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Vol. 47 No. 41
National Farmers’ Market Week Aug. 4-10 recognizes 3,000 farmers’ markets
that operate seasonally or year-round. One of these is Oak Grove Farms, a family busi
ness with 220 acres in produce grown for their farm market and wholesale business.
From left are Dwayne Lebo, who oversees the growing operation, his sister Linette in
charge of the store and greenhouses, and his mother who keeps the home bakery thriv
ing. His dad, Paul, is in charge of wholesale sales and does a lot of the on-farm tractor
work, and a brother Brian is in charge of route deliveries. See page B 2 for more about
this growing family business. Photo by Lou Ann Good, food and family features editor
PMMB Maintains Over-Order Premium
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Pennsylvania Milk
Marketing Board (PMMB) voted
this week to uphold the state’s
$1.65 per hundredweight over
order premium paid to produc
ers, despite a petition from milk
dealers that it be lowered to re
main competitive in the market
place.
The over-order premium is the
amount paid above the federally
mandated price to Pennsylvania
dairy farmers for fluid milk pro
duced, processed, and sold within
the state.
Luke Brubaker, PMMB mem-
Samantha Rabenoid won overall grand champion at
Reading Fair’s swine show Monday with her homebred
hog. Larry Arnold, WomelsdorT, judged the show. See
story page 812. Photo by Michelle Kunjappu
www.lancasterfarming.com
Board Member: ‘Tough Decision ’
ber and Mount Joy dairy farmer,
said the board’s 3-0 vote was in
response to a depressed milk
market.
“Farmers right now are in a
tight crunch,” he said. “Milk
prices are as low as they’ve been
in the last few years.”
The $1.65 premium is sched
uled to expire at the end of De
cember.
In a July 30 hearing before the
PMMB, the Pennsylvania Associ
ation of Milk Dealers (PAMD)
had asked that the premium be
lowered to $1.25. The PAMD tes
tified that the $1.65 premium was
threatening to drive buyers of
Pennsylvania milk to some sur-
Four Sections
rounding states where over-order
premiums are less than $1 per
hundredweight, according to Earl
Fink, PAMD executive vice presi
dent.
Joel Rotz, dairy specialist with
the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
(PFB), testified in favor of main
taining the $1.65 premium, point
ing to declining milk prices and
that no significant drop in pro
duction cost is expected. He
noted that production and cow
numbers have decreased from
last year, and that drought and
heat are taking a toll on Pennsyl
vania dairy farms.
According to Brubaker, the
aim of the over-order premium is
(Turn to Page A 27)
Office Closed
Labor Day
KDay, Monday,
caster Farm
;losed. The «f
-pen Tuesday,
For we Sept. 7 issue,
there are some deadline
changes;
Public Sate and Mail
hot ads, 5 p.m., Friday,
Aug. 30.
Classified, Section D
ads 5 p.m., Wednesday,
Sept. 4.
Classified, Section C,
Farm Equipment ads, 9
a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 4.
General News noon,
Thursday, Sept. 5.
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Dairy Program Sign-Up To Begin
Teleconference Panelists Give Farm Bill Update
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Dairy producers should be
able to start signing up for mar
ket loss payments under the new
Farm Bill this coming week.
Jackie Stonfer of the USDA’s
Farm Service Agency (FSA) in
Harrisburg said that Tuesday,
Aug. 13, has been set as the offi
cial start of the sign-up, but
agents will probably not be able
to begin processing applications
quite that soon.
Sign-ups will most likely begin
“by the end of (the coming)
week,” Stonfer said. Farmers can
then expect payment within 60
days of applying or about mid-
October.
This first lump sum payment
will be retroactive from Dec. 1,
2001, for eligible milk production
up to 2.4 million pounds, the an
nual cap set on the program.
Payment rates are 45 percent of
the difference between $16.94 per
hundredweight and the Boston
Class I price for months when
the price was lower.
For milk that will be produced
during the coming fiscal year
from Oct. 1, 2002 to Sept. 30 of
2003, dairy producers can select
the month they want to start re
ceiving payments for eligible pro
duction, according to Dann Stu
art, FSA chief of public affairs.
Farmers signing up this month
will be asked to select the month
they want payments to begin, but
will have until Sept. 30 to change
their selection, Stuart said.
Stonfer said that dairy farmers
can ensure that they are ready for
the sign-up beforehand.
“One thing you could do prior
Grand champion Chester County Roundup market
lamb, exhibited by Julia Howe, sold for $lO a pound
to Doug Howe, AcryLabs, Honey Brook. Julia will be
donating all proceeds of the sale to the Casa Barna
be Orphanage In Guatemala. Read more about the
roundup on page A2B. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
$36.00 Per Year
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
$l.OO Per Copy
to sign-up is make sure you have
a conservation plan,” she said.
Conservation plans are required
for any farm to be eligible for
funds.
“At this point, you just need to
sign a form for the NRCS (Natu
ral Resources Conservation Serv
ice) to come out and determine if
your farm needs any special
practices,” she said.
Procedures have not yet been
established that might allow
dairy farmers from groups such
as the Amish to receive the subsi
dies via their milk cooperatives,
Stonfer said.
Stonfer joined a panel of Farm
Bill analysts Tuesday in a tele
conference broadcasted from
Penn State to various extension
offices across the state.
The painstaking political pro
cess of working out details of the
Farm Bill creates a lot of uncer
tainty about exactly how the vari
ous programs will be adminis
tered, Stonfer noted. Numerous
USDA agents and attorneys are
involved in the process of distrib
uting the $l7O billion earmarked
for agriculture over the next six
years.
“It has to go through so many
people to get approval,” Stonfer
said.
Ken Bailey, Penn State dairy
economist, noted that the process
helps to ensure funds are distrib
uted as fairly as possible.
“(Administrators) want to
make sure that a year from now
this program isn’t on ‘6O Min
utes’ or something,” Bailey said.
Several question from listeners
had to do with the reorganization
(Turn to Page A 27)