stored on their farms, they can provide some stability in their price during 1990”. “Last year, prices dropped to their lowest level in May than took a 20 percent upward swing this fall. It’s expected that milk prices will take another downward swing this spring possibly exceeding a 20 percent drop. This sharp down ward swing in milk prices becomes more apparent because the support price is expected to drop to $9.85 per hundredweight on January 1, 1990. This drop is $l.OO below the support price of last spring and is at the lowest level in ten years”, explains John Siglow, general manager of the Agency. “Dairy farmers are reluctant to make a financial investment to improve or expand milk produc tion under these unstable pricing Drops As Milk Prices Climb conditions which jeopardize adequate milk supplies in north eastern Ohio and western Pennsyl vania. In fact, by year end, nearly five hundred dairy farms will exit the dairy business in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. That’s the largest decrease of dairy farms in recent years”, says Siglow. “One of the purposes of the Pro ducers’ Equalization Agency is to stabilize milk prices for focal dairy farmers by cutting the expected 20 percent milk price drop in half. This will aid in stabil izing milk prices and in turn will help maintain adequate milk sup plies for milk processors in north eastern Ohio and western Pennsyl vania”, comments Croner. “The liming is right for the Agency. We need it to foster a healthy dairy industry in north eastern Ohio and western Pennsyl vania”, Croner adds. Northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania are lagging far behind national milk production and milk supplies in this area are inadquate, according to Croner. Just recently the USDA, upon the request of milk processors in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, increased the per centage of milk that must be shipped to fluid plants. “This indicates that there are inadequate supplies of milk being shipped to fluid milk plants. At the same time, this lowers the amount of milk available for manufactur ing plants now running well below Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 9,1989-Cll 50 percent of their capacity,” says Croner. “The Produceers’ Equalization Agency is a dairy farmer’s organi zation. It’s designed to stabhze milk prices and improve the income of dairy farmers which will stabilize production and help assure adequate milk supplies to local processors. This would be accomplished by establishing prices that exceed federal order minimum prices and equally charge all processors for raw milk. The Agency would pay all money collected to dairy farmers, except Blair County DHIA Year-End Totals (Continued from Page CIO) 234 Pammie, 309 TOP FIVE TWO-YEAR OLDS MILK 3. Jerry & Joan Bechtel 4. W. Dean Stern 5. Hilecrest Farm 1. Gerald Burket 2. Kenneth & Debra Bush 3. Thomas W. Kelly 4. Jerry & Joan Bechtel 5. Pleasant View Farm 3 462 FIVE HIGH COWS-MILK Cow Bonnie Owner 1. Thomas W. Kelly 2. Thomas W. Kelly 3. Thomas W. Kelly 4. Thomas W. Kelly 5. Thomas W. Kelly FIVE HIGH COWS - BUTTERFAT Owner 1. Burket Falls Farm 2. Clover Will Farms 3. Fidelity Holsteins 4. Thomas W. Kelly 5. Clover Will Farms FIVE HIGH COWS - PROTEIN Cow Brill Cindy 26 41 15E Owner 1. Thomas W Kelly 2. Mike & Carol Hoover 3. Clover Will Farms 4. Burket Homestead 5. Clover Will Farms TEN HIGH COWS - Cow Judo 200 Lvel Owner 1. Lar Ann Farm 2. Richard Fox & Sons 3. Marcove Farm 4. Pleasant View Farms 1 5. Harold Walter 6. Marcove Farm 7. Durrell & Dawn Delp 8. Burket Falls Farm 9. Bradley & James Baker 10. Harold & Bernard Bailey FIVE LOW HERDS Owner 1. Steven J. Clapper 2. Rodrick & Trudy Hinish 3. Clover Will Farms 4. Dale W. Hoover 5. Penn-England for one cent per hundredweight for Agency operation”, according to Siglow. “To achieve this we need the support of not only dairy farmers but also milk processors. There fore, during the next lour months we will be meeting with dairy farmers and milk processors to explain the Agency and gam their support”, says Croner. For additional information about the Agency, contact John Siglow at the Agency’s new toll free phone number, 1-800-837-MILK. 245 23 Audrey 234 Jamne Brill Blossom Jewel Cow Sylvia 26 Janet Jewel 91E LIFETIME BUTTERFAT Lactations Milk Butterfat 13 275,600 9,739 10 233,349 9,297 9 226,803 8,849 9 223,884 8,073 7 196,038 7,902 7 203,769 7,658 8 210,267 7,577 10 210,050 7,320 315 371 Ida Eva 611 10 196,062 7,104 337 10 189,536 7.103 SOMATIC CELL COUNT 793 780 763 2-11 2-10 1-11 27,568 26,161 25,482 25,007 24,980 2-6 2-11 2-11 2-11 2-11 Milk 32,590 32,303 31,813 30,673 30,278 Age 4-2 4- 6-3 6-4 5- Butterfat 1,332 1,276 1,224 1,207 1,206 Age 4- 3-5 3-9 5- 5-2 Protein 987 963 960 935 933 Age 6-3 3-8 3- 4- 6-5 SCC 87,000 102,000 102,000 104.000 151.000
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