FUTURES MARKETS (Continued from page AI6) government's main index for inflation. Overall, the U.S. economy is very robust. It is expected to grow at a strong rate of 4-5 percent the first quartet- of 2000. That should continue the very solid demand for dairy products. The CPI index will be watched carefully in the future for any further signs of inflation. Table 2. NASS Weekly U.S. Average Survey Prices 8-Apr-00 1-Apr-00 25-Mar-00 18-Mar-00 11-Mar-00 Cheese 500 lb. Barrels 1/ 1.0817 1.0824 40-lb. blocks 1.0976 1.0976 Butter 1.0799 1.0458 Nonfat dry milk 1.0094 1.0055 Dry whey 0.1775 0.1752 Source: Dairy Product Prices, NASS, USDA (http://usda. mannlib. comell. edu/reports/nassr/price/dairy/1999/). 1/ Adjusted to 39% moisture. 19 WAYS TO A PERFECT FINISH! • Approximate Mowing Widths of 60", 72", 84", & 100" • Side Or Rear Discharge Models • Ideal For Lawns, Estates, Parks, School Grounds, or Sod Farms. 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The good news is that both blocks and barrels won't likely fall any further as they are BREEZE • Approximate Mowing Widths of 48", 60”, '& 72" • Rear Discharge • Ideal For Small Lawns And Estates FM Visit oui website ,u www sei \ is-i hint) com 1.0848 1.1047 0.9870 1.0107 0.1780 Rhino® Finishing Mowers Are The Place To Start For A Perfect Finish! • Six Models With Approximate Mowing Widths Ranging From 1 -56" Up lo 284" • Rear Discharge • Ideal lor Sod Farms, Paiks, Sports Fields and Colt Course Roughs officially right at support price levels. According to USDA, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) continues to purchase surplus Midwestern process cheese. The CCC also recently purchased 680,000 pounds of barrel cheese at $1.1225 per pound for April to June delivery. This purchase was outside the price support program. Butter prices also weakened further this weak at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Grade AA butter prices fell from $1.0675 per pound on Monday to $1.04 by Friday. USDA reports very good sales activity related to the 1.0891 1.1012 0.9537 1.0073 0.1779 1.0845 1.0956 0.9436 1.0108 0.1773 • Approximate Mowing Widths of 60" & 72" • Deep Section Deck For Increased Air Flow • Ideal For Lawns, Estates, Parks, and School Grounds oi call foi moic details 1 Easter/Passover holiday. Feature activity in grocery stores continues to move a lot of product. Cream supplies, however, are readily available resulting in "near capacity production schedules." The milk production and cold storage reports due next week should provide interesting information regarding future price directions. The market will be looking for March cow numbers in 20 major dairy states to at least ITHACA, N.Y. -In the agricultural world, the common belief is that a farmer's efficiency increases to its maximum in the middle years and then decreases with age. Not so, say Cornell University researchers. They have found that a farmer's productivity has less to WHIRLWIND GROUNDSKEEPER • Approximate Mowing Widths of 60" & 72" • Rear Discharge • Ideal For High-Use, Commercial-Type Applications Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 22, 2000-A3l Farmer Productivity Not Due To Age m Servis-Rhino \n \lamn(,rou| |)( illl| level off. If that happens, it should signal that the milk supply is beginning to respond to low milk prices. Combined with strong demand for milk and dairy products, a slow-down in the milk supply will help raise milk prices the second half of the year. For more information on market and federal order data, see my Penn State Dairy Outlook website at: http://www.aers.psu.edu/dairyoutl ook/. do with efficiency decreases due to age and everything to do with using the latest agricultural technology. "There indeed seems to be a life cycle effect, but it appears for different reasons than we thought. Productivity increases, reaches a plateau and then decreases. Younger farmers tend to start out with older technology, and that's why they're not as productive. And the older farmeis as a group do not keep buying new technology in their waning years because it's not cost effective, and that’s why they're not as productive," says Loren Tauer, Cornell professoi of agricultural economics and a researcher with Cornell's Agricultural and Financial Management Program. Beginning farmers are building equity, he says, and they often start with equipment that is old On the other hand, older farmers aie making a business decision to toigo pm chasing a new $200,000 combine, rationalizing that the next farmer on their land can buy it The reseaich paper, "Farmer Efficiency and Technology Use w'lth Age,” by Tauer and Naztbrola Lordktpantdze, Cornell student m agncultuidl economics, will be published in the Apul 2000 issue ot the journal Agncultuial and Economics Review Tauer explains that even it older farmers see a decrease in productivity, this study shows that older, experienced farmers are still using older technology efficiently. "Seeing a decrease in production isn't always devastating," he says Tauer says the U S ot Department Agriculture the federal agency that funded the research, is seeking to find ways to sustain the productivity of America's farmeis, whose average age graduate Resource
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers