A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 7,1992
Pennsylvania Holstein Convention News
Berkley To Head
(Continued from Pago A 1)
Castle, representing the northwest
district They replace Laszlo Mos
es and John Grice 111, Washing
ton, whose executive board terms
expired.
Other members of the executive
board include past president Way
ne Harpster, Kenneth Mowry,
Roaring Springs, Lloyd Pease,
Susquehanna, Curtis Day, Ship
pensburg, and Donald Hostetler,
Parkesburg.
Treasurer Dean Johnson report
ed an excess of income over ex
penses of $18,987 for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 1991,
with a year-end member equity
level of $456,017.
In his report to the membership,
PHA executive director William
Nichol shared a five-point “wish
list” for the association. Nichol
wishes that all SO county clubs
will become involved in the
state’s holiday cheese sale. Last
year’s participating 22 clubs rais
ed a combined $24,000 for their
treasuries.
Two of Nichol’s wishes focus
ed on the PHA’s youth activities.
One is that every county club will
sponsor a junior organization, and
the other wish is that more finan
cial support can be raised for
Kerr Seeking Input On Holstein Challenges
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
WARRENDALE (Allegheny
Co.) At least one person sent a
letter to President Bush after his
recent trade visit to Japan, sug
gesting that he take dairy produc
ers on such missions if he wants to
promote American products.
No answer to that suggestion
has yet been received, according
to letter writer Steve Kerr, chief
executive officer of the National
Holstein Association. Kerr related
that correspondence during his
featured talk with members and
guests at the Pennsylvania Hol
stein Convention.
Kerr, the Holstein CEO since
last August, is visiting members
and associations around the coun
try gathering input to help chart
future policy and programs of the
breed organization.
As part of the grass-roots-input
program, Kerr announced the
planned installments of an
800-toll-free telephone line at the
Brattleboro, Vermont, headquar
ters for use by members needing
assistance. A second additional
800-line will speed help for solv
ing logistical problems encounter
ed by classifiers and consultants
working in the field.
Because only four of the past 10
fiscal years have been financially
profitable for the national associa
tion, three of the four area offices
are scheduled for closing, includ
ing the Harrisburg location. That
move is projected to save some
$200,000 annually.
“HFA continues to wrestle with
problems similar to those farmers
face,” noted Kerr. Among them
are continuing fewer, but larger
farms, changing technology, un
certainties of world trade and milk
pricing.
Kerr urged members to partici
pate in upcoming Winter Forum
meetings, where policy issues are
debated at the gnus roots level.
One issue in line for intense scru-
youth to participate in the state’s
annual junior convention.
With world trade a continuing
issue for American agriculture,
Nichol also wishes for a trade pro
gram which would provide trans
portation support for sending
30-40,000 Holstein bred heifers
annually to needy countries
around the world. In the 21 years
in which PHA has been involved
in the cattle export market, Hol
stein genetics have gone to some
SO countries worldwide.
Nichol’s foremost wish focused
on the regionalization of grass
roots Holstein groups in areas of
the country with more limited
membership. While Pennsylvania
has nearly 5,000 adult and 2,000
junior members, many areas have
more limited resources of people
and programs.
National Holstein Association
director John Cope. Grantham, re
ported a dramatic upswing in
numbers or registry applications
submitted to the Brattleboro, Ver
mont, headquarters. Applications
received during the first seven
weeks of 1992 tallied some 10,000
more than in the comparable per
iod of 1991. Transfer applications
were 5,000 greater in that same
period. That increase in applica-
Steve Kerr, chief executive
officer of the National Hols
tein Association, is asking
members nationwide to parti
cipate in upcoming winter
fbrums for input on needs of
future policies and programs
of the breed organization.
tiny is seeking ways of marketing
the majority of registered Hol
steins without index “numbers.”
An ad hoc committee is being ap
pointed to study that marketing
challenge.
A worldwide demand for milk
will grow, Kerr believes, and the
United States may be the most
significant exporter of dairy pro
ducts in the next decade. He pre
dicts that heavy levels of Eur
opean dairy subsidies “cannot
continue forever,” and that the ef
ficiency of the American dairy
producer will make the industry
very competitive on world mar
kets.
Pennsylvania is expected to
continue as a leading dairy state,
possibly moving into the third
high state nationwide, according
Newly elected officers of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association are Lewis Barkley,
president, second from left, and Laszlo Moses, vice president, left. Dean Johnson,
right was reelected treasurer, and Bill Nichol is executive director.
lions has resulted in a 19-day
backlog of work.
Cope, the NHA board’s finance
chairman, also reported that, be
cause of the association’s decision
to not raise fees during last year’s
dairy industry cash-flow crunch,
over $1 million was used, from the
reserve fund. However, operations
management still allowed for the
adding of $700,000 to NHA’s re
serve fund principal of $l4 mil
lion.
National director Tom Kelly,
Tyrone, urged every member to
attend one of the upcoming Hol
stein Winter Forum programs.
Numerous policies and programs
to Cornell economists cited by
Kerr. Environmental problems en
countered in expanding dairy pro
duction areas, like California, and
continuing heavy urban popula
tion in the Northeast requiring
dairy product favors the Common
wealth’s continuance as a milk
producing center.
With a background in dairy co
operative and legislative work,
Kerr expressed extreme frustra
tion with the inability of the daily
industry to overcome the price
breaking resulting from even just
a small surplus of milk produc
tion. The government’s commit
ment to a cheap food supply en
hances milk pricing problems.
“Co-ops can manage the na
tion’s milk supply," Kerr said, if
all farmers participated in co
operative marketing. “That’s
Backus Highlights Holstein History
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
WARRENDALE (Allegheny
Co.) Drawing from a wealth of
experience, an abundant reserve
of memories and his good-natured
sense of humor, featured speaker
Horace Backus delighted atten
dees of the Pennsylvania Holstein
Convention.
Backus, who with his brother
Charles arranged and conducted
hundreds of cattle sales over the
past 40 years, traced highlights of
his Pennsylvania memories for
convention goers. The Backus
brothers continue the Backus
Pedigree Company begun in 1912
by their father in Mexico, New
York.
On the evening before his talk,
Horace returned to the familiar
spot in the auction box at the 1992
convention sale, which opened the
PHA annual confab, held Febru
ary 26-29 at the Sheraton Inn.
The first sale the Backus firm
held in Pennsylvania was in 1953,
with an average of $649, second-
of HFA are up for review and con
sideration, including the long
range strategic plan, classifica
tion, national shows, merchandis
ing policies and genetic issues.
Members voted to support Da
vid Burket, East Freedom, in his
bid for the national board scat be
ing vacated by Pennsylvania
director John Dope. After eight
years on the board. Cope will re
tire as a director during the Na
tional Holstein convention, to be
held in late June in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
By unanimous vote, the mem
bership also passed a pair of re-
Retiring PHA executive board members Laszlo Moses,
left and John Grice, right, accepted plaques of appreciation
from Wayne Harpster, association president.
what’s standing in the way of bet
ter prices.”
Kerr warned Pennsylvania Hoi- “We are so well fed that we
stein breeders that dairy is “on the have the luxury of thinking that
list” for animal rightists’ aclivi- food grows in grocery stores,”
ties, and the HFA is working to- Kerr lamented in his closing re
ward a practices plan and policy marks.
Horace Backus, noted
Holstein pedigree specialist,
auctioneer and historian,
delighted his PHA audience
with anecdotes and memo
ries of nearly 40 years asso
ciated with the Pennsylvania
cattle sales business.
solutions dealing with environ
mental issues. On resolution sup
ports legislation that would
establish an agriculture advisory
board for the state’s Department
of Environmental Resources.
Such a board would assist and ad
vise on policy development deal
ing with normal farming practices.
A second resolution supports
coordination among all state agen
cies dealing with soil conservation
plans and pesticide and wetlands
issues.
Planners for the February 1993
annual convention announced the
host site to be Wilkes-Barre, Lu
zerne County.
on animal care.
high in the state for that year.
Backus recalled their initial con
cerns over whether “anyone
would come” to this, their first,
sale in the state.
A backbone event of the Back
us sales activities in Pennsylvania
were the Garden Spot sales. In the
early years. Backus noted that
“Pennsylvania was a buying
state," and cattle frequently had to
be brought in from Canada to
assemble enough animals to hold
a sale. Cattle were sometimes
simply tied to fence and tents set
up in available parking lots.
“After the sales, there was
nothing left but dust,” chuckled
Backus in remembrance. He noted
that in the ensuing years, many of
the “alumni” of those sales have
gone on to be outstanding dairy
fanners and cattle breeders.
Learning when to set sales,
according to Backus, was some
times a painful - and costly -
experience.
(Turn to Pag* A 25)