Vol. 41 No. 42
State Rep Heads Effort To Eliminate PMMB Pricing Authority
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
ARDMORE (Montgomery
Co.) The state House of Rep
resentatives State Government
Committee held a public hearing
Wednesday at the Lower Merion
Township building in Ardmore to
collect testimony on a legislative
proposal that would eliminate the
authority of the Pennsylvania Milk
Marketing Board (PMMB) to set
minimum retail prices.
The proposal. House Bill 2628,
was made by state Rep. Colleen
Sheehan, R-King of Prussia, who
in her Wednesday testimony said
her intent in proposing the legisla
tion was on behalf of “the taxpay
ers and schools,” claiming that the
PMMB’s practice of setting mini
mum retail pices for fluid milk is
"corporate welfare."
She cited a 67-cent difference in
retail price of a gallon of milk sold
in same-chain supermarket
stores one in Pennsylvania, the
other in Maryland which does not
have minimum retail prices for
milk as evidence that Pennsyl
vanians are in essence being
gouged by the PMMB.
“Are Pennsylvania consumers
and children being milked? Why
are a few industry and cotporate
types getting corporate welfare
Hog Is
Named E-town
Supreme
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
ELIZABETHTOWN (Uncas
ter Co.) —The most perfect animal
at the Elizabethtown Fair turned
out to be a hog. The Hamp cross
named Jasmine was a homebred
hog shown by Gerald Boyd, 17, of
Ephrata.
Gerald and his sister Sarah raise
about 20 hogs to show at area fairs
and are consistent winners. How
ever, this was the first time one of
their hogs captured the title
Supreme Champion Animal.
The showdown among the
supreme champions of dairy,
swine, sheep, goat, and beef hap
pened Thursday evening at the fair
grounds. Judges of each breed
debated about 30 minutes before
proclaiming that the hog was the
finest specimen of its species.
After the naming of the supreme
champion livestock, Harry Bach
man, Auctioneers conducted a
livestock sale. Sold were 47 market
market lambs, eight goats, seven
beef, and 105 hogs. Bidding was
brisk with Gerald’s supreme hog
selling for $625 to Fulton Bank.
Gerald’s sister Sarah sold her
reserve champion hog for $4OO to
Hoss’s Steak and Sea House,
which donated it to the Elizabeth
town Community Action Food
Bank.
The champion selling lamb
(Turn to Page A 35)
Four Sections
and being treated like sacred cows,
while the people of Pennsylvania
are being treated like chopped liv
er?” she asked.
The majority of testimony pre
sented by those opposed to the
proposal cited the long-standing
reason for giving the PMMB such
authority to ensure adequate
supplies of fresh, inexpensive
drinking milk for all Pennsylva
nians by ensuring a reasonable
profit for retailers, and, ipso facto,
an opportunity for adequate profit
by the processors and farmers.
The proposal to eliminate the
PMMB minimum-price setting
authority (something attempted in
recent years by surrounding states,
though courts struck down some of
those attempts because they
weren’t constructed quite the
same) was made June 11 (Dairy
Month) by Sheehan, a 40-year-old
former college professor of social
Lancaster Tobacco Crop Big And Heavy This Year
With all the rain, Lancaster County’a tobacco crop grew
fast and heavy this year. Roger Rohrer, who is Corestates
Bank’s vice president of agri-finance, takes vacation days
to harvest tobacco on his home farm. Rohrer said many
times in a wet, cool year the tobacco is not as good. But this
year, especially, on well-drained soils, tobacco farmers
have a nice crop.
On not-ao-well drained soils or where the heavy rains
took the nutrients below the root system the crop is short
and has a yellow color. And some blue mold has been
reported. But Rohrer estimates that 70 to 80 percent of the
crop is the right size and of good color.
Now farmers need days with heat and low humidity to
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Auguat 24, 1996
science and first-term representa
tive up for re-election in
November.
The hearing continued from 11
a.m. through 6 p.m. with a half
hour break for a late lunch. Atten
dance at the hearing was a
standing-room only in the 72-seat
board room of the Lower Merion
Township Building. In addition to
those seated, there were about 20
people standing around the walls at
any one time, with people leaving
and others arriving regularly.
As far as a piece of legislation,
this bill is still far from being law.
It must be brought out of the
State Government Committee,
chaired by Rep. Paul Clymer, R-
Perkasie, and sent to the floor of
the House. It could be referred to
another committee, and on and on,
until it has been before the House
for a third and final consideration.
If approved by the House, it
$27.50 Per Year
would then go to the suite Senate,
where it can be assumed additional
hearings would be held and a simi
lar process of review would have
to be undergone.
If the House version would pass
through the Senate without amend
ments it would go to the gover
nor’s office for his signature and
approval.
Both the House and Senate
reconvene in September. They can
be expected to break again for
elections in November, and they
may or may not continue again
before the regular holiday break.
One of the few agricultural sup
porters of the bill was the Pennsyl
vania Farm Bureau.
i Ckh ?. us ’ Penns ylvania
Farm Bureau director of state legi-
Programs, testified that it
was the membcr-delepate
approved policy (made *l*
November at thePFB annual meet-
cure the tobacco in the barns. The fields have yielded the
promise of a good crop, but with the extra moisture in the
leaves this year, the curing process will have an even grea
ter effect on the final quality of the crop.
Rohrer started harvesting on Monday, Aug. 5 and has
6,000 of his expected 11,500 lathes In the bams. In the
photo, Rohrer’s tobacco harvesting crew takes a small
break Wednesday afternoon to pose with a sample of the
big tobacco farmers are harvesting this year. From left,
David Martin, Mark Rohrer Ashlee Rohrer, Les Furlow,
Roger Rohrer, Todd Rohrer, and Chad Gunzenhouser.
Photo by Everett Newswanger, managing editor.
60* Per Copy
ing) to oppose retail price-setting
of milk.
It was explained through ques
tioning by committee member
Rep. Tom Barley. R-Lancaster,
also a member of PFB, how policy
is developed in the
organization that all policy
ideas are developed first at the
county level through suggestions
by individuals, then'further con
sidered, if supported locally, at the
state level.
Though not explained during
the hearing, a policy committee
takes all the policies developed
locally across the state and deve
lops policy statements, in other
words, they condense several simi
lar policy concepts into one policy
for consideration. When a policy
statement is unique it doesn’t
require condensing.
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