KARL BERGER Special Correspondent FREDERICK, Md. The recent bankruptcy of Cumberland Farms Inc., a New England-based convenience store operator, will have a minimal impact on dairy farmers in the Mid-Atlantic area, according to industry officials. The firm, which owns a network of almost 1,000 convenience stores in 12 states, filed for protec tion from its creditors under Chap ter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code in early May. The firm con tinues to operate while it seeks to restructure its finances. Cumberland Farms operates several fluid milk processing plants, including one in Florence, NJ., south of Trenton, that is pooled in the Mid-Atlantic milk marketing order. Various suppliers to this plant, including at least one cooperative and a number of independent dairymen, did not receive their final payments for April milk, according to industry sources. Atlantic Dairy Cooperative, the region’s largest, reportedly is the Today, There is an Alternative - FOIL* Environmentally Sound Control of Insects on Potatoes Ecogen Inc. developed Foil® Bioinsecticide from a novel genetic combination of three strains of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). As insects eat Foil, they immediately stop feeding and crop destruction is halted. Foil is the only biological insecticide that is effective against both Colorado potato beetles and European com borers. Foil makes a power ful alternative to chemical pesticides and other Bt products. With environmental issues a concern for all growers. Foil is indeed today's alternative. Cumberland Farms Problems Pose Small Problem To major supplier to the New Jersey plant Bob Dever, Atlantic’s assis tant general manager, said the cooperative sells Cumberland Farms about 6 percent of its total supply. Although serious, the bankrupt cy should not have a major effect on Atlantic’s finances for several reasons. The total dollars outstanding reportedly in the neighborhood of $1.5 million is equivalent to only slightly more than two weeks worth of milk. Shipments since April have been on a C.O.D. basis, Dever said. Moreover, the firm reported ly remains in decent financial con dition, reassuring creditors that its restructuring will be successful. Atlantic survived a disruption of much greater magnitude when the old Abbolts Dairies firm went bankrupt in the early 1980 s, Dever noted. The cooperative got some of the money it was owed from Abbotts relatively quickly through the milk security provisions then in effect in Pennsylvania. It eventually received much of the balance through the settlement Make a Difference with FOIL® Foil is a registered trademark of Ecogen Inc ©1992 Ecogen Inc Mid-Atlantic Dairymen of bankruptcy proceedings, but the process took years, Dever noted. Now, as then, the cooperative’s financial reserves have allowed it to pay its members in full despite the shortfall from Cumberland Farms, Dever said. In potentially worse shape, however, are the var ious independents who sold milk directly to the firm. Out of the 40-50 New Jersey dairymen supplying the plant, fa instance. are eight independents, according to Vin Samuel, an offi cial with the Division of Dairy Industry within the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. In contrast to Pennsylvania, New Jersey has fairly minimal sec urity requirements as part of its licensing of milk dealers. The firms are required to have only $lOO,OOO in bond coverage in the event of bankruptcy, Samuel said. Although a number of legal issues remain to be resolved, the Chapter 11 filing is likely to lead to a dis persal of funds from this bond, Samuel added. Samuel said there is not yet an official tally of the amount Cum- Derived from Bt, a natural pesticide. Foil has no pre-harvest interval and does not contaminate ground water. If you would like to find out how Foil can make a difference in your potato crop this year, call or write us at: EcnEEa Ecogen Inc / 2005 Cabot Boulevard West Langhome, PA 19047-1810 (215) 757-1590 Uncart* Fanning, Saturday. May 30, 1992-Al7 berland owes New Jersey farmers, but the total is somewhat less than $3 million. He acknowledged that the security fund would provide just a few cents for each dollar dairymen are' owed. A number of New Jersey ’s dairy industry leaders are saying the amount is woefully inadequate to meet farmers’ needs in an era in which monthly milk checks often reach five figures. “We have to provide more sec urity,** said August Knispel, a Hunterdon County farmer who currently serves as president of the Garden State Milk Council. Charlie Miller, a forma- dairy farmer who now lobbies for the New Jersey Farm Bureau, said far mers have asked the state to beef up its security provisions since the last major bankruptcy in the early 1980 s. Miller said he’s hopeful something can be done now while the Cumberland Farms situation is still fresh in people’s minds. The typically long delay and the fact that farmers often must wait in line behind secured creditors for money they are owed by bankrupt milk dealers are among the reasons that many states have adopted extensive farm security provisions. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the state's Milk Marketing Board oversees the Milk Producers’ Sec urity Act The act requires licensed dealers to take out a bond to cover at least 30 percent of the amount the firm would spend for 40 days worth of milk from its Pennsylva nia suppliers, according to a board spokesman. In addition, dealers must contri bute two cents a hundredweight to separate security funds for each handler. Dealers that have security bonds that cover at least 75 percent of their 40-day exposures are exempt from this provision. In New Jersey, the ag depart ment’s Samuel said his division had been studying security provi sions in other states even before the Cumberland Farms development Lancaster Chamber Sets Ag Events LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) The agri culture committee of The Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced two upcoming events designed to better acquaint the local community with the business of agriculture in Lancaster County. “Wake Up to the ‘Ag Issues’” will be pre sented on June 5 at the Southern Market Center, 100 South Queen Street. This breakfast meeting, which begins prompdy at 7:30 and ends at 9 a.m., will feature local agribusiness people who will discuss “What Every Lancaster County Business Person Should Know about Agriculture but Didn’t Know Who or How to Ask.” Speakers are Bruce R. Limpert, director of financial services for Wenger Feeds, who will give an overview of Lancaster fanning, the nature of our competitive advantage, and the eco nomics behind the issues, and Michael W. Bru baker, president and owner of Brubaker Agro nomic Consulting Service, who will highlight the key issues facing agriculture in the ’9os. Cost of the program is $lO for Chamber mem bers, $8 for Chamber Farm Associates. On June 12, the annual Agri-Business Tour will provide an opportunity for farmers and non farmers alike to tour some of Lancaster’s ag related industries. According to Jay Howes, manager of agricultural services for the Cham ber, ‘The three distinctly different facilities and types of business activities represent the diversi ty of agriculture and serve to emphasize the fact that the total agricultural industry is far more than just plowing, planting, and reaping.” The day’s schedule begins at 9 a.m. with departure by bus from Lancaster Shopping Cen ter, Lititz Pike. The first stop is John F. Cope Company, Inc., in Rheems. A well known local food processor. Cope is expanding into new veg etable processing markets. Next stop is the Lan caster County Solid Waste Management Author ity’s (LCSWMA) Resource Recovery Facility in Bainbridge for a discussion of LCSWMA's ag related programs. Following a catered lunch, the bus leaves for the final stop at Smoketown Veter inary Hospital on Old Philadelphia Pike to tour a modem large- and small-animal veterinary clin ic. Return to the Lancaster Shopping Center is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Cost for the tour is $l5 for Chamber members and Chamber Farm Associates, $2O fa- non members. Cost includes transportation and lunch, and registration is limited to 45 persons.
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