Fmnino. Saturday, March 16.1996
Eckel To
(ConMnuad tram Riga A 1)
He is tentatively set to take a
seaton the board of directors of an
insurance company that PFB spon
sors • Nationwide Enterprises. He
said he agreed to be nominated to
the position, and. if elected, will
resign as president and join the
board.
It is expected that Eckel be
elected to that insurance board, a
compensated position, and that
Donaldson will be the next
president
In addition, Eckel will resign his
seat on the board of the American
Farm Bureau Federation, the asso
ciation of which the PFB is an
affiliate.
Donaldson said that since the
AFBF board of directors is limited,
and he is to start his first term of
office, it isn’t likely that he will be
immediately elected to a seat
A special April meeting is to
convene by the AFBF to nominate
a new representative to its board
from the Northeast.
Prior to the June board meeting,
the president of AFBF is to name
the next member of the farm orga
nization’s Executive Committee.
Eckel said that much remains to
be done by PFB and that he will
continue to stay active in support
of the organization, if from a diffe
rent position.
‘The Farm Bureau has been my
life and will continue to be a major
part,” he said. “And I'll continue
working with PFB as a member.”
He said the change is positive
for Farm Bureau and that Donald
son will be good for the
organization.
“He (Donaldson) is well quali
fied to be president, having been
the members’ choice to be vice
president. I think members are for
tunate to have Donaldson as presi
dent,” Eckel said.
Donaldson is a fruit producer
from Adams County, and has been
a long time leader in farm
organizations.
A graduate of Gettysburg High
School, he attended the University
of Maryland, and with his wife
Betty and in partnership with sons
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Steve and David and daughter
Beverly Benner, farms 550 acres
planted in apple, peach, and cherry
trees and vegetables. Hie family
business also operates a retail farm
market from April through
December.
He was first elected vice presi
dent of the Pa. Farm Bureau in
November 1987 and was subse
quently re-elected in 1989. 1991,
1993 and 1995.
He has served as president of the
Adams County Fanners’ Associa
tion, and was a director represent
ing Franklin, Cumberland. Fulton
and Adams county farmers’ asso
ciations on PFB -state board of
directors from 1983 until elected
vice president.
He also served as the first presi
dent of the PFB marketing
cooperative Pennsylvania Com
modity Marketing Association
(PACMA), following its reorgani
zation in 1979.
On committees, he chaired the
PFB Growth Study Committee,
which was given the task to deve
lop and recommend in 1988 long
range goals for PFB programs to
meet the challenges of the 19905.
In 1988 he also was elected to a
three-year term on the Penn State
Board of Trustees and re-elected in
1991 and 1994.
A member of the Adams County
Fruit Growers oiganization and the
State Horticultural Association, in
the past he also served a board
director for the Mt. Orchard
Cooperative, was a member of the
Knouse Foods Cooperative, and
also served as a chairman of the
Pennyslvania Apple Marketing
Program.
Outside of agriculture, he has
served in the past as president of
the Fairfield Area School Board,
was president of the Fairfield
Lions Club, and is currently a
board member of the Adams
County National Bank, is a mem
ber of the Adams County Planning
Commission and also the county’s
Emergency Planning
Commission.
A past member of the Orrtanna
United Methodist Church, he is
also a past Sunday school teacher
PH. 717-299-2571
and Sunday school superintendent.
Donaldson said he didn’t expect
his taking over leadership to cause
any noticeable change in the oper
ations of the organization.
“The challenges will not go
away,” Donaldson said. “They will
continue to be there and I hope to
continue to have support from
members.
“With the change in leadership,
I don’t think there’s going to be a
transition. Hopefully it will keep
moving along with little change.”
For his part, outgoing president
Eckel is to spend more time attend
ing to his family business, while
still being involved in agricultural
issues.
He is in charge of personnel,
finance and vegetable production
on the farm. They produce more
than 200 tons of pumpkins on 20
acres to supply chain grocery
stores in the East and they also
raise SOO acres of field com, 85
acres of sweet com, and 300 acres
of wheat in rotation with the
tomatoes.
He, his brother and father were
presented the Pennsylvania Master
Fanner award in 1982. and Keith
was awarded the Jaycees’ Out
standing Young Farmer Award in
1983. In other awards, he was the
recipient of an honorary county
agent award in 1991 from the Pen
nsylvania Association of County
Agriculture Agents.
The purpose of the meeting with
representatives from agricultural
media was more than to announce
the anticipated change in leader
ship of the PFB. It was also to pro
vide an open forum for the discus
sion of some of the policies and
positions of the organization.
Most recently, the PFB was not
in concert with other agricultural
organizations in the state as far as
the 1995 Farm Bill, which is still to
be resovled.
Eckel took the opportunity to
say that the main reason passage of
the the Farm Bill is pressed by the
Farm Bureau is because of the
impending planting season and the
large amount of acres for which
planting decisions need to be
made, but can not because of
uncertainties of the Farm Bill.
Some have speculated that the
1995 Farm Bill will be the last, as
national policital theory now holds
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that the nation’s farming commun
ity would be better served by
allowing the fluctuations of market
demand control supply.
The Farm Bill proposals cur
rently in conference committee are
being heralded as the “Freedom to
Farm,” because it would eliminate
or reduce government support pay
ments and certain program subsi
dies over a relatively short time.
In general, the existing govern
ment program was designed to
ensure adequate supplies of food
for the nation —it has been
referred to as the nation’s cheap
food supply program by produc
ers: and die farmer welfare prog
ram by self-described taxpayer
representatives.
The concept to avoid domestic
famine by ensuring adequate sup
plies of affordable food to every
American was to be done through
support payments set at minimum
levels (below cost of production in
many cases) in case government
urged crop plantings, or whatever
commodity was being produced,
resulted in overabundance and
very low prices to farmers.
This was to keep the nation’s
fanners in business during periods
of abundance (oversupply from
good weather and bumper crop) so
that they would still be there pro
ducing those commodities during
periods of drought or devastation
without the price of the commodi
ties getting too high.
The effect was to allow more
producers to exist than would sur
vive given what month-to-month.
supply-demand production and
price fluctuations would allow, not
to mention unfair competition
from subsidized agricultural
imports.
Market driven commodity
prices could be expected to fluctu
ate much more if producers were
totally independent. However,
with the advent of contract farm
ing, it is assumed that producer
income should not vary as greatly,
nor would it be expected that new,
independent farming starts in con
tract heavy commodities would
arise and cause oversupply and
price drops.
All of that aside, the PFB and
the AFBF have urged quick adop
tion of a Farm Bill in order to at
least allow producers to prepare
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properly for the growing season.
For the Southern states, that lime
has passed, Eckel said.
But that was not Eckel’s main
concern in addressing policy
issues sought by the PFB.
He told the group of reporters
that the PFB is seeking to reinstate
full funding for the University of
Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine in the- 1996-97 state
budget. A proposal from Gov.
Tom Ridge is to reduce the amount
by 27 percent, or $5.6 million.
Reinstating the full funding has
to be a priority Eckel said, because
of the importance of the work done
by the university for the state’s
agricultural industry and to keep it
competitive.
Eckel said that while former
Gov. Robert Casey had attempted
to cut funding for the university, it
had been replaced after protest
from the industry. He said that
needs to be done again.
Eckel also said the PFB supports
Senate Bill 241, a piece of prop
osed legislation that would create a
citizen referendum on whether or
not to make mandatory container
deposits a law.
Pennsylvania has been one of a
few holdout states in the Northeast
to not implement a mandatory con
tainer deposit. Other states, such as
Maine, New York, Vermont and
others have had such laws in place
for years to discourage the tossing
of empty beverage containers
along roadsides and into roadfront
property.
For agriculture, the damage
from broken bottles, metal and
slowly decomposing materials not
only causes eyesores, but threatens
the safety of man, machinery and
animal.
The loss of a $1,200 heifer
because of ingesting glass or met
al. or developing serious and life
threatening infections because of
cuts to legs and feet, the damage to
machinery, and the threat to the
landowners on their own property
because of automobiled trash*
tossers is unacceptable to theagri
cultural community and many
other environmental protection
organizations.
While a “bottle bill,” as previ
ous legislative attempts have been
labeled, has not been able to clear
(Turn to Pago A 37)