(Continued from Page A 10)
Va., 7 p.m.
Southeast Regional Christmas
Tree Growers’ Meeting, Berks
County Ag Center, Leesport, 7
p.m.
Chester County Holstein Club
Banquet, West Fallowfield
Christian School, Atglen, 6:45
p.m„ (610) 495-7927.
Wednesday, October 23
World Percheron Congress, Vir
ginia Horse Center, Lexington,
Va., thru Oct. 26, (740)
694-3602.
ADADC Meeting, District 1,
West Potsdam Fire Hall, N.Y.,
7 p.m., (315) 265-2769.
Maryland and Virginia Coopera
tive District Meeting, Golden
Corral, Rocky Mount, Va.,
noon.
Maryland and Virginia Coopera
tive District Meeting, Evers
Family Restaurant, Mount
Crawford, Va., 7 p.m.
All-day seminar on Legal Issues
of Childcare, Berks County
Extension, Leesport, 9 a.m.-4
p.m., (610) 378-1327.
Introduction to Computers I, Ex
tension Office, Towanda, 10
a.m.-3 p.m.
Thursday, October 24
ADADC Meeting District 4, Old
Mill Restaurant, Meehan-
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Melba King
Chester County Adams County
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icville, N.Y., 7 p.m., (518)
695-3894.
ADADC Meeting District 2, Co
penhagen Fire Dept., Copen
hagen, N.Y., 7:15 p.m., (315)
782-6778.
ADADC Meeting District 12,
Sunset Restaurant, Auburn,
N.Y., 7:30 p.m., (315)
689-7643.
Conference to Highlight Trends
and Opportunities in Agricul
ture, State College, thru Oct.
26,(717)787-5085.
Maryland and Virginia Coopera
tive District Meeting, Reming
ton Lions Club, Remington,
Va., 7 p.m.
Ag Choice Farm Credit ACA
Stockholder Meeting, Penn
Stater Conference Center,
11:30 a.m.
Dairy Farm Business Manage
ment Training for Central
Susquehanna Valley Region,
Columbia County Extension
Office, Bloomsburg, (888)
373-7232.
Friday, October 25
State 4-H Horse Show, Pa. Farm
Show Complex, Harrisburg,
thru Oct. 27, (814) 863-3657.
ADADC Meeting District 11,
Lansing Methodist Church,
N.Y., 7:30 p.m., (607)
292-3425.
Lebanon Holstein Annual Meet-
Robert Grove James Kimmel
Cumberland County Blair County
717-763-8514 800-684-0423
Will Musselman
ing, Trinity UCC Church,
Richland, 7 p.m.
Pa. State Association of Bor
oughs Fall Conference, Shera
ton Station Square, Pitts
burgh, thru Oct. 27, (717)
236-9526.
Dairy Farm Management Train
ing for Lancaster County and
surrounding counties at Lan
caster Farm and Home Cen
ter, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 1 (888)
373-7232.
Dairy Farm Management Train
ing for Capitol Region at
Cumberland County Exten
sion Office, (888) 373-7232.
Saturday, October 26
High Tunnel Autumn Workshop
at Penn State Horticulture Re
search Center, Rockspring.
Raising Goats Field Day, Mifflin
burg, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., (814)
349-9856, ext. 6.
Perry County Farm Safety
Workshop, St. Paul’s Luther
an Church, Loysville, 7 p.m.-
8:30 p.m., (717) 789-3110.
York County Cooperative Exten
sion Association Annual Meet
ing, York County 4-H Center,
6:45 p.m., (570) 265-2896.
Fall Composting Workshop, Pat
terson Building, Guthrie
Square, Sayre, 9 a.m.-noon,
(570)265-2896.
Maryland Shorthorn Associa
tion’s Dynamic Duo Spotlight
Calf Sale, Frederick County
Fairgrounds, Frederick, Md., 7
p.m., (301) 898-5152.
Third Annual Fall Antique Trac
tor Pull, Mason Dixon Fair
grounds, Delta, 11 a.m., (717)
456-9936.
Sunday, October 27
Food System and Agribusiness
Executive Management Pro
gram, Penn State, thru Nov. 1.
William Therit, Jr.
York County
71 7-612-6166
EQUAL HOUSING
INSURER
Weekly Dairy Outlook
(Continued from Page Al 6)
pensive. That’s because they rose
6.8 percent from the year before
(during these same three months)
because of rapidly rising butterfat
prices. And butterfat prices this
year are down 50 percent from
last year. One would expect ice
cream prices to have fallen back
to their pre-2001 levels. That did
not occur.
The same is also true for natu
ral cheese. Protein, the main in
gredient in cheese production,
fell in value this year. Cheese
processors during June August
paid farmers 14.6 percent less
than the same months a year
ago, yet retail cheese prices rose.
In major urban markets, natural
cheese rose from an average
$4.04 per pound for June-August
2001 to $4.32 per pound this
year.
Whole milk prices for major
urban markets in the U.S. have
actually gone down 5.7 percent
during the months June-August
of this year when compared to
the same months a year ago. On
the other hand, lower federal
order prices (regulated by the
federal government) meant fluid
processors paid farmers 30 per
cent less for their milk. Someone
is keeping this difference.
Retail fluid milk prices in
Harrisburg went down 5.4 per
cent in October 2002 relative to
the same month a year ago. But
minimum state milk prices are
regulated in Pennsylvania. That
means processor margins are
fixed by the Pennsylvania Milk
Marketing Board and therefore
don’t necessarily go up when
farm prices fall. That is not the
case in other states.
This concern over the farm-re
tail price spread shouldn’t be an
issue if dairy product sales are
increasing year after year. Pro
cessors and retailers have their
job to do, and farmers have their
job. And if sales are going up
each year, everyone is better off.
Dairy farmers do well in years
when sales are strong and inven
tories are low.
But this logic does not apply
this year!
The latest data from USDA
indicates that for the first half of
2002, commercial disappearance
of all milk (on a milk fat basis)
was actually down 0.4 percent.
Custom Fabrication of Galvanized Barn Equipment
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 19, 2002-A29
whereas milk production was up
2.6 percent. For select dairy
products, consumption changes
for the first half of 2002 relative
to a year ago were as follows:
butter, up 1.7 percent; American
cheese, up 0.3 percent; other
cheese, even; nonfat dry milk,
down 30.7 percent; and fluid
milk products, even.
Strong milk production and
weak demand has lead to unusu
ally large inventory levels. The
latest USDA report for the
month of August indicates that
butter inventories are up 95 per
cent from a year ago, American
cheese up 13 percent, and total
cheese inventories are up 11 per
cent. These inventories will likely
“overhang” the market next
year, depressing future prices for
butter and cheese. In addition,
the U.S. government has 1.2 bil
lion pounds of nonfat dry milk
in government storage, more
than enough to meet domestic
needs for an entire year.
The outlook for the holiday
shopping season is clearly uncer
tain. Again, it’s the economy
that has been holding consumers
back. But that didn’t stop the
auto companies from offering
good deals to their customers.
Many purchased new cars with
low interest rates, deep dis
counts, and other favorable
terms. Also, computer compa
nies such as Dell continue to
lower prices in order to build
market share and increase sales.
There are ways for companies to
deal with tough economic condi
tions.
Dairy retailers have a rare op
portunity to offer quality dairy
products to their customers at
favorable prices. The wholesale
prices for milk, butter, and
cheese are at very low levels.
That should translate into op
portunities to offer these prod
ucts to consumers at reduced
prices, employ sales promotions,
and use other strategies to give
the consumer a better deal.
Strong holiday sales this last
quarter will do wonders for the
U.S. dairy industry, mainly by
reducing inventory levels and al
lowing the market to jump-start
into a new year. Farm gate milk
prices will then be able to recover
early next year if inventories are
lower and if the growth in the
milk supply slows.