A44-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 8, 2000
FARM TO TABLE FOOD SAFETY
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.)-Should they or
shouldn’t they? Some Pennsyl
vania dairy farmers, trying to
stay solvent during the current
spate of record low milk prices,
are wrestling with the pros and
cons of a special assistance pro
gram sponsored by the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture
(USDA), according to a dairy
economist in Penn State’s Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences.
“Pennsylvania’s dairy farm
ers are eligible for government
payments under the Dairy
Market Loss Assistance
(DMLA) II program recently
announced by the USDA,” says
Bob Parsons, senior research as
sistant in agricultural economics
and rural sociology.
“The program provides cash
payments to help farmers
weather the recent drastic drop
in milk prices, while government
milk market support is being
phased out.” But some farmers
are unsure about this temporary
effort, Parsons explains.
“Dairy farmers can partici
pate in the program or stay on
the sidelines,” he says. “Some
are concerned that participation
will obligate them in some way,
or will not be worth the trouble.
But any income assistance can
help during the current period
of depressed prices, which is ex
pected to last until May or
June.”
“Unfortunately, this program
alone will not save financially
distressed farmers,” says Par
sons. “They will have to control
their costs by monitoring every
expense. But this assistance can
be one component that will help
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farmers hang on until milk
prices rebound.”
The DMLA II program is an
extension of the 1999 DMLA I
program in which participating
dairy farmers received approxi
mately 22 cents per hun
dredweight (or 100 pounds of
milk) to an upper limit of 2.6
million pounds per farm in 1998.
But, Parsons explains, this
year’s rules and the final pay
ment level are somewhat differ
ent.
“First,” Parsons says, “if you
enrolled last year by meeting the
requirements of producing milk
during 1998, presenting your
marketing receipts at your local
Farm Service Agency (FSA)
office, and receiving a payment,
you are enrolled automatically
in the 2000 program.”
“Second, if you started dairy
production, you are eligible for
this round based on your 1999
production. If you took over an
established dairy farm that was
in operation during 1998, you
will be eligible for the program
based on the farm’s historic pro
duction.”
“Third, dairy farmers who
did not participate in the 1999
program are eligible for a late
sign-up for the 1999 program
and also can participate in the
2000 program,” he adds.
“So you can sign up and
receive a delayed payment for
milk produced in 1998. This also
will enter you automatically for
a payment for milk produced in
1999. To receive the payment,
you must present your 1998
milk marketing receipts at your
local FSA office.”
The final 2000 payment level
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will be determined after the
sign-up period, with payments
going first to producers who
were eligible but did not partici
pate in the 1999 program. Then,
the payments will be calculated
and sent to farmers eligible for
the 2000 program.
Under last year’s program,
the typical Pennsylvania
farmer-with 65 cows producing
17,000 pounds of milk per co
w-received $2,319, with a maxi
mum payment of $5,700 per
farm. Parsons says this year’s
payment may be less and will
depend on the final sign up.
Farmers should contact their
local FSA office for eligibility
deadlines and more
Lancaster Farming
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Web site
www.lancasterfarming.com
■2s^
In the Bedford/Blair county area, contact Rodney Clapper /Q< s*l
at our affiliate, Fust American National Bank of Pennsylvania, %Mi
Out
in vo
The Agri'Specialists from Farmers First aren’t a bunch of deskbound
bankers waiting around for the phone to ring. We get involved with you.
Right where you live and work. We lend the money farmers need to keep
growing. And, we can help your business in a lot of other ways, too.
We talk the talk. And we walk the walk, (wherever that might lead us).
Environmental
Stewardship
PARK RIDGE, 111. The
Conservation Technology Infor
mation Center (CTIC) will an
nounce its Core 4 Conservation
report card during a national
celebration on April 13 the
week before Earth Day.
The report on U.S. agricul
ture’s progress toward the Core
4 Conservation goals of better
soil, cleaner water, greater prof
its, and brighter future will show
the environmental stewardship
gains in American agriculture.
“The Core 4 Conservation
report card shows the ag com
munity’s commitment to balanc
ing environmental protection
The Agri-specialists
FARMERS
first mmm
A SUSQUEHANNA BANC
with economic needs,” said
CTIC Chairman Bruno Alesii.
“It also shows there is much
more to do. In many cases the
technology exists, but the cost or
understanding of how to use this
technology is seen as an in
creased risk.”
Core 4 Conservation is a
CTIC-directed initiative that
helps farmers increase profits
while protecting natural re
sources. The practices, such as
conservation tillage, crop “nu
trient management, pest man
agement, conservation buffers
and others, are combined ap
propriately to match local con
ditions, individual farm size,
management capabilities, and
financial conditions of the pro
ducer.
Scientists estimate that the
use of this approach can reduce
polluted runoff from cropland
by as much as 80 percent. For
example, no-till reduces soil ero
sion by 90 percent when com
pared to an intensive tillage
system. And conservation buff
ers remove 50 percent or more of
nutrients and pesticides and 75
percent or more of soil in runoff.
CTIC, as a member of the Ag-
Earth Partnership, will partici
pate in Earth Day activities on
the National Mall, April 13-14
and April 22.
More information about the
Ag-Earth Partnership and Earth
Day events is available on the
partnership’s web site at:
www.nasda-hq.org/nasda/earth/
index.html. For more informa
tion about CTIC go to www.ctic
.purdue.edu.
Member FDIC
JAY HERSHEY
(717) 768-8256