ASO-Uncasttr Hanning, Saturday, December 9, 1995 (Continued from Pago All) cans a wholesome food supply, and we do our part to make sure that it is, but the way we get paid for our hard work is way behind the times. Way back in 1915 and after World War I there was trouble in the industry: then the Department of Agriculture stepped in to protect the inhabitants of America. To protect everyone’s health and safe ty and to provide an abundance of good food. The way they did this was to give the cooperatives the authority to speak in the best interest of the producers of milk, and to handle the milk in such a way as the coun try needed. They did this by deem ing them the power of voting for the producers of milk. Granted, back then no one had telephones or even a car so the co ops helped the producers and at the same time helped the inhabitants in supplying them with an abundant supply of wholesome food. As time went on the co-ops got bigger and stronger and always provided money to their producers but also discovered many by-products of milk and also marketed them to make money for the dairies.' The problem we have today is not with the government but with what the co-ops are letting the gov ernment believe. I personally feel that we have lost our say as co-op members. The way we get paid suits them and the handlers and the processors and the retailers fine, as long as we keep providing them DRIED DISTILLERS GRAINS Now Available in TWO Locations! Our Plant in South Bend, Indiana AND Cumberland Valley Cooperative Shippensburg, Pennsylvania FOB or Delivered Call Marketing for Pricing Information NEW ENERGY COMPANY OF INDIANA^ 800-462-8263 W Pennsylvania Agricultural Commodities Marketing Association, Inc. FORWARD FEED INGREDIENTS Com UpjfrtLJ Soybean Meal Soybeans Distillers Grains Wheat Hominy Soybean Meal a// -V [ Cottonseed Cottonseed /' / j H°gs / '.M Cattle / : f RISK MANAGEMENT CASH GRAIN MAWs|ty H f J Hedging Services Feed Grains fX-f/j Market Consultation Wheat fj MinTMax. Contracts Oilseeds Specialized Contracts I, L-£7 A privately held full service commodity merchandising firm. Call today to see how PACMA can broaden your marketing efforts whether you're BUYING or SELLING Agricultural Commodities Rail Facilities are available at Green Castle, Palmyra. PA 475 East High Street, Palmyra, PA 17078 800-PACNA Inc. 717-838-7050 1-800-722-6246 Started by Producers for producers siSfivS tSf t y M *V aft fi- -I' * *’s «’ . Farm Forum ❖ with the raw products. We have federal orders each one is supposed to handle milk for the people in each marketing area and to always provide an adequate supply of wholesome products by paying the producers a good mark et price for all the products that they sell. Today we have four clas ses of milk in our federal order. Class #1 is the fluid class, class #2 includes cream and some cheese, class #3 is for ice cream and cot tage cheese, and class #3A for powder to sell world-wide. In order to change anything in our order you have to have a majority vote by only the produc ers of the milk involved. In 1989 we in Order 2 had two classes of milk: #1 fluid, #2 all other pro ducts. Each one was paid a diffe rent amount and always paid but, with an average the more numbers you have to average the lower the score if you don’t increase the starting price. The producers now discovered that we have too many classes of milk which lowered our over-all milk price but now we can’t change it, and we are losing too many farms. Please understand that 25 large co-ops handle 80 percent of all the milk in this country today and they tell us that all the producers are satisfied with their price. I am ask ing from my heart to please do a survey for yourself and truly, see the plight of the farmers, we don’t ask for much and we can do a lot with little, but- not if it costs us more money to p.oduce it than we are getting back and are losing our farms, our land and our spirits. Please, the money is already being made on the milk sold today without any price supports, but the co-ops are taking more than their share. I feel getting more efficient is good but the reason they are keeping the price down to us is so we the few farmers that are left will make up for the lost producers. But we are working on losing our equi ty and our health and our spirit because we cannot keep up this pace for much longer. If you could help us amend the agricultural marketing laws to suit us we will always produce enough milk for you forever. Also if you have large herds of cattle in any given area you quick ly mess up your environment We in the mountains of Pennsylvania have a unique ecosystem and always try not to mess up our land. We handle our waste well and return the nutrients back to the soil so it will help make more milk in the future. Thank you.for taking the time to read this, Mr. President, and may God bless you and your family. Peter A. Seman Thompson Editor: The dairy farmers of this coun try owe Congressman Gerald Sol omon (R-NY) a great deal of grati tude for the vitally important role he has played in fending off total and immediate deregulation of the dairy industry. Through his leadership efforts during the recent debates of the Budget Reconciliation Confer ence Committee, Congressman Solomon was instrumental in preserving—for now—the Feder al Milk Marketing Order System, which is crucial to dairy farming. Without the Federal Order Sys tem, chaotic milk marketing con ditions would have emerged that AqH Analysis, h Agricultural Testing Services Agri-Analysis, Inc. and Custom Ag Consulting Join forces to help farmers successfully reach their goals. For the past 13 years Agri-Analysis, Inc. has provided the Ag community with the most consistent analytical service in feed and forage testing. Five years ago Agri-Analysis introduced the same consistent service in soil and manure analysis. Agri-Analysis and Custom Ag Consulting have Joined forces with the ultimate goal of helping the farmer. Custom Ag Consulting will come to your farm, listen to your needs, ask pertinent questions regarding agrono mic practices, recommend beneficial services and perform the necessary work. All this is done in seven working days, leading to profitable results. AGRI-ANALYSIS INC. • 280 Newport Rd., P.O. Box 483, Leola, Pa. 17540 (717) 656'9326 • PAX (717) 656-0910 ultimately would have harmed far mers financially to the tune of more than $1.5 billion annually. While current rumblings in Washington indicate that the fed eral dairy policy debate is far from over. Congressman Solomon must be commended for being a strong and loyal friend to dairy farmers and be encouraged to continue his diligent efforts in representing our Advertising/News Deadlines For Holiday, Farm Show Issues The Christmas and New Year holidays and the annual Farm Show issue are fast approaching. This means many of the advertising and news deadlines for Lancaster Fanning will need to be early to accommodate the publication of the December 23,30, and January 6 issues. Many of these dead* lines are the week prior to the week of publication. The deadlines are as follows: December 23rd Issue Public Sale Ads Noon, Monday 12/18. All Other Deadlines On Normal Schedule. December 30th Issue Office Closed Christinas Monday/1/25. Public Sale Ads 5 p.m., Friday, 12/22 Mailbox Markets 5 p.m., Friday, 12/22. General News Noon, Thursday, 12/28. Classified Section C Ads S p.m. Wednesday, 12/27. Ail Other Classifieds 9 a.m., Thursday, 12/28. January 6 , 1996 Farm Show Issue Office Closed New Year’s Day —. Monday, 1/1. Public Sale Ads 4 p.m., Friday, 12/22. Mailbox Markets 5 p.m., Friday, 12/22. General News Noon, Wednesday, 1/3. Classified Section C Ads 5 p.m., Tuesday, 1/2. Ail Other Classifieds 9 a.m., Wednesday, 1/3. Our Team Is Committed To Your Success. Feed 1 NIR Forage / Wet Chemistry Ingredients J Mycotoxin Analysis Soil Analysis Manure Analysis Plant Tissue Compost On-Site Testing, Soil and Manure with a 7 working day turn around, will report back to your farm. best efforts. As president and chairman of Dairylea Cooperative Inc., a milk marketing cooperative with more than 2,500 farmer-members in the Northeast, I say thank you to con gressman Solomon and wish him continued success in Washington. Dairylea Cooperative Inc. Clyde E. Rutherford President and Chairman LIST OF SERVICES
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