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V 01.43 No. 9
1997 Ends As Perplexing Year For Producers
ANDY ANDREWS
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)
For many producers, 1997 will go
into the books as a confusing, per
plexing year. For others, 1997 will
prove to be a year that provided the
first fruits of burgeoning technolo
gy and expanding markets.
Pork and beef products are sell-
Bob and Diana Miller, with sons, Matt, 5; Wesley, 8; and Ben, 2, have been honored
as Maryland Outstanding Farm Family for 1997.
Farm Show
Special Issue
Next Week
Our special Pennsylvania
Farm Show issue will come to
you next week. An extensive
resource to help you gel the
most out of your visit to the
Farm Show, this publication
will be filled with the Farm
Show schedule and building
layout, special Interviews
with farm families who plan to
show their home-grown
Kerns, and advertisers’ mes
sages to help you choose
products and services. In
fact, to help you get a head
start on your planning, the
building layout and show
schedule Is Included In this
Issue, starting on page 817.
Please note that to getlhe
paper out to you on time next
week some of the news and
advertising deadlines have
(Turn to Pago A 25)
Four Sections
ing at a brisk pace in Japan, the
major buyer of U.S. pork. Exports
of broilers in 1997 will total 4.6
billion pounds and should increase
to 4.7 billion this year (with Russia
a big growth market for U.S.
chicken). Other products will see
increasing demand from overseas,
apparently with no end in sight
At the same time, producers in a
large part of the state saw their
Mid-Winter Plowing Brings Hope For A New Year
In many places the ground sleeps under e deep, eoft blanket of snow. But in Lancaster County, the ground was open. And
early Monday morning, before the the storm came up from the South, this Amish tanner was getting a running start on spring
plowing. The scene along West View Drive, east of Intercourse, seems out of place in the middleof winter. And yet, what bet
ter symbolic activity could explain the eternal hope that lies within the heart of every true farmer? As we ring In the new year,
this hope causes us to believe the blessings of nature will give uryet another good growing season full of bountiful harvest
and the spiritual Meetings associated with the calling to be a famier^hggjt^flw^
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3, 1998
crops drastically reduced by a per
sistent, unbreakable drought
throughout the summer of 1997. In
July, it was announced that a
drought watch was declared for 34
counties in the Susquehanna River
basin.
Com silage harvests were down
drastically, as much as 35 to 40
percent in some areas. The USDA
yield estimate for Pennsylvania,
$28.50 Per Year
according to Penn Slate experts, is
85 bushels per acre compared to
119 bushels per acre in 1996 a
substantial decrease.
But for as much as the crop
endured, some producers achieved
high levels of production from
their fields. Many agree that grow
ing successful crops of any nature
is a perplexing, confusing business
at best, even in an ideal year.
To illustrate the nature of this
dual-personality year filled with
droughts and broken expectations,
the 1997 com harvest is still
pegged at about 9.27 billion
Millers Named
Outstanding Maryland
Farm Family
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor, . ~
NORTH EAST, Md. For die
farm family that has been recog
nized by both Land O’Lakcs and
Farm Bureau as outstanding Mary
land young fanners. Bob and
Diane Miller and their three sons,
Wesley 8, Matt S. and Ben 2, look
at their operation as both a heritage
and a business.
The heritage part comes from a
long line of ancestors who have
lived on their farm located just
south of the Pennsylvania/
Maryland line. Not only do they
enjoy their work, the family part
nership between them and Bob’s
father and uncle provide a reward
ing atmosphere to rear the boys.
The business attitudes focus on
60C Per Copy
bushels, about the same as last
year’s crop. It’s the fourth largest
crop on record, according to the
USDA. Carryovers will create
only a six-week supply of com at
the time of this year’s harvest
But the livestock and poultry
industries continue to use com at a
record level despite the small
carryovers.
Producers had other news that
created questions about ag’s future
and the role of a progressive far
mer in it In a year of large mergers
(Atlantic Dairy Cooperative and
(Turn to Page A 24)
obtaining expert professional man
agement help from accountants,
* feed nutritionists and crop
consultants.
“Any young person who wants
to farm should consider what he/
shewants out of life,” Bob said. “If
he wants to make a lot of money or
have short hours, he will not find
this on the farm. But if he wants to
be self-employed, enjoy his work,
and have a good place to rear a
family, he should consider it”
“But he/she definitely should
consider obtaining professional
management help.” Diane adds.
“And he needs to find time to get
away so he can look at the opera
tion from a different perspective
and come back with a more posi
tive attitude.”
(Turn to Page A 26)