ATTENTION TOBACCO FARMERS
Vector Contract Sign-Up Session
Wednesday, January 10,1*4
Hoffman Building, Solanco Fairgrounds, Quarryville
or you may sign up at:
Trileaf Tobacco Co., Inc. receiving station
Get 5 or Rep will come
to ydtir farm with conttacts.;C|itf ils appointment.
- - - - *“*■* - -■ -- i A. « Xa, „* a a. *■ M*
Deadline for signing contracts is January 22. Don’t wait, do it now!
717/351-9221 717/556-0270 717/354-7477
Agriculture Secretary
To Present Lambs
To Selected
4-H/FFA Members
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) At the 85th Annual Penn
sylvania Farm Show, Agriculture
Secretary Sam Hayes purchased
two registered Dorset ewe lambs.
He will present them to 4-H or
FFA members exhibiting at the
upcoming Junior Sheep Show.
“Pennsylvania youth represent
the future of our agriculture in
dustry. 4-H and FFA livestock
projects provide opportunities
for Pennsylvania youth to experi
ence the responsibilities of own
ership and the need to produce
food, fiber, and shelter for our
democracy. Through these proj
ects, 4-H and FFA members are
able to learn the technical as
pects of production agriculture,
develop an understanding about
the business side of agriculture,
invest in their education through
money earned, learn good show
manship, and have some ‘good
times,’ too,” said Hayes.
This livestock project was un
dertaken by the secretary of agri
culture in cooperation with Nix
Besser Farm. The two Dorset
Tobacco Referendum Set
YORK (York Co.) County tobacco growers have a chance to
vote whether or not to establish allotments for Type 41 (cigar filler)
tobacco.
Eligible producers are those who engaged in production of tobacco
during any of the crop years 1996 through 2000.
There is no allotment limitation on this crop since growers in Penn
sylvania and other states have voted “no” in previous referenda.
Interested York County tobacco producers can contact the York
County FSA office at (717) 755-2966 ext. #2 and request an acreage
report card. These cards must be completed and returned to the
county office prior to Jan. 12. Growers who return this card will re
ceive a ballot on which to indicate their allotment preference.
Larry Weaver’s Farm
641 Spruce Rd., New Holland
Mon. to Fri., 9am to 4pm
ewe lambs are twins out of a
grand champion ewe and reserve
champion ram at the Pennsylva
nia Farm Show, both bred and
owned by Nix Besser Farm.
These high quality lambs will
help 4-H or FFA members to
support their 4-H and FFA proj
ects.
The lambs will be on display at
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture Exhibit throughout
the Farm Show. Presentation of
the registered ewe lambs will be
made by the secretary of agricul
ture to the 4-H or FFA members
during the 2001 Junior Livestock
Sale Thursday, Jan. 11.
Eligible 4-H and FFA mem
bers are required to write a
300-word essay on “Why Would
a 4-H or FFA Member Consider
a Career in Agriculture?” and
are exhibiting their sheep in the
Junior Sheep Show.
The PDA exhibit will be locat
ed at the Farm Show in the Main
Exhibit Hall and will be open
from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 6-10
and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 11.
Prospects For Livestock In 2001
H. Louis Moore
Ag Economist, Penn State
The size of the corn and soy
bean crops has been revised
downward since the initial crop
report in August, but the harvest
will still be a bin buster. The com
crop, initially estimated at 10.4
billion bushels, is now estimated
at a record 10.2 billion bushels.
The previous record com crop
was in 1994 when the harvest
reached 10.04 billion bushels.
Since August the soybean crop
has been revised downward each
month. Currently, the harvest is
expected to be 2.82 billion bush
els. The previous record crop of
2.74 billion bushels was set in
1998. Soybean production has
risen sharply in the last decade.
Com and soybean acreage are
nearly equal, whereas acreage
planted to barley, oats, and
wheat has fallen substantially.
Record grain production will
put stress on storage facilities
partially because the harvest for
the last four years has been near
record while exports have de
clined. This adds to carryover
supplies each year. Carryover is
not expected to grow much in the
next year asdomestic use of com
for livestock feed will be a record
high while the export market is
growing. The com carryover by
September 2001 will be about 1.8
billion bushels.
Grain prices will remain weak
in the year ahead, giving another
boost to our expanding livestock
industry in the U.S. Cheap feed
generally results in expansion in
livestock and meat production.
This expansion has been par
ticularly evident in the beef in
dustry. At the beginning of each
of the past four years, beef sup
plies have been predicted to fall
based on a slightly smaller sup
ply of animals expected to go
into feedlots.
The numbers entering feedlots
have increased while slaughter
weights increased, resulting in
more total beef. At the beginning
of 2000, the production of beef
for the year was projected to be
24.9 billion pounds, down about
1.3 billion pounds from 1999. Ac-
There is little evidence to indicate we are
moving toward a vegetarian diet.
tual beef production for 2000 is
now expected to reach 26.9 bil
lion pounds, up nearly 300 mil
lion pounds from the previous
year. Projections for 2001 call for
beef production to drop to 25.6
billion pounds. Based on this
projection, fed beef prices are ex
pected to increase one to five
cents per pound in 2001. If sup
plies increase, fed cattle prices
may not increase over the levels
of this year.
Pork output fell slightly in the
current year but will increase in
2001. Production in 2000 is about
18.9 billion pounds and is ex
pected to increase to 19.4 billion
next year, slightly higher than
the previous record production of
1999. The price of hogs during
the current year will average $.43
to $.45 per pound. The price in
2001 will average two to three
cents less than this year, with
most of the drop coming in the
second half of the year. Because
feed is very cheap, hog produc
tion will continue to be profitable
for most producers through 2001.
Veal and lamb production and
consumption continue to decline
in the U.S. Next year, veal pro
duction at about 208 million
pounds will be down 18 million
pounds from this year. Lamb
production will continue its long-
term decline, reaching 220 mil
lion pounds, down 8 million
pounds from this year. Per capita
consumption of lamb and veal
and the U.S. now averages only
one pound per year for each of
these meats.
Broilers are competition with
red meats. Over the 1990-2000
period, beef production has in
creased about four billion
pounds. Pork output has in
creased about 3.5 billion pounds.
Beef production increased 20
percent during this decade, and
pork increased 23 percent. In
1990 broiler production was
about four billion pounds less
than beef and three billion
pounds more than pork.
Broiler production grew from
18.6 billion pounds in 1990 to
30.3 billion pounds in 2000, an
increase of 11.7 billion pounds or
63 percent. Broiler exports grew
from 1.2 billion pounds in 1990
to 5.3 billion pounds in 2000,
while domestic consumption was
increasing too. Per capita broiler
consumption will total about 78
pounds this year, up eight
pounds from a decade ago.
The ten-year economic boom
has helped the nation’s meat in
dustry. This year each person
will consume about 221 pounds
of meat, up 11 pounds from a
decade earlier. There is little evi
dence to indicate we are moving
toward a vegetarian diet.