Weekly Dairy Market Outlook
(Continued from Page Al 6)
The next part of my assign
ment was spent with a one-year
old milk cooperative called Jav
lacta. They are located in South
ern Moldova, where milk produc
tion is less common. The co-op
manager, Ms. Maria Culesov, is
well educated, articulate, and has
very good business and computer
skills. My job was to help her de
velop a strong business plan for
this new and fragile cooperative.
It was clear that Ms. Culesov
was both exited about their fu
ture prospects and frustrated by
all the setbacks they had experi
enced during the past 12 months.
There are expectations in Moldo
va that any new business should
start immediately with large
profits. Also, the many villagers
think about making money
today, not tomorrow, making the
concept of investment difficult.
But cooperatives only work if
farmers are willing to invest to
gether in a new business. Thus
the concept of a cooperative is
very new and strange to the vil
lagers. Part of Ms. Culesov's role
is to educate the villagers about
production issues and coopera
tives, and to help them contribute
to a new form of business that
they can all participate in.
Part of my role as a CNFA vol-
National Farmers Union Opposes CAFTA
WASHINGTON, D.C. Na
tional Farmers Union criticized
the Central American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA), which it
believes will adversely impact do
mestic producers of sugar, fruit,
vegetable, dairy, and other com
modities.
“The CAFTA agreement offers
few benefits to American agricul
ture producers,” said NFU Presi-
Keystone
concrete
PRODUCTS
unteer is to provide these fledg
ling co-op leaders a bit of encour
agement. I did what I could to
help Ms. Culesov. I was very im
pressed with her business savvy
and leadership skills. I explained
that it will take time for the vil
lagers to understand what a co
operative is all about.
I also explained that the coop
erative leader is someone who
has no friends. Her role is to be
tough and business-minded, and
that she had a tremendous re
sponsibility to all the members.
There is no school or classes that
can teach her all that she will
need to learn. I also said I was
confident that she was going to
be very successful in her new
role.
The Moldovan economy is
slowly trying to recover from the
events of the past 10 years. Agri
culture is an important economic
base for the country and that’s
why CNFA is focusing their
American volunteers on this sec
tor of the economy. It provides
jobs and economic activity for
those villagers who want to stay
home and work. It is also very
encouraging for me to see strong,
well-educated leaders such as
Visillii Gheorghita and Ms. Cule
sov. Also, it is rewarding to see
new, fledgling cooperatives mak
ing economic progress in a very
short period of time.
dent Dave Frederickson.
“CAFTA countries represent a
relatively small market of ap
proximately 31 million people
with limited resources that can be
used for the purchase of agricul
tural products. Additional mar
ket access and tariff relief for a
few U.S. products will not offset
the negative impact of increased
imports from these
countries.”
477 EAST FARMERS VILLE RD.
NEW HOLLAND, PA 17557 ("waffle slat"
(717) 355-2361
■ NO
OPINION
(Continued from Page A 10)
According to the USD A Food Safety and Inspection Service, Vems
Moses Lake Meats, Moses Lake, Wash., is recalling 10,410 pounds of
raw beef that may have been exposed to tissues containing the infec
tious agent that causes BSE, which has a dangerous link to transmissi
ble spongiform encephalopathies. That includes the family of human
illnesses, a variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), which is be
lieved to be caused by eating tissue from BSE-affected cattle.
U.S. Ag Secretary Ann M. Veneman was quick to respond to the
news. “Despite this finding, we remain confident in the safety of our
beef supply,” Veneman said. “The risk to human health from BSE is
extremely low."
Since 1990 the USDA has had an aggressive surveillance program
in place to ensure detection and a swift response plan to be used if
BSE is identified in the U.S.
In 2003, Veneman noted USDA has tested 20,526 head of cattle for
BSE, triple the level of 2002. The surveillance program is aggressive.
We commend them for that.
But USDA needs to put ALL of its resources toward eliminating the
threat now. They need to impose harsher and stiffer penalties on those
selling or feeding ruminant animal feed.
Perhaps more importantly, the issue is going to become one where
the consumer will actively seek out those producers they can trust.
According to crop manager and beef producer Matt Balliet, in the
“Making An Impact” series we continue this week in the newspaper,
freezer beef demand is exceeding some farmers’ ability to be able to
supply. Consumers want safe food, and they want to know where it’s
coming from.
Now with this, demand from consumers for a safe product could
skyrocket.
We’ll see.
Frederickson said that in 2003,
U.S. agricultural trade deficit
with the four CAFTA countries
(El Salvador, Guatemala, Hon
duras, and Nicaragua) was about
$3OO million, representing nearly
one-sthird of U.S. agricultural ex
ports to those countries. If Costa
Rica joins the agreement, he said
the trade deficit grows to more
than $9OO million and equals
nearly 80 percent of the United
States’ exports to the five nations.
“The CAFTA agreement offers
little prospect that the trade defi
cit with these countries will be re
versed and resembles failed trade
policies of the past,” the farm
leader said. “The CAFTA further
encourages a race to the bottom
for producer prices and fails to
address major issues that distort
fair trade.”
Yield
(tons/acre)
4 54
416
4 47
4 25
Entry
L-411HD
Somerset
WL 325 HQ
P S3Q6O
Plant L-411 H D and all the Legacy Seeds Products with confidence
See the following dealers for your Legacy Seed.
Area Distribution Donald Kauffman David Stoner
Manheim
717-665-7655
Larry Eshelman
Sinking Spring
610-777-8794
Richard Fox
Clay
717-733-4519
Jim Hil
Fredericksburg
717-865-9038
Huber’s Animal
Health
Myerstown
717-866-2246
(Continued from Page A 10)
existing authority by townships
to regulate agriculture are just
not true.
Farmers can’t operate under a
patchwork of separate laws and
regulations that could be adopted
in 1,450 townships. Some farms
even cross township boundaries.
If this were allowed to continue,
Pennsylvania would stand alone
among states by allowing an ac
tion so destructive to its agricul
ture.
Beyond our existing farmers,
picture how the matter affects
their sons and daughters, who
may be thinking about staying on
the farm (and who are already
too few in number). Farmers,
young and old, have confidence
that state and federal lawmakers
will deal with agriculture fairly
and responsibly over the long
term. But many won’t risk their
investment and future if they
know that a few local officials
often reacting to unfounded fears
rather than facts can make up
regulations that go far beyond
state and federal laws.
Those who support and defend
illegal township farm ordinances
portray the regulations as reason
able oversight of large farms. The
commonwealth already has strin
gent environmental safeguards
which are among the most re
strictive in the nation. Pennsylva
nia Farm Bureau will never de
fend willful violations of laws
governing agriculture, and we
continually work with agencies
and lawmakers to ensure that
laws are up to date.
Farm families are counting on
Governor Rendell to remove the
dark clouds gathering over Penn
sylvania’s agriculture by signing
the legislation.
Crude
RFV
140
143
127
133
Protein
22 6
23 0
21 5
21 5
NDF
40
43
42
Remholds
717-336-2612
Walter C Martin
New Holland
717-354-9830
David Mast
Elverson
610-286-6479
Nel-Ray Farms
Richland
717-866-6167
Leon Newswanger
Newville
717-776-6985
Farm Forum ❖
Guy F. Donaldson
Pa. Farm Bureau
Camp Hill
NDF Milk/ton*Milk/acre*
(lbs.)
13274
12311
12264
11874
(lbs.)
2924
2959
2744
2794
Digest
61 8
62 2
58 7
591
Manheim
717-664-3119
Wencrest Farms
Lebanon
717-949-3215
limmerman
Ephrata
717-354-5684
Ken Zurin
Mount Joy
717-898-8736
1 1 <. u i si i ns iv