DMancwtw Farming, Saturday, Dtcambw 23, 1995
ACCENT ON THE FUTURE
The title seemed fitting after
viewing and listening to a recent
musical program where a very tal
ented composer/conductor under
took the arduous task of bringing
artists from both worlds of classi
cal atid jazz music together as one
group. The challenge was met
with some bold leadership, deter
mination, coordination, and a pro
found understanding and appre
ciation of the diversity within each
musical category. These were just
a few of the many attributes one
could appreciate observing as the
composer cleverly searched for
and blended a variety of medleys
from two very distinct types of
music. The result was a musical
fete all molded into a beautiful
symphony titled, “Accent on the
Upbeat”
You might ask, what does such
have to do with my producing
lamb and wool? I believe, a great
deal if you are somebody who is
both concerned and interested in
meeting the many challenges for
restoring industry stability both in
Pennsylvania and the U.S. First
we must understand there exists
diversity within the domestic
sheep industry, and next it is im
portant to recognize you have
chosen to be part of an industry
ihat presently has a very fragile in
frastructure.
Any industry growth and/or sta
bility comes from continual indi
vidual producer support and com
mitment. The U.S. &/or Pennsyl
vania sheep industries are no
cxu iHions. As potential compos
er/conductors, producers need to
i NEED YOUR H
FARM BUILDINGS
PAINTED?
Let us give you a price!
Writfe:
Daniel’s Painting
637-A Georgetown Rd.
Ronks, PA 17572
(or leave message)
(717) 687-8262
Spray on and Brush
in Painting 8
m r=i
B&B SPRAY PAINTING
SANDBLASTING
SPRAY - ROLL - BRUSH
Specializing In Buildings,
Feed Mills - Roofs • Tanks -
Etc., Aerial Ladder Equip.
Stone - Barn - Restoration
574 Gibbon’s Rd.,
Bird-In-Hand, Pa.
Answering Service (717) 354-5561
be on-line with their industry lead
ers, appreciate diversity, under
stand the importance of every
voice at all levels, communicate
their thoughts, and make both a fi
nancial and personal commitment
if they want their industry to grow
and remain strong. The glue for
building a stronger industry infra
structure is a blend of all these fac
tors and more.
To some, phasing out of the Na
tional Wool Act signaled a com
plete collapse of the sheep indus
try and gave reason to abandon
ship. If you still profess to believe
this, and you have not jet jumped
overboard, would you seriously
re-evaluate your present sheep
production goals? Hopefully,
many of your personal sheep busi
ness aspirations are compatible
with those of American sheep in
dustry. If not, please take time to
ask yourself, why not?
Next, look around and take
careful notice what other domestic
crop production, livestock and
poultry industries have been and
are doing to build a stronger infra
structure, bolster their image and
strengthen their posture in the
market place. If all this is not yet
convincing enough, to get you
thinking how you might better
align yourself with your respec
tive industry, then I urge you ex-
./%». 3 PT. BASKET
HARROWS
Bullion has designed a 3 pt. S-tine field cultivator with a larger,
aggressively angled 12" diameter rolling basket, a 4-bar frame
that allows for either 4" or 6" tooth spacing and an adjustable
coil tine leveler bar. Gauge wheels are optional.
I Pennsylvania \
ADAMS'! OWN
Adamstown Equip. Inc.
ALLENTOWN
Lehigh Ag Equipment
BECHTELSVILLE
Miller Equip. Co.
CARLISLE
Gutshall’s, Inc.
DOVER ,
George N. Gross, Inc.
EASTON
Geo. V. Seiple
pand your thinking globally. Take
time to carefully review present
trade policies, and observe what
your international competitors are
doing to reshape their agriculture
production and marketing pro
grams. If none of this makes any
sense, then you probably should
move out of the “endangered spe
cies” category and venture into the
business of raising some exotic
species.
The sheep industry, overall has
much to gain, and has reason to be
“upbeat” as it prepares for the fu
ture. To the meek this may sound
a bit harsh, but loss of the Wool
Act support program, in my opin
ion, is a blessing in disguise. In
many respects we have the jump
on those remaining subsidized
commodity-based industries who
still believe all is well and that
support prices must prevail. The
destiny of any agriculture (food
and fiber) producing industry, I
believe, is going to center more
and more on production efficien
cies, value-based marketing, free
trade policies, and environmental
issues. The sheep industry has al
ready demonstrated the ability to
adapt well to all these factors. Pro
ducer initiative and support, coup
led with the collective abilities to
look beyond the horizon, design
and implement short and long
term educational, marketing and
promotional programs is certain to
initiate growth and enhance sus
tainability.
Maybe the question now, for
many producers, is the American
Sheep industry leadership making
proper plans for the 21st century?
Nothing is perfect, but I believe
the present leadership within the
American Sheep Industry Asso
ciation, (ASI) understands and re
spects the diversity that exists
within the industry. They strive to
establish good dialogue with their
constituents, government policy
makers, consumer advocates, ani-
IJL HAPPY k |
I HOLIDAYS |
For Bullt In strength Where
C-l
M^Hi^N O E K Counts - Buy <^^>
CONTACT YOUR BRILLION DEALER FOR DETAILS
ELIZABETHTOWN NEEDMORE
Messick Farm Equipment Co. ciugston Farm Equipment w^ a fl^ tt Son lnc
INTERCOURSE NEW HOLLAND ■VHRIiRII^^H
C.B. Hoober & Son A.B.C. Groff, Inc.
GREENCASTLE OAKLAND MILLS rarMulll* CnrH Maui Unll.nrl
Meyers Implement Peoples Sales & Service Ceresvllle Ford New Holland
LANCASTER OLEY ,
Landis Brothers, Inc. Pikevllle Equipment, Inc,
LEBANON QUARRWILLE
Umberger's of Fontana Grumelli Farm Service
LOYSVILLE
Gutshall’s, Inc.
LYNNPORT
Kermit K. Kletler, Inc,
mal welfare and environmental
policy groups. Likewise, they
have not overlooked the need for
building good bridges (coalitions)
with various public action groups,
in an effort to resolve differing
views. Most important, the ASI
leadership has a keen respect for
the industry’s fragile infrastruc
ture. They believe in the participa
tory' process and understand that
initiating and supporting some ba
sic grass-roots type programs will
boost local and national support.
Action on these fronts will be
come more evident as you take
time to acquaint youself with ASI
activities and the working com
mittees.
Again, a reminder and final
question, is the accent on your
personal sheep business, basically
complimentary to the parent or
ganization’s goals? If so, the op
portunity is yours to help move
both your business and the nation
al sheep industry forward. The test
will come, we hope this fall when
you are asked to vote on a national
referendum that proposes one cent
per pound on domestic and im
ported lamb and two cents per
pound on domestic grease wool.
Discussions are still going on as to
how they might assess imported
degreased wool and wool prod
ucts.
Pennsylvania sheep producers
are fortunate to have the leader
ship of Janet Mawhinney of
Greene County, who is an ASI
representative. She and her col
leagues have compiled a very de
tailed report, in the last (May) is
sue of the Pennsylvania Sheep
Producers magazine, on the up
coming referendum. I would sug
gest you get a copy of this Penn
sylvania Sheep Producer maga
zine. Janet voices the opinion of
the ASI leadership, when she
urges your participation and writ
ten input on the upcoming referen
dum issue(s). Please take the time
HFC FIELD CULTIVATORS
The "heart" of any field cultivator Is the shank pivot point. A
"bulked up" shank bracket made of cast ductile iron instead of
the usual formed steel bracket, incorporates a hardened steel
bushing AND a zerk grease fitting to lubricate the pivot point
to reduce wear. The result is thousands of acres of extended
life of the shanks.
TAMAQUA
Charles Snyder, Inc.
WATSONTOWN
Deerfield Ag & Turf Center, Inc.
over the next few months to be
come informed and share your
draughts, by writing to the editor
of your sheep producer magazine,
Lynn or John Zerphy, at (717)
362-4315.
Now, sheep producers have the
opportunity to step forward and
become partners in building a
stronger and more competitive in
dustry. The reality check is, those
agriculture industries gaining in
producer support, in marketing
skills, and in promotional funding
will be the industries who can best
guarantee themselves a reputable
spot in the market place. The
sheep industry is no exception.
Consequently, because of the pre
sent fragile infrastructures exist
ing both within the Pennsylvania
and the U.S. sheep industries, tim
ing for this referendum is espe
cially critical. Obviously, the out
come of any national referendum
is a direct reflection upon produc
er attitude and level of commit
ment For any producer who be
lieves the sheep industry should
grow and continue to maintain a
competitive place in animal agri
culture, the choice is quite simple.
Become an informed voter by
calling the American Sheep Indus
try Association for more details on
the proposed referendum at (800)
EWE-VOTE.
By now many of you have eith
er read or been informed of the re
cent U.S. Department of Agricul
ture’s announcement for conduct
ing the upcoming election on the
National Sheep Referendum.
USDA released information to all
State Referendum coordinators
and industry leaders that Tuesday,
Feb. 6, has been set as the voting
date. Voting can be either in-per
son, at the county extension office
or by absentee balloting.
In order to follow the strict
guidelines set up for absentee vot
ing it is important that all persons
(Turn to Page D 3)
16V4 Ft. to 311/2 Ft,
BRIDGETON
Leslie Fogg
ELMER
Pole Tavern Equip. Sales Corp
FAIRIELD
Caldwell Tractor & Equipment