A2B-Lancaater Fanning, Saturday, January 1, 2000
Past Year
(Continued from Pago A 26)
Act 57, the drought relief pack
age, is the largest in Pennsylvania
history, according to state Sen.
Noah Wenger (R-36).
In mid-November, die Ridge
Administration announced that
donated hay was available for
drought-stricken farmers. More
than 350 tons of donated hay
became available to farmers most
severely affected by the drought
Pennsylvania farmers
suffered more than $5OO
million in crop loss
because of the drought
Farmers incurred an
additional $2OO million
in dairy, livestock
production, and special
ty crop losses.
Gov. Ridge's
drought-assistance plan
also includes a rebate
program to partially
reimburse eligible Pen
nsylvania farmers for
hay purchases and long
distance hay transporta
tion costs incurred dur
ing the fall and winter
months. A $6O rebate
will be provided for
each ton of hay pur
chased in the state. A
$5O rebate will be pro
vided for each ton of hay
purchased out of state.
A $25 rebate will be
provided for each ton of
hay to help defray long
distance transportation
costs.
To be eligible, far
mers must have realized
a minimum 30 percent
loss on crops intended
for livestock feed,
including pasture,
because of the drought
Also, about $300,000 in
user fees that farmers
pay have been waived
by the departments of
agriculture and labor
and industry. The fees
include veterinary
laboratory diagnostic,
pesticide license, seed
certification, and sea
sonal farm labor
registration fees.
Grain producers, hay
producers, produce far
mers, Christmas tree
growers, and others who
market farm commodi
ties reported to Lancas
ter Farming that, easily,
1999’s drought was by
far the worst they had
ever seen.
What will 2000
bring?
The continuation of
the La Nina event,
which normally brings
precipitation to the East
and West coasts, nor
mally causes drought in
the Midwest Areas of
the Midwest arc dry
and forecasters arc
keeping a wary eye.
Will Dairies Survive?
The state’s dairy
industry, long depen
dent on government
price support and con
trols, continued to move
toward (he unpredicta
bility and chaodc up
and-down {vices of a
a free-market based system. Late
in August, the USDA announced
that fanners voted in a n»Hn«i«l
referendum early in August to con
solidate the current 31 federal milk
marketing ados into 11. Other
reforms were supported, including
the minimum pricing of Class I
(drinking) milk.
The milking marketing order
program ensures the fair marketing
and pricing of milk. The reforms
take effect today.
While leaders of the state's
dairy industry were undecided and
divided about joining the North
east Dairy Compact in mid-
February this year, by late April,
the Senate approved Dairy Com
pact legislation, authorizing Pen
nsylvania to join the Northeast
Interstate Daily Compact
A supply management program
was necessary. A hearing was set
in early May to gather testimony
on a proposal to establish a supply
management program.
hr mid-June, the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives
approved the Northeast Daily
Compact legislation on the SB.
365.
hi July, a group of dairy farmers
met in Lancaster at the Farm and
Home Center as part of a series of
meetings to launch the USDA Risk
Management Agency’s Dairy
Options Pilot Program. The
nationwide program was designed
to help dairy farmers transition
completely away from federal
government price support prog
rams. Pennsylvania was selected
as die first state to participate.
And they needed to get serious
about die new pricing philoso
phies, too. By early December, the
basic formula price of milk reach
ed the lowest price in 21 years, hi
an editorial, Lancaster Farming
noted:' “At 9.79 per hundred
weight, we say this is a terribly sad
day for dairy farmers. Not only is
the shock of a 30 to 40 percent
reduction in die dairymen's milk
check from one month to the next
unbelievable, but die increase in
production costs from the need to
purchase hay because of the
drought this summer adds a double
blow to the ability to make a living,
or even pay production costs.’’
Those production costs can vary
from $lO to $l4 per hundred
weight (according to the ag statis
tics service, about $1347 per hun
dredweight), depending on the
overall feed system and other
factors.
“Goodbye, dairy farmers, we’re
(Turn to Pago AM)