New PPPC President:
(Continued from Page A 1)
continue in some way, noted
Barbara Wiand, new PPPC
president from Mifflinburg.
Wiand succeeds former PPPC
president David Reinecker,
York Springs.
Wiand operates Wiand Enter
prises, a 300-sow farrow-to
flnish herd in Union County.
Wiand, with help from hus
band Glenn, sons Justin, 7, and
Michael, S, and two full-time
employees, produces about
7,000 feeder pigs per year. While
a small percentage of these pigs
get marketed as show pigs and
breeding stock, the majority of
the pigs are finished and mar
keted to Hatfield and Leidy’s.
Wiand strives to use the best
combination of genetic lines to
produce hogs that not only grow
fast, but also cut well for the
packers. Yorkshires, Durocs,
and Hampshires are utilized in
the breeding program. Wiand
uses AI, strict biosecurity, and
phase feeding to produce high
quality hogs.
Her husband manages Wiand
Farms, a 1,300-acre cropland
and feed enterprise.
Wiand began in the hog busi
ness in 1989 after working for
several years as a critical care
nurse. She decided that, to raise
a family, staying home on the
farm would be the right thing to
do.
Her two sons, Justin and Mi
chael, don’t have any major re
sponsibilities on the farm yet,
though they enjoy feeding the
sows and helping load market
hogs, Wiand noted.
During the great hog depres
sion of 1998-1999, Wiand knows
many producers, with old facili
ties and difficulty securing a
market for their hogs, went out
of business.
The big challenge facing pro
ducers is the pork checkoff re
ferendum directed by Ag
Secretary Dan Glickman (see
the story on page A 34 of the
March 11 Lancaster Farming.) A
referendum, noted Wiand, is
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scheduled sometime in the late
summer or early fall this year.
Producers can decide to keep
the checkoff, important to help
ing educate producers and con
sumers about pork, or get rid of
it raising questions about how
educational and promotional
programs for pork nationwide
will continue.
But the state Keystone Pork
Expo, conducted every year at
the Lebanon Fairgrounds in
mid-February, will continue.
“We’ve had that for many,
many years,” Wiand said. At
the Expo, pork producers can
learn about the latest products
and management techniques.
“I think it would continue
perhaps in a different form or
different place, no matter
what,” she said.
The large vertical integrators
have done a lot to promote their
own pork and funded pork re
search. Millions of dollars have
gone privately to managing
PRV and other swine diseases.
Despite the anticipated
changes because of the referen
dum, pork producers don’t have
to feel glum.
“There are some major things
coming down the pike,” said
Wiand. One direction the PPPC
wants to go: increase discussions
with packers.
One initiative under review,
Wiand said, is a national coop
erative of producers that will
focus on marketing as well as
production. The cooperative,
named Pork America, could
serve to unite packers and pro
ducers.
And soon, the state will be
close to complete eradication of
the pseudorabies virus (PRY).
The state is already at Level
IV of the PRV eradication pro
gram, with only several moni
tored herds left.
“We are moving close to com
plete eradication,” said Wiand.
“This is exciting news. Many
people have worked diligently to
get to this point.”
As for complete eradication of
PRV, “we are getting very close,
very close,” she said.
In addition to the PRY pro
gram, Pennsylvania pork pro
ducers have also been very
active in the Pork Quality As
surance(PQA) certification pro
gram and the On-Farm
Odor/Environmental Assistance
Program. Pennsylvania has been
recognized by NPPC for having
one of the highest participation
levels in the U.S., Wiand noted.
Pork futures prices, said
Wiand, are approaching $56 per
hundredweight for June futures.
She has seen increased expan- 1
sion when prices rebounded so
well in the past, which could
leave room for another potential
market price dip. People, said
Wiand, are “gun-shy” about ex
pansion, in light of what hap
pened to the pork prices in 1998-
1999.
Many of those producers are
not coming back to the business.
A new and exciting develop
ment, Wiand noted, is the Penn
State “Environmental Stand
ards of Production for Larger
Pork Producers In Pennsylva
nia’’ publication in addition to a
new “Environmental Certifica
tion Course For Livestock Pro
ducers,’’ to be offered at the
local level. The course is being
coordinated by Ken Kephart,
Penn State swine specialist, with
the help from local extension
and industry.
The course will provide envi
ronmental awareness, nutrient
management, odor control, and
an overview of regulations for
the pork producer, noted
Kephart. The course has re
ceived funding from the Penn
sylvania Department of
Agriculture and the Pennsylva
nia Conservation Commission.
The course uses the environ
mental education and a best
management practices manual
for producers.
Preliminary work is under
way on using the course compo
nent along with information on
producers’ nutrient manage
ment and conservation plans to
actually place a label on all
products leaving the plant with
an “environmental label,” said
Kephart. The message of the
label will convey to the con
sumer that the pork produced
meets industry standard envi
ronmental quality guidelines.
Wiand began her career after
“retiring” as a critical care
nurse from the Evangelical Hos
pital in Lewisburg. She pro
duced 4-H swine show projects
when she was a child and exhib
Farm Bureau Calls For
Drought Aid Legislation
CAMP HILL (Cumberland
Co.) Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau is calling for passage of
legislation which will enable all
of the drought assistance pro
vided by the General Assembly
to be distributed to Pennsylva
nia farmers.
“As it stands now, farmers
who suffered losses during last
year’s terrible drought will only
receive about one-third of the
available state aid,’’ said Guy
Donaldson, president of the
statewide farm organization.
“Even though there is a great
need, the rest will go back to the
state treasury at the end of the
year unless the program can be
changed.”
Crop losses in Pennsylvania
because of last year’s drought
have been estimated at between
$5OO million and $7OO million.
The General Assembly last De
cember provided $6O million for
drought relief with the stipula
tion that payments to individual
producers would be limited to
no more than 75 percent of fed
eral disaster assistance.
“Congress had approved $1.2
billion for a variety of weather
disasters which occurred around
the country last year including
severe hurricane damage in the
South,” recalled Donaldson.
“At the time it was believed
Pennsylvania farmers’ share of
the federal aid would total $75
MUk Marketing Board Conducting Hearing
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) On May 3, the Milk Mar
keting Board will conduct a
public hearing for Milk Market
ing Areas 1,2,3,4,5, and 6.^
The purpose of this hearing is
to receive testimony and exhibits
concerning whether an adjust
ment should be made to the level
of the current over-order prem
ium ($1.20 per hundred pounds
of Class I milk) that is due to
expire on June 30.
The board members stressed
that this hearing will not affect
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Lancaster Faming, Saturday, April 29, 2000-A2S
ited projects at local fairs and
the Farm Show. Her family
cared for a few sows. Wiand en
joyed the experience so much
she decided that, when it came
time to raise a family, she would
include her own children.
Wiand was selected Pork All-
American and will receive the
award at the World Pork Expo
in Indianapolis, Ind., June 8-10.
million, so the 75 percent cap on
state aid seemed to be justified.”
The signup for federal and
state disaster aid took place over
the winter months. About 7,000
Pennsylvania farmers applied
for and received drought assist
ance. “Now with the sign-ups
completed and applications pro
cessed around the country, it ap
pears that Pennsylvania
farmers’ share of the available
federal aid will only total about
$3l million,” said Donaldson.
“The 75 percent limit on state
drought relief will reduce state
assistance to about $23 million
roughly one-third of the
funds appropriated by the Gen
eral Assembly. Unless some
thing is done, the unused money
will be returned to the state Gen
eral Fund at the end of the
year.”
Legislation has been intro
duced to remove the 75 percent
limit on individual drought as
sistance payments. H.B. 2467,
introduced by House Agricul
ture Committee chairman Rep.
Ray Bunt, has been reported out
of that committee. Likewise,
S.B. 1417, introduced by Senate
Agriculture Committee chair
man Sen. William Slocum, has
been approved by that commit
tee. The bills would prorate the
unused funds among eligible
farmers, so that all $6O million
in state drought assistance is
distributed.
the $.25 per 100 pounds of Class
I milk that was added to the cur
rent over-ofder premium to help
offset the increase in fuel costs.
The hearing will be held at 10
a.m., in Room 202 of the Agri
culture Building, 2301 North
Cameron Street, Harrisburg. If
you plan to attend the hearing
and would like to interview the
board members, please contact
Tracey Jackson prior to the
hearing.
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