A3B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 26,2001
NFU Asks USD A To Correct Price Reporting System
WASHINGTON, D.C. In
a May 22 letter to U.S. Agricul
ture Secretary Ann Veneman,
the National Farmers Union
(NFU) called on the USDA to
immediately correct reporting
problems in the long-awaited
mandatory livestock price-re
porting system that began in
early April of this year. The
NFU alleges that computer
program errors in a system that
provides transparency for live
stock markets has cost produc
ers millions of dollars. The let
Pa, Businesses Should Apply For Export Awards
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Gov. Tom Ridge recently
encouraged Pennsylvania busi
nesses to apply for the 2001 Ex
port Excellence Awards.
“We have worked hard over
the last six years to make Penn
sylvania internationally compet
itive,” Gov. Ridge said. “The Ex
port Excellence Awards are a
perfect way to honor those em
ployers who have worked with us
to make Pennsylvania a major
player on the world economic
stage. These businesses should
stand up and be recognized for
their outstanding efforts.”
Pennsylvania is not only a
leader among states but also a
competitor among nations.
Under Gov. Ridge, Pennsylvania
has opened 13 trade offices
around the world, bringing the
total to 17 more than any
other state.
Eligible applicants must pro
duce, manufacture, or assemble a
product or provide an exportable
service from a registered Penn
sylvania business.
Up to eight awards will be
presented in the “Agriculture”
and “Manufacturing” categories
(includes new-to-export, small,
medium, and large size or type of
company). Two awards also will
be presented in the category of
“Services” for either an export
able or trade-support company.
Ten additional awards will be
given in a new category this year.
The “Special” category was cre
ated to recognize Pennsylvania
companies that have achieved in
ternational success that does not
reflect in their export sales. This
category will be by nomination
only from an entity other than
the nominee.
Each applicant must submit a
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ter also called on USDA to
eliminate the department’s “3/
60 rule,” a guideline that
according to the NFU, protects
the confidentiality of firms but
nullifies the intent of the new
program and is detrimental to
producers.
“We have worked with farm
ers and ranchers for a long time
to create a level playing field
for producers trying to receive
a fair price for their livestock,”
said Leland Swenson, president
of NFU. “Underreporting by
copy of the appropriate financial
data for the past three years (ex
cept for companies that fall
under the “new-to-export” and
“special” categories), along with
a narrative about their business’
experience of exporting products.
Applications will be rated
using a mathematical formula
based on financial data to de
termine increases in exporting
over the past three years. A panel
of judges made up of members of
Pro Ag Urges New Pricing Formula
PHILADELPHIA Testify
ing at a hearing conducted by the
U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcom
mittee on Appropriations, Arden
Tewksbury, manager of the Pro
gressive Agriculture Organiza
tion (Pro Ag), warned the com
mittee that the milk pricing
formula used to pay dairy farm
ers must be changed in order to
assure a continuance of our fami
ly dairy farms and to assure the
U.S. consumer an adequate sup
ply of domestically produced
milk.
The subcommittee hearing,
which was chaired by Sen. Arlen
Specter from Pennsylvania, was
conducted recently in Philadel
phia.
The main purpose of the hear
ing was to explore the wide range
of prices paid to dairy farmers
and the prices paid by the con
sumer for dairy products. Tewk
sbury told the committee that the
retail price for dairy products
often remain at a high level, even
after prices to dairy farmers col
lapse. The Pro Ag manager in
formed Sen.
Specter that
he had
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USDA is unacceptable. The
error should be corrected im
mediately, and farmers and
ranchers need to be compensat
ed for their losses.”
The letter calls for immedi
ate action to rectify alleged er
roneous calculations by USDA
for boxed-beef prices that have
occurred since the beginning of
mandatory price reporting. It
also encourages the department
to compensate producers who
have endured losses due to er
rors in reporting of boxed beef
the Team Pennsylvania Export
Network will review the applica
tions. The judges will focus on
company financials, trade activi
ties during 2000 provided in a
written narrative, and interna
tional success to determine the
award finalists.
The Team Pennsylvania Ex
port Network was developed to
assist Pennsylvania business with
global development and is com
prised of a network of trade pro-
talked with 120,000 consumers in
the past 26 months and the con
sumers are baffled regarding the
disparities of milk pricing.
The Pro Ag official pointed
out some of the discrepancies:
1) In November 2000, the price
paid to dairy farmers across the
U.S. for milk used to manufac
ture cheese was $9.57 per CWT
(74 cents per gallon). This price
was the lowest since November
1977. Even with the low farm
price, cheese was selling for $l5
for a five-pound block in many
supermarkets. Yet, at a store in
Meshoppen, the price was $8.50
for a five-pound block.
2) Recently, a Pro Ag survey
of butter prices in a Berwick su
permarket found a pound of
Land-O-Lakes butter selling for
$3.44. In another Berwick store,
another brand of the same grade
butter was selling for $2.29 per
pound.
3) In a supermarket in Hon
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values.
Farmers Union also calls for
the immediate elimination of
the 3/60 guideline that protects
companies’ identities when
there are fewer than three firms
buying livestock in a market or
when one firm controls at least
60 percent of the market. The
rule is designed 'to protect con
fidentiality and proprietary in
formation for firms purchasing
livestock but has adversely af
fected producers by reducing
price transparency and limiting
fessionals within 10 regions of
the state. Its mission is to enable
Pennsylvania firms to expand
their sales into international
markets and to increase the
number of Pennsylvania firms
selling their products and serv
ices overseas.
All applicants will be notified
by the end of July as to their se
lection. The finalists will be in
vited to the Governor’s Export
Excellence Awards on Sept. 25 in
Pittsburgh.
esdale, Pro Ag found milk selling
for $2.87 per gallon (Pennsylva
nia Milk Marketing Board min
imum price). Yet, three feet
away, a gallon of Deans milk was
selling for $3.25 per gallon. Offi
cials of the supermarket told Pro
Ag that Deans was supposedly
bottling both gallons of milk.
The Pro Ag manager warns
the committee of the increased
amount of dairy products being
imported into the U.S., especially
casein and milk protein concen
trate (MPC). Tewksbury told
Specter it appears foreign coun
tries have found ways to circum
vent the GATT agreements by
shipping milk products into the
U.S. in concentrated forms. MPC
appears not to be regulated by
the GATT agreement.
Pro Ag thinks the imports of
dairy products are displacing
several billions of pounds of do
mestic milk, causing additional
problems for local dairy farmers.
The Pro Ag leader made sever
al recommendations to the com
mittee.
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the availability of important in
formation.
“The mandatory price re
porting program will not work
effectively until the 3/60 guide
line is eliminated,” Swenson
said. “In this increasingly con
centrated industry, the exist
ence of this rule has led to less
disclosure of information than
that provided under the previ
ous protocol. The mandatory
price reporting system should
set us one step forward, not two
steps back.”
Applications must be sub
mitted to the Office of Interna
tional Business Development,
Fourth Floor, Commonwealth
Keystone Building, Harrisburg,
PA 17120-0225 by 5 p.m. Mon
day, July 9. For more informa
tion or to obtain an application,
contact a local Team PA Export
Network Regional office at
1-888-PA-EXPORT or call the
Office of International Business
Development at (717) 787-7190.
• Investigate the legality of
MPC being imported into the
U.S.
• Investigate the legality of
MPC being used in the U.S.
• Investigate the amounts of
casein coming into the U.S.
• Pro Ag strongly recom
mends there be no imports of
dairy products into the U.S. from
countries where hoof and mouth
disease has been discovered./fur
thermore, there should be no im
ports of dairy products from
countries where mad cow disease
exists.
• Pro Ag strongly urges the
U.S. Congress to adopt a new
dairy bill that would price milk
to dairy fanners based on the av
erage cost of producing milk as
determined by the USDA.
• Pro Ag strongly recom
mends the reauthorization of the
Northeast Interstate Dairy Com
pact. Pro Ag further urges the
U.S. Congress to authorize any
state, or group of states, to enact
dairy compacts.