(Continued from Pago AID) One of the reasons why fertile areas such as Lancaster County and many other places in the US, have not jumped into this because they can “afford” Some soil ero sion. organic matter depletion, and heavy pesticide use as a price to pay for top yields. Other countries and places in the US with poorer quality soil and very little topsoil cannot “afford” these losses or they go hungry. Folks like Carlos Crovetto (ChUc), Frank Dijksla (Brazil), and others from around the world as well as right here in Lancaster County have proven that long term no-tillage works. With the use of cover crops and crop rotation, commercial fertiliz er and pesticides can be signific antly reduced by using no-tillage. This has great appeal where cash for inputs is scarce and for those of us who want to make a decent living while working with nature as it does its part in helping to pro duce a healthy food product. Steve Groff Holtwood Editor, In 1996 milk production dropped due to poor forage and inadequate com supplies. This caused cheese marketers, afraid of inadequate inventories in the fall, to bid up the price of cheese. The •3HW Featuring: Feeding • Nipples • Ventilation • Shenandoah Brooders • Roofing & Siding WMHJL VIMATU, and AFFORDABLE Chora- TWiw* SUHH-Moolar PNT VhnMMon Control MnM dNlnid v •llManOy awk wNh imriy * ■ j *■ ~ - ■r «vmnpi mmnomm • imunii iNgnvv mrh pfniuii, im| tunnai. Bmv Id oparatD, this ftftfflfftj fMtUCDD tWD hMI MM 10 DDOKM MIQN, Tho aural liliului la aoay to aal up and atfual la Dim tuna lor your buMno'a aaaaWle vanWallaii fapulramanta. management of the major cooperatives responded by shut ting down their milk dryers and moving all available milk and powder into cheese production. This maximized the cooperatives’ profit and probably netted the membership an extra penny or two per cwt. The increased cheese produc tion in the face of lower milk pro duction resulted in a lack of nonfat dry milk powder. As a result the USDA shut down the D.E.I.P. program due to a “lack of supply.” This increased cheese production also caused by a small increase in chese inventories. This gave Kraft the excuse and means to drive down the price of chccsc in Octob er. This crash cost the nations dairy farmers $4-S/cwt Obviously the people who run the coopera tives were penny-wise and dollar foolish. Most people learn from their mistakes. In an interview in Dairy Profit Weekly, 3/17/97, Don Storhoff, CEO of Foremost Farms USA, Bamboo, Wis., stated “...Clearly there was mote money to be made by putting milk into cheese manu facturing plants rather than nonfat dry milk plants.” Foremost Farms, to gamer the highest returns for members cut powder production 51% and expanded cheese production 34%. “When Thanks and Congratulations i EZRA SENSENIG & FAMILY 490 Weidmanville Road, Ephrata, PA On Their All New 48’x500’ Broiler House you examine the facts of the 1996 dairy industry, it becomes clear that it wasn’t the amount of milk that had as great an impact on markets and prices as how that milk was used,” Storhoff says. Foremost plans to reduce nonfat dry milk production 14% this year, while increasing cheese pro duction 4%. Cheese inventories are starting to build and die price of cheese has stagnated. It is obvious that if cooperatives continue to push cheese production that their mem bers will be forced into oblivion. It is also obvious that the people who run the cooperatives under stand this yet they continue to push cheese production. Why? The answer is simple. It is die reason that, despite controlling 70% of the nation’s milk, farmer members of cooperatives are becoming impoverished and liqui dated. The people who run cooperatives only care about cooperative profits. If lowering the price farmers receive improves cooperative profits they will and do lower than. What is the answer? There is none! So long as cooperatives can block vote for their members, lob by congress, control most of what their membership hears and understands about milk pricing, and own or run plants nothing will change. The people running cooperatives are judged by the cooperatives’ ledger, not the farmer-member’s ledger. “Building and Equipment by Northeast Agrl Systems" Northeast Agrl Systems, Inc. Flyway Business Park store hours; 139 A West Airport Road 7:30 to 4:30 Lltltz, PA 17543 Ph; (717) 569-2702 1-800-673-2580 John Geis Jasper, NY MILK. IT DOES A BODY GOOD.' MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION, INC. Chora-Tlma nipple drinkers conn assembled and (datura Chora-Tlma'a Surga Plus® regulator which automatically booata praaaura during times of paak watar conaumptlon 24 Hr. 7 Day Repair Service CROPP Seeks Farmers HAGERSTOWN. Md. CROPP Cooperative which mar kets dairy products nadonwaide under the ORGANIC VALLEY label will be having informational meetings in the Hagerstown, Md., and Gettysburg areas for dairy farmers interested in this new op portunity. Topics of discussion will in clude an introduction to this mem ber-owned organization of dairies from six states, as well as its 10-year history as an organic co operative. and what is required on the farm for membership. CROPP sells over 30 dairy products here in the Mid-Atlantic region, and now has the ability to offer farmers here a way to enter the organic market and say good bye to year-round low milk pric ing. In addition to dairy, the co operative markets other farm products and provides member services such as grain availability information and contracting, or ganic certification assistance and fee payment, and herd health as sistance 24 hours a day toll-free through one of its experienced dairies in Wisconsin. Steven Fiscus, CROPP’s east ern dairy pool representative will be hosting two meetings on Fri day, April 4 in Hagerstown. Interested dairies from the re gion are cordially invited to either one. The first will be for lunch at the Shenandoah Radiant GAS BROODERS jVk Your cold weather friend -T - * / Shon Glow Savaa tool bwiun f JC\ 1-00,000 BTU Shan Glow dual _ ('•') U» work Of 2-30,000 BTU Shen r Vix p .nc.k.b ro oo«. (SQES27 - ££ undwfr Knttoif immHM Black Steer Restaurant off of 1-81, exit 1 in Pennsylvania on Route 163 (Mason-Dixon Rd.). The meeting will begin promptly at 11 a.m. and end around 2 p.m. For those unable to attend the lunch meeting, Mr. Fiscus will be available at the Washington Coun ty Library in downtown Hagers town Friday evening, April 4 from 6 to 8:45 pjn. The Library is located on the comer of South Potomac Street and Antietam Street near the square in Hagerstown. Rem 1-81 take Route 40 East to the square (Rt. 40 becomes Washington Street). From 1-70, take Route 40 West into downtown. Advance re servations are required for this meeting. The following Friday, April 11, CROPP will be hosting an in formational meeting outside Get tysburg for interested dairies in Maryland and Pennsylvania. A lunch meeting will be held at Spangler’s Restaurant, off RL IS on RL 394 (Hunterstown) begin ning at 10:30 a.m. and concluding soon after dinner. Anyone wishing to learn more about this expanding sector of agriculture is encouraged to at tend. If you plan to attend these meet ings, or for more information about the Co-op, call Steven Fis cus at 301-478-2103 for reserva tions by April 2. to MM SERVING THE UH EASTERN SHORE ■ Fadaralaburg, Md. 30S University Ayt. mrwm (Formerly Long Lu’nbor) MM 410-754-9434 tBBSS&i stor * Houf,; 1 7:30 AH-4:30 PM
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers