(ConttniMd from Pago A 10)
profit motives stare up at you demanding harsh decisions and realloca
tion of resources I implore you to look beyond the year-end report to
the lifetime value of your commitment and gauge those investments
right along with mergers and restructuring.
“Because some day I hope to God that when my babies grow up
someone will still be providing the programs and services that are cur
rently offered through PCC. I, too, just want what is best for our
cooperative members. I believe that this organization has fulfilled a
vital role in the cooperative community in the past With your support
and visionary thinking, I believe that it is possible that it can continue
to evolve and remain a valuable part of the cooperative community in
the future.” Crystal Smlthmyer, Executlvo Director’s
Report, PCC Annual Business Meeting.
Brosius Announces
Counties For
CHEMSWEEP
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
Agriculture Secretary Charles
C. Brosius announced that 13
counties have been selected for
the 1997 “Chemswecp” program,
which enables Burners in the af
fected counties to safely dispose
of outdated and unwanted pesti
cides.
“This program is good for Burn
ers, consumers, and the environ
ment,” Brosius said. He noted that
the 13 counties scheduled for the
1997 cleanup are Allegheny,
Beaver, Cameron. Clarion, Clear
field, Clinton, Cumberland, Elk,
Forest, Montgomery. Perry, Sus
quehanna, and Warren.
The addition of these counties
brings to 56 the total number of
Pennsylvania counties which have
participated since the beginning of
the program.
Registratin is under way
through county Penn State Co
operative Extension offices
through Dec. 31. Applications for
the program will be mailed to
farmers in the affected counties in
October or can be obtained Bom
county extension offices or the
Agriculture Department
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Collections are funded through
pesticide product registration fees
paid by chemical manufacturers,
and do not place a financial burd
en on farmers or taxpayers. Farm
ers. Christmas tree growers, fish
hatchery managers, mushroom
producers, nursery, and green
house operations and commercial
pesticide enterprises are eligible to
participate.
Collection of pesticides from
farms which sign up during the
registration period will take place
in the spring of 1997. Growers
may be instructed to deliver their
unwanted pesticides to a central
collection site or have their pesti
cides picked up directly from their
storage locations by MSE En
vironmental, Inc. a hazardous
waste disposal company under
contract with the department
Since November 1995, more
than 330,000 pounds of waste
pesticides were collected, bring
ing total collections to 430,000
pounds since the program began
in 1992.
Chcmswccp is picking up the
pesticides inventoried in the 11
counties whose application period
ended in March.
Editor,
Recently, several news stories
have been written regarding high
er prices that consumers are pay
ing for dairy products. After the
average person read die stories,
they would have to assume the
reason for the price increases is
related to higher prices die dairy
farmers are paying for the feed
grains. Furthermore the consum
ers would assume, because the
dairy farmers are paying an
accelerated price for grains, this
would automatically mean a high
er price paid to dairy farmers.
Unfortunately, this assumption
is a far cry from the truth. The
reality is The prices paid to
dairy farmers does not in any way
reflect the actual cost of producing
milk. During the last 20 years
many dairy farmers and some
farm organizations have been try
ing to have Congress implement a
new pricing formula that would
truly represent the dairymen’s
actual cost of producing milk.
13
Such a formula would return a
fair price to the dairy farmer, and
at the same time the formula
would stabilize prices to
consumers.
In reality one year ago when
feed prices started to increase to
the farmers, the prices paid to
dairy farmers for milk certainly
did not keep pace with the cost of
grain. Actual prices paid to dairy
farmers in March of 1996 was
$13.48 per cwt, while in March of
1981 the price wassl3.2o per cwt.
This means in March of ’96 dairy
farmers were paid approximately
'A cent a quart more for milk than
they received IS years earlier. For
the last 5 months prices paid to
dairy farmers have increased. The
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main reason for the price increase
is because of less milk being pro
duced nationally. The reduced
proportion can in all probability
be traced to weather conditions
across the country and in many
cases dairy farmers are feeding
less grain to their cows, conse
quently less milk is being
produced.
When there is a sharp decrease
in the production of milk national
ly (3-4%) this places a squeeze on
the manufacturing plants in the
upper mid-west which in essence
forms a higher price for manufac
tured milk in that area. Conse
quently this means a higher Basic
Formula Price, which raises milk
prices across the country.
The same thing is true in
reverse when there is more
milk produced the extra milk cre
ates less pressure on milk supplies
for manufacturing plants in the
upper mid-west, when the Basic
Formula Price goes down, and
sometimes dramatically, which,
for sure creates lower prices for
dairy farmers, but the lower prices
to dairy farmers, is not, in many
cases, reflected to consumers as
they purchase dairy products
Consumer Prices
The dramatic upswing in the
price for butter is a clear example
how consumers are being ripped
off and the dairy farmers arc being
blamed.
On January S, 1996 the Chicago
Mercantile Price for a pound of
butter was 800 per lb. By the end
of June the price went as high as
$1.55 per lb., which forced a dra-
matic increase to consumen.
Of the ,7 50 per lb. increase in
the wholesale price of butter, only
120 a lb. was received by dairy
termers.
At the same time the butter
prices escalated dramatically;
cheese prices remained stable,
even though in most cases manu
facturers pay the same price for
cheese milk as they do for milk
used for butter.
In Pennsylvania, the Pa. Milk
Marketing Board establishes
minimum prices mi the retail price
of milk. This minimum price is
tied directly to the price that milk
handlers pay for fluid milk. The
retail price is adjusted'A cent per
pound (upward or downward) for
every 180 per cwL movement in
the fluid price.
October’s minimum price will
be $2.67 and most likely Novem
ber’s price will be $2.71 per
gallon.
In all probabilities these con
sumer retail prices will level out
around $2.75 per gallon. This still
is only a 020 a gallon increase in 6
years or 3'A 0 per gallon average
increase cost per year. Pro Ag’s
opinion is that consumers will pay
the $2.75 per gallon for milk when
they realize that the increase price
will go to the dairy farmers.
However. Pro Ag is urging an
investigation regarding the rip-off
of consumers on the butter prices.
A survey is going on in Califor
nia where consumer prices for
fluid milk has gone up to $3.73
per gallon in several supermark
ets, even though the farm price is
cheaper than Northeastern
Pennsylvania.
We in Pro Ag also feel that Pen
nsylvania Milk Marketing Board
plays a key role in maintaining
reasonable prices to the consum
ers of milk.
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