The grand champion hog shown by Patrick Good sold to
Lapps Family Restaurant for $4.00 per pound represented
by Wlimer Lapp and son Ryan.
The reserve champion lamb shown by Heather Ziegler
was purchased by Stauffers of Kissel Hill represented by
John Gerlock.
/ gi, jploQk. >y>. jy
sold for $5.50 per pound to Stauffers of Kissel Hill repre
sented by Mike Huegel.
New Holland F
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) - The New Holland Fair lives
tock sale was held last Friday night
and featured market lambs and
market hogs.
Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill pur
chased both champion lambs. The
grand chamion shown by Rachel
Day sold for $5.50 per pound. And
the reserve grand champion shown
by Heather Ziegler sold for $3.00
per pound.
The grand champion Hog shown
by Patrick Good brought $4.00 per
pound on the bid Lapps Family
Restaurant and the reserve grand
champion shown by Jacob Brubak
er sold for $2.75 to Stoltzfus
Meats.
Both sales had good support
down the line and projects other
than the grand champions also sold
well.
Dairy
Voluntary Inventory
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
OLIN (North Carolina)
Frustrated and “fed-up” with the
current level of farm milk prices, a
handful of dairy producers in the
Southeast have developed a prop
osal that would establish a volun
taty, industry-run, cow inventory
management program. The goal of
their proposed voluntary self-help
program is to reduce the number
of milk producing cows in the
nation and curtail the current bur
geoning production.
Milk production across the
country is up 4.4 percent over a
year ago, with much of it being
manufactured into cheese. With a
dairy price based primarily on
cheese, the added cheese flowing
to the market is effectively reduc
ing the price paid across the coun
try to dairy producers of raw milk.
Dr. Ben Shelton, an Olin, North
Carolina, dairy producer and vet
erinarian, is one of a group of
Southeast dairy farmers who have
formed a committee to study a
voluntary producer assessment to
raise a pool om monies to fund an
inventory reduction of dairy
cattle. Their goal is to achieve a
better, long-term, balance
between milk supply and demand.
“We do have a lot of support for
the concept, and that support is
growing,” affirms Dr. Shelton.
While national cow herd num
bers have been decreasing for
many years, advancement in nutri
tion, genetics and housing con
tinue to boost annual per cow pro
duction. Advocates of the propos
al suggest that a reduction is
needed of an additional 200,000 to
300,000 head more than the usual
annual decrease from the current 9
million plus-head of dairy cattle in
the nation.
To help achieve their purpose,
the steering committee is under
taking efforts to generate interest
in their Producer Directed Invcn
toiy Control program. One of their
immediate aims is to enlist sup
port from the nation's dairy
cooperatives, which market
approximately 80 percent of the
nation’s 155 billion-pounds
annually milk production. A nick
el or dime per hundredweight
assessment on the 80 percent of
production, if all cooperative
members would agree to work
together voluntarily, could gen
erate millions of dollars annually
for a fund for use toward reducing
,p» jg . wn by Jacob Brubaker
was purchased by Stoltzfus Meats represented by Myron
stoltzfus and daughter Kelly.
Producers
cow numbers.
Many details of the program
have yet to be worked out But
proponents of the Producer
Directed Inventory Control prog
ram are studying optional methods
which could be used to value
herds for buyout purposes. One
method under discussion would
have independent appraisers value
herds and offer a premium over
the market price; a producer could
accept or reject that premium
proposal. Another option could
have producers themselves bid
into the program for a premium
price, over the beef market value.
The pool of voluntary checkoff
funds would provide the buyout
premium above the market price.
Those whose herds could be
culled at the lowest cost to the
program would be accepted, until
the fund was depleted annually.
Also under discussion is the
possibility of utilizing the volun
tary funds within the regional
marketing area where they would
be generated., Thus, the heaviest
areas of milk production would be
eligible for the largest inventory
control participation and areas of
low production would have the
least participation, based on the
volume of voluntary checkoff
contributed within that region.
Various scenarios are being
studied. But if widespread volun
tary support could be generated,
the cow inventory management
proponents anticipate that produc
tion might be curtailed up to 2%.
And, market analysts have long
noted that daily price swings are
implemented by even slight
changes in nationwide production.
To achieve any long term suc
cess, program advocates insist it
would have to be a continuing,
long-term effort, not just a “quick
fix.” If such a proposal generated
enough voluntary support to be
successful in better balancing milk
supply with demand, developers
of the cow inventory management
plan project that checkoff monies
in subsequent years might then be
directed toward inventory control
of dairy heifers and/or calves.
got rnilh?
h S.A
Propose
Management
Another inventory management
possibility could be utilizing the
checkoff to facilitate export of
product. However, the legality of
producers subsidizing export of
dairy product onto the world
market would need to be assessed
for compliance with trade agree
ments, such as GATT and
NAFTA.
Advocates emphasize that any
such herd inventory management
program involving a voluntary
producer checkoff would be over
seen by a board of directors with
national representation. That
board would ultimately decide on
the program’s fine details and
determine from year to year which
direction would be most effective
in balancing production for the
dollars expended.
Producer Directed Inventory
Control supporters sec it as a prog-
ram which would not cost a lot of
money, per hundredweight, would
not put anyone under a quota, and
would not require a producer to
stay out of business after partici
pating. Any returnees to milk pro
duction, as well as new start-ups
and expanding operations, would
help ftmd the ongoing exiting of
other producers from the dairy
business.
While the inventory control
outline does not involve the gov
ernment, the concept’s originators
hope to meet with and discuss
their ideas with Secretaty of Agri
culture Dan Glickman, and would
like to proceed with the under
standing and support of the Sec
retary and the Department of
Agriculture.
Though the proposal is still in
the discussion stage, the commit
tee is also studying the legal
aspects of such a voluntary inven
tory management program, as
well as sharing their ideas with
other producers to assess the level
of support that might be generated
nationwide.
Dairy producers interested in
learning more about the Producer
Directed Inventory Control prop
osals may contact Dr. Ben Shelton
at 704-546-5188.
R^ul