U.S. Agriculturalists C
JUDY PATTON
Centre Co. Correspondents
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) — Soaring energy prices,
trade harriers, and adverse public
ity can be overcome by U.S. agri
culturalists. according to speakers
at the recent Penn Ag Industries
convention held at Tofirees Resort
in State College.
Among the speakers, John
Block, former U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture and now president of
the American Wholesale Grocers
Association, said elimination of
trade barriers is essential to the
expansion of U.S. agricultural
trade.
Getting the European Econom
ic Community to reduce farm sub
sidies would not only open up
more markets for the U.S., but
also would discourage developing
countries from adopting the same
policy in the future, he said.
Block said he feeb these subsi
dies, which are the subject of the
current GATT negotiations, per
petuate inefficient food produc
tion systems in addition to estab
lishing unfair competition in
world food markets.
Potential ag product market
expansion exists in Japan, which
still refuses U.S. rice; the
U.S.S.R., which needs fertilizer,
chemicab. and food processing
equipment; and Cuba, which b
losing Soviet financial support.
Also, Block predicts that a
U.S.-Mexico free trade agree
ment, like the one the U.S. has
with Canada, will be signed within
the next three years. He and many
other ag policy advisors are push
ing for favored nation status for
the Soviet Union, which would
make it easier for them to buy U.S.
goods.
“The threat of war (with Iraq)
can have a bigger impact on U.S.
agriculture than the 1990 Farm
Bill,” Block said. Because Iraq
was a good trade partner and oil
provider. Block said the U.S.
should and will “make a deal”
with Saddam Hussein rather than
go to war.
Further on the subject. Block
INC.
148 Brick Church Road
Leola, PA
717-656-2016
ABOVE-GROUND MANURE STORAI
TANK WITH SIDE-MOUNT PUMP
Our Sales Tool Is A Satisfied Customer -
Call Us For Information!
WE WORK HARD FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
said he feeb this crisis has had a
positive effect in joining Soviet
and U.S. power to prevent future
aggression.
On the food safety issue. Block
said there will always be a “no
growth element” in society which
opposes new technology because
of unfounded fears, but the pub
lic’s desire to maintain large sup
plies of cheap food will outweigh
these fears to allow new techno
logical products to be marketed.
“Chemical opponents want to
put the worm back in my apple,”
said Dr. Earl Butz, U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture from 1971 to 1976
and dean emeritus of agriculture at
Purdue University.
Illustrating the point that with
out using chemicals
commercially-sold apples would
be smaller, wormier and less tasty,
he said agriculturalists need to
educate consumers that the bene
fits of using new technology are
far greater than any risks involved.
A person would have to eat 10
busheb of alar-treated apples a
day to risk getting cancer, he said,
yet misinformed consumer advo
cates almost ruined the U.S. apple
industry with the alar scare.
“The biggest danger to U.S.
agriculture is that we quit taking
risks,” warned Butz. He said con-
LET OUR 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE
WORK FOR YOU!
I "" i
ftoiswL-ren * WORKING WITH
ORIGINATED farmers with
rnMPRFTP CHESAPEAKE
SYSTEW! BAY FUNDtNG -
an Overcome Increasing
sinners must understand that pay
ing only 12 percent of their in
come for food, including prepared
and fast foods, allows them to buy
many luxuries.
Butz said efficient food produc
tion and free trade are essential for
world peace. “We can’t build a
peaceful world with hungry peo
ple,” he said.
Farmers are often accused of
contributing to the “greenhouse
effect” (global warming) as well
as producing unsafe food. But
University of Virginia climatolo
gist Dr. Pat Michaels explained
how Congressional testimony
about the impact of human activi
ty on the climate had been dis
torted in the media to blame car
bon dioxide and other emissions
for the 1988 drought.
‘The earth is not headed toward
an apocolypse from global warm
ing,” Michaels said. He showed
how an increase in low-level
clouds above have heavily popu
lated areas counteract the effect of
heat coming through the damaged
ozone layer in the atmosphere.
“Daily high temperatures (in
the northern hemisphere) are now
at the lowest average in this
decade, and ultraviolet radiation
has gone down,” Michaels said.
These facts, in addition to an
increase in the precipitation aver
age, flady contradict the green
house effect theory, he said. This
theory predicts disastrous warm
ing of an average of 16 degrees
Celcius in the northern hemi
sphere by the year 2040 with
severe drought.
In discussing potential U.S.
agricultural markets in former
communist countries and the
Soviet Union, three speakers
depicted backward systems which
will progress very slowly. ’
Former ambassador to the
U.S.S.R., Arthur Hartman said the
Soviet Union is grappling with
going from arbitrary government
price setting to market-related
pricing. He largely blamed poor
pricing for the current shortage of
domestic consumer goods.
In a recent trip to the Soviet
PARTIAL IN-GROUND TANK FEATURII
COMMERCIAL CHAIN LINK FENCE
(5’ High - SCS Approved)
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 20,1990-ASS
Union, Hartman said he observed
a severe shortage of bread in spite
of a bumper wheat crop. Part of
the problem is poor transportation
and food processing systems. He
said the government may have to
revert to more centralization for a
while to restore economic order
before continuing toward free
enterprise.
According to Dr. Ted Buila, ag
educator from the University of
Southern Illinois, and Dr. Louis
Moore, Penn State ag economist,
both Yugoslavia and Poland have
returned most of the land to pri
vate owners. But farming is still
largely at a subsistence level on
2S-acre or smaller farms.
Dr. Buila saw a farm woman
hand-broadcasting hybrid seed,
and Dr. Moore showed Helds laid
out in strips running the wrong
way.
According to the professors,
these observations indicate a start
in adopting new technology, but
the need for education, modem
equipment, efficient transporta
tion, and sanitary food handling
30 YEARS AGO
-Robot Armstrong, Drumore,
this week was reelected to his sec
ond term as master of Fulton
Grange #66. A graduate of Solan
co High School in 1958, Arms
trong has been active in the prog
ram of the grange since he joined
the grange from juvenile member
ship at the age of 14. He held the
office of overseer for two years
before becoming Master.
David Wissler was returned to
the office of Overseer while Marie
Murphy succeeded Miss Jeannette
McCummings as Lecturer of the
grange. J. Stanley Stauffer, Jr., was
elected steward to replace Amrose
Giffing who became Gatekeeper,
the post held by Earle Gilbert, Jr.
Clair Murphy, Assistant Stew-
Obstacles
hinders progress.
About 40 percent of Yugosla
vians work both on farms and in
cities, and all women work. Dr.
Buila said. He and other U.S. ag
educators are helping to moder
nize agriculture in eastern Europe
to fill domestic needs and develop
world markets.
Keynote speaker Bernard Kalb
predicted constant turmoil in the
Middle East for the next century
as Arabs seek higher economic
and social status in the world.
Furthermore, he blamed the U.S.
mind set of backing Iraq to Mock
Iranian expansion for the Iraqi
invasion rtf Kuwait
Because the U.S. ambassador to
Iraq told Saddam Hussein the U.S.
had “no opinion on Arab-Arab
conflicts,” Kalb said Hussein
thought the U.S. would not
respond to the invasion.
In face of high energy prices
from continuous Middle East con
flicts, Arthur Hartman said he
feels the U.S. should come up with
an energy policy which decreases
dependence on foreign oil and
stick to it
THIS WEEK
art; Larura B. McSparran, Secret
ary; Dorothy Black, Ceres, were
all returned to office for another
year.
Other officers elected were
Chaplain, Maurice Gregg: Trea
surer, Walter Wood; Pomona,
Cathy Gilbert; Pianist, Lila Gredd;
Librarian, Susan Fite; Purchasing
Agent, Charles McSparran; Flow
er Committee, Anna Armstrong
and Mary Gifting; Finance Com
mittee, Norman Wood; Trustees,
Theodore Beck and Russell Hart
soe; Hospitalization secretary,
Mary Herr.
-New officers of Colerain
Grange 1667 were inducted at the
regular meeting of the lodge this
week at Krikwood Hall.
-Mrs. June Sangrey, Manheim
R 2, newly appointed office mana
ger at the Lancaster Poultry Center
brings with her experience in the
poultry business dating back to the
time she as 13 years old.
,;, sOWdst)
f%a4i»e, Pa. -
ind
dogs.
«p and
poultry