A26-Lanca«taf Fanning, Saturday, January 27. 1996
Annual Crops Conference
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) —Farmers can get informa
tion about rotational grazing,
grain marketing, growing “design
er” crops, managing weeds and
more at the 1996 , Pennsylvania
Crops Conference on Tuesday,
Jan. 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 pm. at
the Embers Inn and Convention
Center in Carlisle.
The conference is sponsored by
the Pennsylvania Master Com
Growers Association, the Penn
sylvania Forage and Grassland
Council, the Pennsylvania Soy
bean Board, and Penn State
Cooperative Extension.
Delivering the keynote address
will be Keith Heard, vice presi
dent of the National Com Growers
Association. From 9-10 a.m..
Heard will discuss the next Farm
Bill and how it will affect Penn
sylvania com producers.
The following breakout ses
sions will begin at 11 a.m.:
• Dairy producers Brian Moyer
and Jack Fritz will lead the discus
sion “Is Grazing for You?"
• Rob Ratvasky of Hoober
Equipment Co. will discuss
“Using Combine Yield Monitors
on Pennsylvania .Farms.” Grain
producers Kenneth Martin and
Donald Newhard will talk about
“Alternative Strategies for Grain
Marketing: Options, Contracting
and Grain Marketing Clubs.”
• John Bee here, CEO of the
United Soybean Board, will dis
cuss “Your Soybean Checkoff
Dollars at Work.” Dwight Lingen
felter, extension assistant in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences, will present “New
Options for Managing Weeds in
Soybeans.” A discussion on “Con
trolling Eastern Black Nightshade
in Soybeans” will be led by
Edward Werner, research techno
logist in Penn State’s College of
Agricultural Sciencics.
At noon, participants may
attend one of three luncheons; the
Pennsylvania Forage and Grass
land Council lunch and awards
program, the Pennsylvania Master
Com Growers Association lunch
and Five-Acre Cora Club awards
program, or the Pennsylvania
Soybean Board lunch and soybean
yield contest awards program.
At a general session at 2 p.m..
Dr. Peter Coaldrake, specialty
com research coordinator of Pion
eer Hi-bred International, will dis
cuss “Designer Crops: The Wave
of the Future.”
Some breakout sessions will be
repeated after 3 p.m., along with
SYRACUSE. N.Y. The
Council of Northeast Farmer Co
operatives and its member co-ops
spearheaded an export initiative to
introduce U.S. dairy products to
the Mexican marketplace in Jan
uary. A variety of U.S products
ranging from ice cream to yogurt
to specialty cheeses were featured
at “Festival de Alimentos y Be
bidas,” a major trade show held in
Mexico City from Jan. IS to 17.
The Council represents dairy
farm families from Michigan to
Maine through its member co
operatives Agri-Mark, Milk
Marketing Inc., Upstate Milk and
Sl Albans. In partnership with de
partments of agriculture in Massa
chusetts, New York, Pennsylvania
and Vermont, the Council organ
ized participation in the show,
which this year joined forces with
Expo of Americas. The show was
expected to draw more than
25,000 visitors from the retail and
food service industries of Mexico,
Brazil. Chile, Costa Rica and El
Salvador.
“We see Mexico as an import
ant part of our export strategy,”
said Robert J. Gray, executive dir
ector of the Council of Northeast
Farmer Cooperatives. “Mexico
has long been an important market
for U.S. commodity products like
milk powder and butterfat. We see
that market continuing to grow,
and including more high-value
dairy items like ice cream, yogurt,
mozzarella, Cheddar and specialty
cheeses.”
Since joining the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) in 1986, Mexico has re
duced import tariffs from 100 per
cent on selected items to a maxi
mum of 20 percent across the
board. The North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
which Mexico joined in 1994,
additional sessions on “Forage
harvesting: Reducing Labor” and
“Small Rectangular Bales,” led by
hay producer David Fink, and
“Large Round Bales,” led by
Robert Leiby, county extension
Northeast Cooperatives Introduce
Dairy Products To Mexico
promised to open the markets
even further.
“The devaluation of the peso in
1995 shook the country to its
roots,” according to Steven F. Jus
tis, a marketing specialist with the
HATFIELD (Montgomery
Co.)—January 4, 1996—Hatfield
Quality Meats was presented with
the Honorary County Agent
Award by the Pennsylvania Asso
ciation of County Agricultural
Agents (P.A.C.A.A.) at their
annual meeting in State College. It
is the highest award given by the
association to non-members.
The statewide award was pre
sented to Hatfield President and
CEO Phil Clemens by Tim Fritz,
an agricultural extension agent
with the Montgomery County
branch of the Penn State Coopera
tive Extension, and Joe Way. a
retired Montgomery County
extension agent. P.A.C.A.A. gives
the award annually to recognize
an individual or group for their
support of the agricultural indus
try, specifically agricultural exten
sion and extension agents. Past
award recipients have included
legislators, top industry leaders
and university presidents.
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Set For Carlisle
director of Lehigh and Northamp
ton counties.
Certified crop adviser credits
will be available for some
sessions.
The preregistration fee is $2O
Vermont Department of Agricul
ture. “But the economy is begin
ning to turn around, arid it’s im
portant that our region be in posi
tion for the rebound. Even now,
exports from the U.S. to Mexico
surpass major markets in Europe
County
“This is the first time
P.A.C.A.A. has given the award to
an entire company,” says Fritz,
who co-nominated Hatfield. “It
was too tough to choose one spe
cific person.” Fritz says Hatfield
was nominated for its strpng sup
port of agriculture and agricultural
extension in Pennsylvania. He
noted the company’s hog farming
and water recycling with Penn
State University and the time and
money it contributes to support
4-H projects and the Montgomery
County Extension.
“Over the last 10 years,” says
Fritz, “Hatfield has donated
$300,000 for a 4-H/agricultural
center, which houses several orga
nizations including Cooperative
Extension, the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture, Mont
gomery County Conservation Dis
trict, Natural Resource Conserva
tion Society and Farm Service
Agency.”
Nancy Kadwill, Montgomery
County 4-H coordinator and Hat-
which includes lunch. Participants
must preregister by Jan. 23. For
more information or a preregistra
tion form, contact Penn State’s
Department of Agronomy at (814)
86S-2543. -
and Asia.”
In addition to dairy co-opt. sev
eral private dairy processors also
provided products for the show.
including Lucille Farm Products,
Rhino Foods, and Vermont Butter
ft Cheese.
Agent
field’s co-nominator for the
award, says “Hatfield is a strong
supporter of 4-H’s educational
programs as well as its youth hog
marketing programs. Statewide,
the company buys a lot of its hogs
through 4-H youth livestock clubs
and farm shows. Hatfield has been
absolutely wonderful in Mont
gomery County. Their contribu
tions not only benefit 4-H, but the
community as well.”
Hatfield was >:hosen to receive
the award after nominations were
submitted from every region in
Pennsylvania, reviewed by a
P.A.C.A.A. committee and
approved by the association’s
board of directors.
“Hatfield is dedicated to pro
moting agriculture in Pennsylva
nia,” says Rusty Ryan, marketing
manager at Hatfield. “We feel it is
our responsibility to do as much 4s
we can to keep it strong and thriv
ing. As a result, many people ben
efit, including Hatfield.”
Hatfield Quality Meats, Inc., in
business for 100 years, is a family
owned and operated supplier of
fresh pork pnxucts, hams, lun
cheon meats, sa tsage, bacon, hot
dogs, scrapple, pork roll and other
quality products to the retail and
food service industries. The com
pany’s products are distributed
from Maine to Florida.