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♦ Farm Forum ♦
(Continued from Page A 10)
events of September 11, 2001
changed the habits of many con
sumers. The tourism industry has
lost thousands of jobs and the
restaurant trade is reportedly
way off.
It is ironic, however, that a
company such as Kraft, which is
just one of many manufacturers
that takes the raw milk product,
could report a 73 percent jump in
its earnings for the last quarter
while the producers wither on the
vine.
I am not trying to be critical of
the Kraft Company and, in fact,
I applaud the Kraft management
and other dairy manufacturers
for their savvy business sense,
they have shareholders they must
answer to. It would seem, how
ever, an appropriate time for the
leaders of our largest dairy co
ops and the manufacturers of our
raw product to come together for
a “meeting of the minds.”
Every successful business deal
brings together a “meeting of the
minds,” a satisfactory agreement
between the buyers and sellers for
a product that changes hands.
The current dairy climate is not
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It is imperative that our co-op
and manufacturing leaders pro
duce a “meeting of the minds”
for the good of all.
My greatest fear is that noth
ing changes in this world without
a confrontation or major upheav
al. Many wars have been fought
over the years, some necessary,
some perhaps not, but the com
mon element found with respect
to the ones that really mattered
was the leadership involved on
the winning side they were de
termined and resigned to the fact
that no one could trample the
rights and diminish the lives of
others and that equality stood for
something. The dairy industry
and virtually all of agriculture in
this country is yearning for lead
ership that will bring together a
“meeting of the minds.”
Dairy and other farm produc
ers in the U.S. don’t need hand
outs they need equality, repre
sented in their producer checks.
Our dairy producers are as inno
vative, determined, and proud as
any in the world, and continually
compete against their counter
parts across the globe that receive
subsidies three to four times that
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which our producers see. Still,
our country becomes a dumping
ground for millions of tons of
product from the world market.
Our producers are continually
warned they must lower their in
puts, produce their product
cheaper, or face the inevitable.
Our producers are continually led
to believe there is nothing, noth
ing, that can be done to correct
the current conditions they face.
The meaningful wars and battles
that were fought and won were
never won with that attitude. Our
industry yearns for leadership.
The leaders of our government
and industry, both handlers and
manufacturers alike, know there
has never been any unity or con
tinuity amongst our producers. It
is time to close the ranks. No
matter whether you milk 50 cows
or 1,000, it is time to bring unity
to our industry. It is time for our
leaders to step up to the plate, it
is time for our free spirits to com
promise, for the betterment of
our entire industry and the wel
fare of all our producers. It is
time for our producers to stand
on equal ground with the rest of
the country and receive their just
due compensation for all their
hard work, dedication, and a job
well done. Settle for nothing less
than equality.
David M. Rama
Delhi, N.Y.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 26, 2002-A29
Department Launches Initiative
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Agriculture Secretary
Sam Hayes launched the
2002-2003 crop insurance educa
tion and outreach program at the
third Annual Crop Insurance
Conference, conducted Oct. 24 at
the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture (PDA) building,
Harrisburg.
The Annual Crop Insurance
Conference gives agricultural
leaders such as Cooperative Ex
tension agents, insurance agents,
USDA Risk Management Agen
cy officials, and agriculture pro
fessionals an opportunity to dis
cuss current crop insurance
topics and plan the educational
needs of producers to increase
participation in crop insurance.
“Pennsylvania farmers are
faced with increased market and
weather-related risk and need ac
cess to a crop insurance program
that reflects production aspects
unique to Pennsylvania. Crop in
surance education is a major ini
tiative of the Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture,” Hayes
noted. “Pennsyvania’s Crop In
surance Conference, co-spon
sored by the Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture, Penn
State University, and the Risk
Management Agency, provides
those individuals that advise
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Stanley’s Farm Service
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Ralph W. Kyle
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fanners on their risk manage
ment needs a chance to revise
crop insurance educational cur
riculum and develop promotional
tools that will increase crop in
surance enrollment and strength
en the agricultural economy in
Pennsyvania.”
As part of the recent “crop in
surance reform movement,” the
Pennsylvania Department of Ag
riculture seized the opportunity
to raise the awareness of the need
for crop insurance. Before PDA’s
involvement, insurance policies
in the nation were not inviting for
Pennsylvania’s diverse agricul
ture. To help guide the needed
changes, Hayes formed a Penn
sylvania Crop Insurance Task
Force and worked with farmers,
agriculture economists, national
insurance companies, and the
Risk Management Agency to
forge a crop insurance program
that would be more reflective of
mid-Atlantic cropping systems.
To emphasize the importance
of risk management, the Pennsyl
vania Department of Agriculture,
working with cooperative exten
sion and the agribusiness com
munity, conducted more than 70
outreach meetings in 2001 that
were attended by approximately
4,000 farmers prior to this
spring’s planting season. Crop in
surance participation
among Pennsylvania
farmers increased 19
percent from 2001 to
2002. Other outreach
and educational pro
grams, such as public
service announcements,
have also been initiated
by PDA. These meetings
provide the opportunity
for farmers to learn
about the various crop
insurance policy options
that meet their risk
management needs.
The PDA and Secre
tary Hayes received na
tional recognition for
initiating the reform
movement.
To expand the cover
age to more eligible
acres and crops, the
Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture has
worked with crop insur
ance companies and the
Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation to expand
the availability of exist
ing policies and develop
more effective policy
provisions such as Ad
justed Gross Revenue
(AGR). Pennsylvania
has insured more acres
under the Crop Insur
ance Assistance Pro
gram than ever before.
In just a few years, crop
insurance coverage has
increased in Pennsylva
nia from 6,000 policies
to approximately 15,000
policies. The Pennsylva
nia Crop Insurance As
sistance Program covers
10 percent of the gross
premium (about 20 per
cent of net) plus the
total amount of related
fees. This makes CAT
policies and coverage
free to the farmer. The
Pennsylvania program is
in addition to any feder
al crop insurance assist
ance that may be avail
able from year to year.
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