WILKES-BARRE (Luzern
Co.) - The Pennsylvania Holstein
Convention opened Thursday
with a tour to HiSllside Farms,
seminars on employee relations
and time management, and a
convention sale with number one
in the catalogue selling for
$lO,BOO
Hillside Farms located 10
minutes out of town has the creek
flowing right by the barn that
many years ago was used to cool
the milk cans. The original barn
still stands from 1881 when great
grandfather William Conyngham
imported the first registered
Holstein. Hillside is one of only
two farms m the nation that can
trace a continuous registered
Holstein business back that far In
1977 the present Conyngham
owners, William L. and Frank
E P., started to bottle milk and
they now service the area with
milk in glass and have an on-farm
store and ice cream shop. A
greenhouse business is also part
of the enterprise.
Hillside got into the high index
Holstein business when they
Pennsylvania Holstein Convention Early Report
made a purchase six years ago
when the state Holstein
convention was also in Wilkes-
Barre. Since that time, the herd
has become high profile with
many contracts and high-selling
bulls, heifers, and embryos.
The convention sale Thursday
night under the slogan “Holstems
shine in ‘99” was quite successful
with an offering highly regarded
as having "something for every
kind of breeding program ”
Darlawn Bellwood Hazel
consigned by Mark and Paul
Darling, Nicholson, sold to Vision
Genetics, Richmond, VA. For
$lO,BOO. The Bellwood daughter
with a bottom pedigree showing
longevity, type to (EX, 4E-92,
GMD DOM) and production to
47,750 m 1,836 f 1,426 p. Hazel
herself was VG 85 at 2y Bm, and
had a PTA +2,716m +losf +loop
PTPI +1,789 with an estimated
305 d record of 28,834 m 1,087 f
994 p.
Another $lO,OOO sale was the
l sl choice from 2 ultrasound
females due 6/7/99 consigned by
James Yunker, Fleetwood. This
embryo, a Manfred daughter out
of a Bellwood from Rich-Ru Thor
Mellow-ET, the foundation cow,
had indexes running off the chart
The buyer was H.E. Hendel and
Sons, Brogue.
At $6,100 the June calf from
Dale and Fred Rice,
Chambersburg, sold to Steven
Rudolph, Greencastle. A Mascot
from a Luke daughter traced back
to Ricecrest’s Noreen cow.
The sale continued past press
time and other high sales and the
averages would be reported next
with the continued convention
coverage.
In the employee relations’
seminar, Mike Weimer, Ed
Drexler, Abe Harpster, Ken Kehr,
and Dean Johnson served on a
panel. Some of the thoughts
expressed were;
-In employee management it
helps to keep low-key and
flexible.
-Payment is sometimes made
m goods from the farm such as
hay for the employee’s horses.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 20, 1999-A25
-Try to build up employees,
not always look for complaints
-Keep good relations with past
employees as they may want to
come back to work for you
sometime, or they may
recommend others who can make
good employees
-Go to farm auctions and talk
to the farmers who are leaving the
farm.
-Exhibit booths at farm shows
make a good place to contact
future employees
-Give all the information about
Study Shows Network
Firms Dominate
Of
Food System
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A ening American’s system of inde
small number of dominate “clus- pendent family farms and
tors” of firms control the deci- ranches, according to a new
sion-making throughout all lev- report unveiled by the National
els of the U.S. food chain, threat- Farmers Union (N* U).
your job opening up front in the
advertisement so you don’t have
people calling you who are not
qualified
-Develop your farm as THE
place to work. You will know this
has happened when employees
send referrals
-Develop incentive programs
The panel discussion on
“Recapturing Time” included
Mark Bachman, Dr Ronald
Buffington, Kaye Slusscr, and
Nelson Troutman
The study, prepared by Dr. William
Heffernan, a rural sociologist at the
University of Missouri, documents how
linkages in the food system, through
alliances, joint ventures, partnerships,
mergers and other relationships, have
formed a complex network of “clusters” of
firms. Each cluster is a vertically integrat
ed “food chain,” controlling the system
from the gene to the supermarket shelf.
“The study reveals the complex web of
relationships among a handful of firms m
the food chain,” said NFU President
Leland Swenson. “The trend toward a pri
vately centralized food system puts our
food security in great jeopardy Food is dif
ferent than other goods and services, and it
would be dangerous to permit a few major
firms to control decision making through
out the entire food chain This study
should compel Congress to take action to
ensure the industry remains competitive
The study details the relationships
forming the three major
clusters-Cargill/Monsanto, Con Agra, and
Novartis/ADM- which now dominate the
food system. Some of the studies findings
include’
• The complexity of the linkages in the
system undermines market competition
and makes it difficult to measure. The net
work of relationships is creating a seam
less system with little market transparen
cy along the various stages of the food sys
tem. Because of the complexity, a firm that
does not hold a majority share of a specific
market may still have a great decision
making power within the food chain.
•Technological advances are accelerat
ing the process of vertical integration.
Biotechnology and the terminator gene
have put the farmer at the mercy of the
food cluster for seed to plant the crop. Also,
precision farming’s global positioning sys
tem separates management from the pro
duction of agriculture. With this technolo
gy, it is possible for “managers” in distant
offices to make decisions about farm pro
duction, while producers simply become
labors.
•The new structure threatens indepen
dent producers. The clusters influence
opportunities all along the food chain-from
production inputs to global trade-which
severely hampers producers’ ability to earn
a fair return on their product. It also
erodes the independence of producers by
shifting major decision-making to a hand
ful of firms.
•The new structure is harming rural
communities because corporate returns
are reinvested in the firm, rather than in
local economics where the goods are pro
duced.
The study was unveiled at a Capitol Hill
news conference. The full text of the study
can be found on NFU’s website at
www.nfu.org