*• • *1 K K.BCV j/jjjj ' O/ p oin i ib.into / .v pa hi pi igo l i / V 01.46 No. 45 Producers: Consider These Questions Before Merger Decision Ken Bailey and Jim Dunn Penn State University STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) Members of Maryland & Virginia, Land O’Lakes, and a Texas- and Arkansas-based dairy cooperative recently re ceived a letter of intent to merge their dairy operations. The pro posal is to form a new entity called the Advantage Dairy Group, which would become a fluid division under Land O’Lakes. This is the latest of many mergers among agricultural co operatives. Dairy producers who are members of these four coopera- PMMB Grants Emergency HearMg DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) has agreed to conduct an emergency hearing to reconsider the over order premium paid to Pennsyl vania milk producers. Dairylea Cooperative Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America Northeast Council petitioned the board Wednesday for the SPRUCE CREEK (Huntingdon Co.) Though the days shorten, the sunsets make for some pleasant evenings. The annual Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council (PFGC) summer picnic was conducted here at Harpster’s Evergreen Farm Aug. 15 during Ag Progress Days, just a few miles down the road on Rt. 45 between Warriors Mark and Spruce Creek. Read more about PFGC scheduled in next week’s issue of Foraging Around. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor www.lancasterfarming.com tives have the responsibility of deciding whether or not the merger is a good idea. A number of fall informational meetings have been arranged to allow members to study the proposed merger. But what thought pro cess should members go through before casting their vote con cerning the proposed merger? Mergers are common in the U.S. economy. Publicly-traded companies go through a formal process and are required to pro vide lots of information. They have to deal with individual investors, Wall Street analysts, editors of financial magazines, and others in the news media. hearing, which they hope will result in an increase in the prem ium from its current $l.lO per hundredweight plus $.25 per hundredweight for high fuel costs. This June, after hearing testi mony from various, representa tives of the dairy industry, the three-member board had low ered the premium from $1.40 to $l.lO, while maintaining the (Turn to Page A 42) Four Sections For example, on April S, Suiza Foods Corporation (NYSE: SZA) and Dean Foods Com pany (NYSE: DF) announced they have signed a definitive A Maze In The Making WARRINGTON (Bucks Co.) The past month has been especially busy for Bill Garges, at left, his son Bob, and Kevin Kinney, who are joined by Bob’s son Gavin, 5, a fifth generation farmer. They milk 100 cows and farm 900 acres of “Winding Brook Farm,” the host of a corn maze that opened to the public on Friday. Despite this year’s drought, Corn stands tall enough to provide a challenge for visitors weaving their way across the six acres of cornfield. The design is in the shape of a cow and calf in addi tion to'thMarge “Got JI/lilk?” question traced into the field. Other educational exhib its, a hay maze, andltay rides provide a chance for schoolchildren and other visitors to learn about farming. According to Garges, the maze provides not only a chance to teach the -public, but also help the farm’s bottom line economics. Watch for more 'Shout the farm and maze in the Oct. 13 issue of Lancaster Farming’s Corn Talk. Photo by Michelle Kunjappu Migrant Ed Program Reaches 11,000 Pa. Children MICHELLE RANCK-KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff MILLERSVILLE (Lancaster Co.) If education is the key to the future, then more children will be holding keys because of the work of those involved in the Pennsylvania Migrant Educa tion Program. Numbers testify to the scope of educational need of migrant children. For instance, approxi mately 1,400 students in Lancas ter County alone will receive more educational attention be cause of the program. In Penn sylvania 11,000 children are served in 139 school district in 46 counties. The Circuit From North Carolina’s to bacco fields to the East Coast’s blueberry patches to the Susque hanna Valley’s peach, apple, and pear orchards, migrant fam- Saturday, September 8,2001 agreement under which the two companies will merge to form a national dairy and specialty foods company with $lO billion in revenue. At the time of the files move on the average of five to 10 times per year. Most of them have combined annual income of $lO,OOO or less and did not graduate from high school. Hispanic peoples make up 87 percent of migrant fami lies. However people from Russia, Bosnia, and Vietnam have also moved to U.S. to look for work, according to Jenny Carranza, who works to recruit families into the program. Carranza adds that migrant workers may also be Americans who move consistently for Work. Some of the workers follow a cir cuit that takes them from one area to another year-round, while other families work six months a year then, go back to Mexico or Puerto Rico two areas where many workers origi nate. Migrant workers are hired in Pennsylvania for everything from nursery and greenhouse $34.00 Per Year announcement, both companies released financial data on their separate companies, as well as the proposed entity. Then, on (Turn to Page A3B) work to employment on dairy farms for increased ice cream production over the summer. Mushroom production is an other draw for agricultural work. Orchard and vineyard owners may also need seasonal labor. The large- and small-scale beef, pork, turkey, and chicken processing plants in Pennsylva nia are another employer. Em ployees that work in meat processing often move around because of the large employee turnover in these operations. Their jobs are considered tem porary and they qualify for as sistance, said Juan Biblioni. Biblioni is recruitment and data manager for the three proj ects in Lancaster, Berks, and Lehigh Valley areas. These three project areas are administrated from a center at Millersville University. (Turn to Page A3B) 750 Per Copy
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