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Vol. 39 NO. 14
First place ear com three-year dais award went to Burd
Schantz, right, from Curt Rakestraw, secretary-treasurer of
the Pennsylvania Master Corn Growers Association.
BST Sales Strong, FDA Warns Against Labeling
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
EPHfeATA (Lancaster
Co.) The controversy over
Monsanto Corp.’s synthetic
bovine somatotropin (BST) pro
duct called Posilac is apparently
wanning, especially in light of a
warning by the federal Food and
Drug Administration that false
labeling will, not be tolerated.
Posilac, the first biotechnology
Wednesday
February 16
Penn Harris Inn
Camp Hill
Sign Up For Youth Contest
At Pork Congress
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
CAMP HILL (Cumberland Co.)
For more than 15 years, the
Keystone Pork Congress youth
public speaking event has become
a cornerstone of youth competition
in the swine industry.
Up until about seven years ago
or so, it has stood alone as part of
the activities of the 16th annual
Congress, scheduled this year on
Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the Penn
Harris Inn in Camp Hill.
604 Per Copy
product created through “genetic
approved for use in
femEparaction late last year by
the FDA, with a moratorium for
sides until Fteb. 3.
Though not necessarily an
industry term, “genetic farming”
refers to the technique of taking
genetic material responsible for
making a certain substance,
attaching it to the genetic material
of a harmless bacteria, and grow-
Keystone
Pork
Congress
In the years since, the contest
has had strong competition from
the annual Pork Bowl, held at the
same time. While attendance has
been split between two events,
those who attend the Congress
may want to listen to what some of
the youth are saying regarding pigs
and the environment, animal
rights/welfare, and the future of
'the industry.
You could learn a lot, according
(Turn to Pag* C 2)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Fabruary 12, 1994
Corn Growers Need To Counter Big Oil,
Get Ethanol Use Act Passed
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
—The com industry stands to ben
efit in a big way if President Clin
ton’s Clean Air Act Anally passes.
‘ ‘This is going to happen unless
‘big oil’ (companies) can convince
the EPA and the (Clinton) Admi
nistration that we can’t meet the
requirements that ate in the prop
osed rule,’’ said Mike Wagner,
executive director of the Ohio
Com Growers Association.
Wagner spoke to about 200 com
growers and industry representa
tives about the many uses of com
in a wide array of environmentally
friendly products, including etha
nol, last week at the annual Pen
nsylvania Com Conference.
According to Wagner, growers
ing the resulting bacteria in order
to harvest the desired substance in
bulk.
It is a process used to manufac
ture insulin for treating diabetics
and it is also the process Used pri
marily to manufacture BST.
During the sales moratorium,
Monsanto operated a 24-hour,
seven-day per week, toll-free tele
phone, Posilac-information ser
vice, but was prohibited from tak
ing any orders for the product
The company wailed a day after
the moratorium expiration, and on
Friday. Feb. 4. the company began
sales.
Two days later, as of Feb. 6,
Sunday night, there were 2,000
State Young Farmers Name Winners
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
The three-day annual .meeting
of the Pennsylvania Young Far
mers Association was highlighted
with an awards banquet Wednes
day evening. Each of the regions
presented their award winners in
community service, outstanding
young farmer over 30, and under
30. State winners were named from
each of these regional division
winners.
Glenn and Barbara Snyder, Get
tysburg, were named state winners
of the Outstanding Community
Service Award. Glenn and Barbara
own two farms, one that has been
in the family for over 100 years.
They have three children and seven
grandchildren. Their crop and
livestock enterprise is well
managed, but they have time to
help others. Barbara sings in the
church choir and is the organist.
Glenn has won many awards and is
a past state Young Fanner Presi
dent and serves Mt. Joy Township
as a supervisor. They have been
active in the Farm/City Week
activities in Adams County.
(Turn to IJpgc A 22)
should continue to urge their sena
tors and representatives to support
the proposed rule, which will man
date use of ethanol in fuel oil to the
annual tune of SOO-600 billion gal
lons, equivalent to more than 200
bushels of com.
He said that lobbyists from the
major oil companies have testified
against com growers. In recent tes
timony before committee, Wagner
said big oil was claiming that
growers “are making too much
money. Corn’s at a five-year high.
They say that we’re the worst pol
luters in the world. That all you do
is raise more com, pollute more
air, pollute more water. They name
you by names.”
In reality, according to the Ohio
Com Growers Association direc
tor, big oil didn’t mention they
orders placed from across the
nation, ranging in dose amounts of
SO to 5,000, according to regional"
company representative Dan Card.
The threat of consumer rejec
tion, especially that caused by
fears spread through professional
protesters, such as Jeremy Rifkin,
is apparently not as strong as it had
been because of a more recent
action taken by the FDA.
According to a New York Times
article published Tuesday, those
opponents of BST who seek to per
suade producers from not using the
product through the intimidation
of a threat of labeling were deliv
ered a serious blow by the FDA.
According to the arcticlc, FDA
Glenn and Barbara Snyder from the Gettysburg Chapter
in Adams County received the state outstanding communi
ty service award.
Ft>ur Sections
were getting $6 billion a year in
subsidies, and have received, since
about 1916, about $123 billion in
subsidies, while com growers get
under a half billion dollars a year.
“They don’t rry to tell the press
and the people that.”
Also, oil is imported at a rate
that is startling. “We have a
national debt probably because
we’re spending $ ISO million a day
for foreign oil," he said.
Com growers could see the floor
price of their product drop any
where from a nickel to 20 cents if
the act isn’t passed, according to
Wagner. In Ohio, where a statew
ide ethanol fuel oil blend program
is in effect, ethanol use is up to
about 13.3 million gallons a
month, “more than any state in the
(Turn to Pag* A 32)
on Monday “warned dairy produc
ers and distributors ... not to mis-
NMMMMMumers with labels on milk
and other dairy products that
improperly refer to” Posilac or
BST.
The FDA effectively said that it
is illegal to advertise falsely and
that “BST-free” is not true because
all milk contains BST; that states
should monitor and prevent such
false labeling of dairy products;
and that if milk is to be sold as
being from cows not treated with
Posilac, then an accurate record
keeping system for each cow
following the flow of milk from
individual cow to consumer
(Turn to Pag* A3O)
$19.75 Ptr Year