A4O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 9, 1994
(Continued from Page A 29)
fool anybody,” he said.
The situation can provide bene
fits to the grower and the buyers,
according to Horst. From the buy
er’s perspective, he can get enough
of known-origin produce and eli
minate the risk of working with an
unknown product.
For the producer, talking to buy-
Americans Learn About Hungarian
DENVER, Colo. James Moench, a lob
bying specialist from the North Dakota Far
mers Union, and Marilyn Wentz, a communi
cations and media relations specialist from
National Farmers Union (NFU), are home
after conducting a four-week intensive train
ing program in Hungary. The program is a
part of the NFU’s Farmer-to-Farmer Program
with Hungary which is funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Development.
Hungary was once a leading producer of
agricultural products for Soviet Block coun
tries, with some 25 percent of its production
bound for foreign markets. Then the Soviet
Block fell and was replaced with independent
democracies. The NFU Farmer-to-Farmer
Program is aimed at helping Hungarian far
mers and their farm organization make a suc
cessful transition from a state system of agri
culture to a free market system.
“Hungary has gone through a lot of
changes in the past five years and there is still
a great deal of uncertainty among farmers,”
said Wentz. “But there is also a tremendous
desire to succeed. The private Hungarian far
mers are very creative about finding solu
tions to their production and marketing
problems.”
“While we were conducting this program
in Hungary, voters went to the polls and
elected the former communists back into
power a move that seems shocking to us
here in the West,” said Moench. “The new
private farmers had been working to get cre
dit and find new markets for their products
under a government that was supportive of
their efforts. The private farm sector is con
cerned that the new Socialist government
will not support their efforts, or worse yet,
that it will attempt to again collectivize Hun
gary’s farms.”
NFU has been linked with the Hungarian
Farmers Circle (FC) for more than a year,
first sending groups of farmers to work
alongside Hungarian farmers for technical
and marketing assistance. During the latest
phase of cooperation between the two oigani
zations, NFU staff has worked with FC mem
bers to help strengthen the Hungarian farm
organization in the areas of lobbying, com
munications, and media relations.
“The Farmer-to-Farmer Program with
NFU is very important to our farmers,” said
Huba Kozma, president of FC and a former
member of the Hungarian Parliament. “We
have appreciated receiving practical advice
from the NFU representatives, as well as
being encouraged to continue in our guest for
a vibrant private agriculture sector.”
“We emphasized that Hungarian farmers
must find a Hungarian solution to their prob
lems and that we were there only to share
what had worked in our organization,” said
Wentz. “The concepts of citizens lobbying
their elected representatives and of setting up
a comprehensive,’non-partisan media rela
tions program were new for our Hungarian
counterparts.”
In addition to working with FC national
staff and board members, the Americans pre
sented two-day seminars to county and local
FC leaders in four major centers around the
country. “I feel we have had some concrete
results already,” said Moench. “I believe the
leaders of the Hungarian organization have
come to understand that they must work with
whatever government is in power.”
According to Wentz, the Hungarian farm
organization has decided to start a national
newsletter and will continue to get profes
sional assistance from NFU.
The Americans said there were aspects of
Hungarian agriculture that they admired.
“The Hungarian producer, in general, has a
Lebanon Produce Auction To Open
ers and watching the local market
can help him tailor his growing
efforts to meet real demand, elimi
nating a lot of the guess work and
waste.
Horst said that from his own
experience, he is attempting to
provide a facility that he would
have appreciated had he still been
operating the family orchard and
produce growing business.
-=1
co
00
o
%
“I grew up in the produce busi
ness. I’ve hauled truckloads into
markets. I never liked that system.
You never know really what’s
going to happen,” he said.
Horst said he expects buyers to
be grocery stores, restaurants, piz
za shops, roadside stands, and
bulk-buying family groups. Any
one is eligible to be a buyer.
Quantity sizes to be auctioned
much closer link to the consumer,” said
Wentz. "We saw producers selling their raw
products, as well as processed goods in the
open markets, the result being that the Hun
garian fanners’ share of the food dollar is
A A-n n Usy
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• >*
Q S
°*7W**
Over 7,000 Pennsylvania FFA members will benefit from your participation in the Fore FFA
golf tournament. Because of last years overwhelming support for this event, golfing slots will be
available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please complete the form below and return it with your
check made payable to The Pennsylvania FFA Foundation to: The Pennsylvania FFA Foundation, Inc.
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Clit here and return
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fora specific vegetable or fruit will
depend on the buyers needs, and
the amount of produce available.
He said he doesn’t want to elimi
nate anyone from getting some of
the first of a crop, such as local
vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet com,
etc.
The produce auction is to oper
ate on a cash-only basis, unless
much higher than that of the American
farmer.”
Hungary is still a very rural country, with
18-22 percent of its population being
farmers.
JOIN US TO SUPPORT THE FFA
Monday, August 29,1994
Foxchase Golf Club
$2,000
$ 500
$ 250
$l,OOO
$l,OOO
$ 500
someone desiring to write checks
has a statement from the bank that
will cover the check being written.
That bank statement will be kept
on file.
Paul said he is eager for the start
of Thursday’s auction, to see peo
ple coming together. The sights,
the sounds, the smells that are part
of a marketplace are hard to forget
Ag
Yes, we will also donate
product for "Pride of
Pennsylvania" baskets to be
given to all participants.
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