A42-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 2, 2003
OPINION
a year ago. Most of this increase has come from Australia (up 68 per
cent) and New Zealand (up 69 percent). Did you know that so far this
year we’ve imported 3,854 metric tons of casein from India ? We’ve
also imported casein from 18 different countries including Belarus,
China, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation,
and Ukraine.
This “least input cost” syndrome runs rampant in this country. It
affects our labor costs, it affects all levels of industry, it affects nearly
every business at every level.
With weakening dairy prices, with imports affecting the price re
ceived by farmers, we are looking at new ways for farmers to bolster
their income.
Just this week we attended the well-run Penn Allied Nursery Trade
Show at the Fort Washington Expo Center in Fort Washington. The
event is produced and coordinated by the folks at the Pennsylvania
Landscape and Nursery Association in Harrisburg.
About 12,000 landscape and nursery managers, retail green indus
try representatives, and others attended the event. The trade show,
covering about 225,000 square feet, hosted 1,100 exhibitors at 650 ex
hibits. It’s a $3.1 billion regional industry.
Are there outlets for dairy farmers through these tough times? Sure,
but it may lay entirely in direct marketing. Many of them have al
ready engulfed themselves in looking beyond their own industry to the
green industry, which has shown phenomenal growth.
Interesting note: the tobacco industry in this state has all but died.
Marc Tosiano, state statistician, reports in his NASS column this
issue:
One item of national interest is that all harvested tobacco acres is
estimated at 413,710 acres, down 3 percent from both the 2002 crop
and 1 percent below the March Intentions report. If realized, this
would be the lowest harvested acreage since 1874.
Let’s keep an open mind about new technologies and new industries
in these trying, changing times.
Bongards ’ Creameries Purchases
Perham Cheese Plant
ARDEN HILLS, Minn.
Bongards’ Creameries and
Land O’Lakes, Inc. announced
Bongards’ Creameries purchase
of Land O’Lakes Perham,
Minn., cheese manufacturing
facility. Terms of the sale were
not disclosed.
“The sale reflects significant
effort on the -part of Land
O’Lakes to find a buyer for the
Perham facility,” Fernando
Angus Producers Elected To Beef
Improvement Federation Leadership
LEXINGTON, Ky. S.R.
Evans Jr., Greenwood, Miss.,
was elected Beef Improvement
Federation (BIF) president at
the BIF Annual Meeting, May
28-31 in Lexington, Ky. Evans
takes the position after serving
as the organization’s vice presi
dent.
Evans, who has
been raising registered
Angus cattle since
1971, brings a wealth
of knowledge and
commitment to the or
ganization. He was
presented the Contin
uing Service Award at
the 2002 BIF meeting.
Richard McClung,
manager of Wehr
mann Angus, New
Market, Va., is the
outgoing president.
The Beef Improve
ment Federation was
formed as a means to
standardize programs
Lancaster
Farming's
Classified Ads
Get Results!
(Continued from Page A 10)
Palacios, Land O’Lakes vice
president, operations and sup
ply chain, dairy foods said.
“We are pleased to have found
a buyer in Bongards’ Creame
ries, who will keep this business
operating in the community.”
Roger Engelmann, general
manager of Bongards’ Creame
ries, said, “Bongards’ Creame
ries has extensive experience in
the manufacturing of natural
and methodology and to create
greater awareness, acceptance,
and useage of beef cattle per
formance concepts.
For more information about
BIF or its recent annual meet
ing, log onto www.bifconferen
ce.com.
(Continued from Page A 10)
potentially cost farms thousands
of dollars.” One grower in partic
ular is facing $231,990 worth of
penalities for 229 violations.
Today’s farmers and growers
need a reliable, cost effective, and
easy way to keep their pesticide
and farm records. NSIA, Inc., a
company that focuses on
providing computer and
software solutions to the
agriculture, horticulture,
and turf industries has free
information available (call
(800) 270-0047) on this
subject. There are software
programs available today
that ease the time and ef
fort required to keep good
production and work re
cords, including pesticide
records. The company is a
trusted reseller for Farm-
Works and AgVance soft
ware, products that auto
mate the keeping and
posting of farm records, in
cluding herbicide and in
secticide application. Their
Website, www.nsia.us, of
fers more information on
and process cheese products in
the state of Minnesota. We are
excited about the opportunity
of re-opening a dairy plant in
our state. The Perham facility
has had a wonderful reputation
for its cheese and the whey
products manufactured there.
We believe this will open many
new doors for Bongards’
Creameries. We anticipate a
solid working relationship with
the City of Perham, its resi
dents, Land O’Lakes, and Min
nesota’s dairy producers.”
Bongards’ Creameries
(www.bongardscheese.com)
was established in 1908 as a
dairy cooperative of family
farmers. Bongards’ is recog
nized as an industry leader in
meeting the changing needs in
the consumer, food service, and
industrial cheese and whey
markets. Last year, Bongards’
reached $163 million in sales.
these innovative solutions.
“Our product allows farmers,
growers, and custom applicators
to easily keep accurate records of
pesticide application so that they
are able to monitor the security of
their workers and adhere to EPA
requirements,” said Campfield.
“These records are vitally impor
tant in avoiding government
MID-ATLANTK
Feed Equipment from
Hammermill • T.M.R. Auger Mixers • Batch Mixer
nnnm
Previously Owned For Sole or Rent
Houle Manure
Irrigation Pump
Call for pricing
2003 Houle 6300
Call for pricing
2200 gai. Badger tank
Very good condition
21.5 L x 16.1 tires
Call for pricing
New For Sole From CEIQB
Houle 5350 Houle 5250
28L x 26 tires, brakes and 281x26 tires,brakes
lights, 1/4" Steel, In stock and lights, 1/4” steel
Call for pricing Call for pricing
Mid-Atlantic Agri-Systems
800-222-2948 • 717-529-2782
4019 Ashville Rd. • Quarryville, PA 17566
www.midatlanticdfl>'!' c <»' l
fines, and in documenting a
farmer’s care of the environment
from which they make their liv
ing. Good records also help a
grower make better decisions and
strengthen the farm business in
other ways.” The agricultural in
dustry is rapidly adopting com
puter technology, with surveys
showing more than 45 percent of
growers now using computers
and/or the internet'in their daily
operations. Campfield attests
that many farmers are now turn
ing to laptops or pocket PCs in
stead of the paper notebooks.
Marty Campbell
NSIA, Inc.
VflLmETflLl
BALE MASTER
Stationary Bale
Chopper. Chops
round or square,
small or large bales
for TMR Mixers.
2003 Houle 32'
Lagoon Pump
(2 available)
Call for pricing
Houle 42' Lagoon Pump
Call for pricing
2000 Houle 7300
Call for pricing
AGRI-CHOPPER
Round Bale Chopper.