--it Farm News ~HI! ACTION PUBLICATION OF THE MICH.IGAN FARM BUREAU VOL. 60, NO.1 JANUARY 1981 I bers Give Direction i . /Changing .. lculture . bu members reaf-. I support of a mar- n.~ •• "." ._. lagriculture during the policy development session of the Michigan Farm Bureau annual meeting in Kalamazoo Dec. 10 through 12. Voting delegates considered nearly 150 policy recommendations, with debate and discussion on the government farm programs resolution the most aCtive. Realizing that it would be po- litically unrealistic to assume that Congress would not pass some type of farm program, the delegates' liveliestd.ebate . centered around the degree of government 'involvement that - ... . would be acceptable. - It was only after a strength- ening of a phrase submitted to the delegates by the policy development committee deal- (continued on page 9) , I PAGE 2 f'ARMNEWS JANUARY 1981 From the Desk of the President 'Right Face - Forward March' (Editor's Note: The following this nation was actually Workers who perform services are excerpts from the pres- negative this past year. in transportation, marketing, ident's annual address, deliv- That means it took more shipping, financing, packaging ered Dec. 10 at the MFB an- hours of work to produce the. and energy, all share by being nual meeting.) sa~e amount of goods than in gainfully employed. All On election day, 1980, the the year before. And while a Americans benefit because citizens of this great nation working person's income may they are able to buy goods from demonstrated their frustration have been higher than the other countries - often at less with the ultraliberal philosophy, previous year, he had less pur- cost, and of greater variety. programs and politicians. chasing power. It meant higher But Americans should be Voters elected people who are prices charged by business, in concerned that our nation does more conservative in their order to recoup the increased not lose its competitive advan- views, who believe in minimiz- costs of prod uction. tage in agricultural production. lose the one area in which we For many years, people ing government programs, But the drop in productivity We are seeing, in real terms, have absolute advantage over have been encouraged by Iib- rather than being managed by is not really the fault of the less money spent on agricul- other nations - agricultural pro- -eral politicians to think that government. The voters gave a worker. The fault has been in tural research each year. At the duction. government is the answer to all signal that they want individ- the liberal philosophy that con- same time, the Soviet Union problems. Some people are I am convinced the average uals and business to make deci- siders profit to be bad and and the People's Republic of now asking government to pro- citizen does not understand the sions rather than have govern- therefore should be taxed away China are in~reasing their tect us from competition. importance of foreign trade. ment make decisions for them. for government decided and spending for research. I believe that the American Domestically, we suffered controlled programs. The Soviets have 210,000 We hear much about the people have learned that gov- from high unemployment, While the industrial produc- people involved in agricultural damage being, done to our ernment protection is a mirage. penalizing inflation, sagging tivity of the U.S. has been research. The Chinese have economy by importing foreign They know that government productivity, inc'onsistent ener- declining, agricultural produc- 200,000. In the United States goods, but I believe that foreign created inflation, with increas- tivity continues to increase. we have only 25,000 pers,ons 'trade is vital to world peace and gy messages, over zealous reg- ing minimum wage rates, gives American agriculture is the en- involved in agricultural re- prosperity. Isolationism and. ulations and disastrous taxa- only an illusion that wage earn- tion, and voters said "This is vy of the world. It is the one search and teaching. protectionism lead only to low- ers are better off because they enough. Let's try a difference segment of the U.S. economy Recognizing that food pro- er standards of living through- earn more money. _In reality, of which other nations are duction may one -day carry ou't the world .. philosophy. " workers lose due to inflation, Americans, by and large, are jealous. When you realize that clout equal to that of arma- The importation of a particu- higher taxes, erosion of savings not lazy people. While each of agricultural exports from this ment, Dr .. Sylvan Wittwer, a lar product may be unpleasant and loss of purchasing power. us wants our work to be easier, country are estimated at $40 recognized agricultural scien- to a segment of our society. They lose jobs because our in- we want to be effective and billion this year, you can tist, said, "The free world has The rest of society, however, dustries are priced out of mar- productive. In the first 60 years understand _why other coun- fallen behind in the arms race, benefits through greater selec- kets. Our inflated dollars have of this 20th century, we had tries marvel at the industry you and now the Russians are ex- . tion of products and lower weakened compared to foreign . moved in that direction. Our and I represent. ceeding the U.S. in research in- prices, brought about _by com- cur'rency. Inflation has "done productivity per person had All Americans reap the vestments relating to the pro- petition. The total economy them in." been increasing. During the financial harvest of agricultural duction and stability of our benefits because more product Politicians have done a mas- 60s, however, that gain slow- exports. Farmers benefit from food supplies." is sold and the general welfare terful public relations job in ex- ed. Industrial productivity in the sale of their products. America cannot afford to of the consumer is raised. (continued on .page 10) Backstage and On-~tage at the Annual • press people who attend, filling who attended the FBS/FPC geon fan club - a position I've Farm Bureau at this year's an- requests for those who can't be annuals. held for several years now - I nual meeting: Discussion Meet there, writing news releases was especially thrilled with this winner, Young Farmer chair- and the daily Delegate News. The press didn't seem too year's selection for the "Distin- man (whoops! chairperson), So. the first package I wrapped disappointed. With President guished Service to Agriculture" and district director. All three was a press conference with Smith reported to be one of the award. One of the proudest have so much class; they be- former Secretary of Agriculture frontrunners for the position of people in the crowd (which lieve their achievements were secretary of agriculture, they DONNA Earl Butz. The news people who packed our press room to unwrap this package didn't find were anxious to talk with him anyway. gave Dean a standing ovation) must have been his 88-year-old dad, who just happened to be based, not because of or in spite of the fact they were women, but on their own indi- Dr. Butz inside. He'd been iced We had a red telephone in celebrating his birthday that vidual qualifications and prov- For those of us in the state in back in Indiana .... our press room that we told night. What a neat present! en leadership abilities. office, annual meeting is a bit everyone was a hotline set up I try, very hard, not to let any Forgive me, fellows, for the • The realization that I'd put an like Christmas. You spend so President-elect Reagan feminism slip in when I report extra-loud cheer 'from these empty package under the months planning and wrapping could call us. with the an- the .news. But, honestly, I quarters. I've. been around long Christmas tree gave me a each program segment into nouncement. While it didn't couldn't suppress the surge of enough to say, emphatically, headache, one that worsened neat little packages and within come (the phone wasn't hook- pride when we chalked up "We've come a long way, when I remembered that a matter of minutes, it seems, ed up), I'm sure you share our three "firsts" for women in baby!" Wednesday's Delegate News all that remains is the debris (which had already been pride in the fact that our presi- under the Christmas tree. dent was being considered. If you don't get the glee you printed) had Dr. Butz's photo That shows the high regard in MICHIGAN FARM NEWS on the-front page! expected when a particular which Elton Smith is held as a (lSSN 0026-2161) DIRECTORS: District 1. Arthur Bailey. The MichIgan Form News is published Schoolcraft: Dlstrlct 2. Lowell Eisenmann. package is opened, you wOD- It takes a concerted team et- national farm leader. monthly. on the first day. by the Michigan Farm Blissfield; District 3. James Sayre. Belleville: fort to fool Mother Nature, who Bureau (nformatlon and Public Relations Divl. der if perhaps you could have District4. Elton R. Smith. Caledonia: DistrictS. Added to that: did you know . sion. Publication and editorial offices at 7373 William Spike. Owosso: District 6. Jack Laurie. made a better selection - and each year conspires to put the West Saginaw Highway. Lansing. Michigan Cass City: District7. Robert Rider. Hart; Distrlct that Michigan is the only state 48909. Post Office Box 30960. telephone. start right in planning for next hex on at least one of our an- Lansing SI7-323.7000. Extension '508. Sub- 8. Lyle LeCronler. Freeland; Districl9. Donald to have two representatives on Nugent. Frankfort; District 10. Margaret Kartes. year. But when the contents of nual meeting packages. While scrtptlon price. S1.00 per year. Publication No. West Branch: District 11. Hermlln Robere. FIlY- the agricultural transition team? 345040. elle a package are well-received, President Elton R. Smith and Established January 13. 1923. Second.c1ass our president and Glenn DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Dllve Conklin. you get a special glow that Vice President Newton Allen postage paid at Lansing. Michigan and at addl. Corunna: Michael Pridgeon. Montgomery: Lake, MMPA president. That tional mailing offices., makes you feel rewarded for filled in at the press conference, EDITORIAL: Donna Wilber. Editor; Marcia Robert ROilier. F~emonl sure says something for our Dilchle. Connie Turbin. Associate Editors FARM BUREAU WOMEN: Vivilln LOll. the hard work you invested in others behind the scenes work- Milson leadership! OFFICERS: Michigan Farm Bureau; Presl. FARM BUREAU YOUNG FARMERS: preparing it. ed to get a telephone hook-up dent. Elton R. Smith. Caledonia; Vice Presl- denl. Jack Laurie. Cass City; Administrative Janis Sanford. Parma My major responsibility at between the convention center And ... speaking of agricul- POSTMASTER: In using form 3579. mall to: Director. Robert Braden. Lansing: Treasurer the annual meeting is informa- and Purdue University so Dr. turalleadership in Michigan ... and Chief Financial Officer. Max D. Dean; Michigan Form News. 7373 West Saginllw Secretary. William S. Wilkinson Highway. Lansing. Michigan 48909. tion services - assisting the Butz could talk to the farmers as president of the Dean Prid- JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 3 KALAMAZOO, DEC. 9-12, 1980 THE ANNUAL MEETING Work, recognition, information and fun - all part of the 61st'Annual Meeting of the Michigan Farm Bureau KALAMAZOO, DEC. 9 FBS/FPC Annuals Open F9ur-Day Convention The chief executive officer ported, with new records set in ments to the Soviet Union, the and executive vice president of the number of bushels of grain cooperative operated four Farm Bureau Services, Inc. handled.' MEE's grain depart- trains, three of 65 cars each and Farmers Petroleum Coop- ment marketed a total of and one of 100 cars, moving erative brought a positive re- 48,209,000 bushels, an in- grain continuously from Michi- port to stockholders of the two crease of 10 million bushels gan terminals to the East coast. cooperatives during their an- over the preceding year. To avoid the traditional short- nual meeting Dec. 9. "The bean department han- age of hopper cars, MEE leas- Newton Allen, who assumed dled sales of nearly 900,000 ed an additional 40' rail cars, management responsibilities of cwt. of beans during the year bringing its available total to the two MFB affiliates on Sept. and actively participated with 161. . 1, 1980, reported "another other shippers and goverment FPC- achieved its 16th con- . successful year" for FPC and officials in the negotiation of an secutive year of gross sales "notable.gains" for FB.S. export agreement which will gains, Allegan reported, con- The report was especially open new markets for the sale cluding the 1979-80 fiscal year good news for FBS stoc~-. of colored beans to Mexico," with gross sales of $80.8 mil- holders with the co-op record- Allen told stockholders. In anti- lion. This represented an in- ing before-tax profits of cipatioD of this growing market crease of $22.8 million over $2,172,914 for the 1979-80 for pinto and red kidney varie- the previous year. fiscal year, compared with a ties, MEE undertook improve- "In additional, net profits be- $3,784,980 loss during the ments to its Saginaw terminal fore taxes rose to $1.537 mil- preceding year. to provide for processing of col- lion - up $1.235 million from The Michigan Elevator Ex- qred beans and add to drying the preceding fiscal year," change, a division of FBS, re- capacity, he said. Allen said . "A total of NEWTON ALLEN corded a profit of $991,924 on According to Allen, until the $204,000 in dividend and in- EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER fiscal year operations, Allen re- U.S. embargo on grain ship- FARM BUREAU SERVICES AND FARMERS PETROLEUM CO-OP (continued on page 4) PAGE 4 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 KALAMAZOO, DEC. 9 Chippewa Tops Again Ag COTT,lmunicators Honored During a special press re- County FB ; Guenther by Van of these awards because it For the seventh consecu- Local Affairs an.d Policy ception Dec. 9, three news Buren and Newaygo counties; means the information the tiv~ year, Chippewa Coun"ty Development. people were honored as MFB's and Fortin by Northwest Mich- communicator is sharing has a Farm Bureau took top hon- 1980 "Agricultural Communi- igan. positive impact on the lives of ors in Michigan Farm Bu- cators of the Year. " Those "We believe this local nom- those fa.rmers in his own home reau's annual awards pro- honored were Ben Leonard, ination strengthens the prestige community," Smith said. gram. During ceremonies at Farmers Advance; Karl Guen- the Kalamazoo Convention ther, WKZO radio and TV, and Center on Dec. 9, Robert Hesselink, Chippewa presi- David Fortin, WPBN-TV, Tra- verse City. 'Fabulous Fifteen' dent, . was called to stage In presenting the awards, Members of the prestigious "Fabulous Fifteen," the first seven times to collect No. l's for winning. programs . MFB President Elton R; Smith three comities in each membership category to reach said the three top communica- .goal, were honored at the County Presidents' and Chippewa County's' tors were honored for individu- Membership. Campaign Managers' Banquet last night. award-winning committees al outstanding effort and Held just pri.or to the annual Awards Program, the event were Membership, Com- achievement in serving agricul- kicked off activities of the Michigan'Farm Bureau's 61st modity, Young Farmers, TIle ..Ultimate One" assisted ture. But they were also sym- annual meeting. Following a banquet, courtesy of Farm . Community Groups, Wom- MFB President Bton Smith dur- bolic, he said, of many others Bureau Insurance Group's Marketing Corporation, these en, Policy Execution and ing the annual awards program, .. throughout the state "who members -of:. the .exclusive "Fabulous Fifteen". were Political Action. The county whJch recognlzes oountles for their 1980 program achiewments. have recognized that what honored: .' also received Silver Stars for farmers do, the challenges they In the 1 to 350 membership category - Lyle and Bet~y ¥¥¥¥¥¥ . face and must overcome to feed the people of this country, Robinson, losco; Foster McCool, Kalkaska; and Clarence Davis, Benzie. Close on the heels of the "County Farm Bureau of the also effects the 97 percent of Year" was Ingham, AI Cook, president. Cook collected six In the 351- to 650 membership category - Stan Stem- our population who are not in- Gold Stars for Membership, Information, Political Action, pky, Cheboygan; Richard and Roberta Beck, Ogemaw; volved in the agricultural indus- Policy Execution, Women and Young Farmers. The county and Irene Parker, Gladwin. try. also earned Silver Stars for Local Affairs, Policy Develop- In the 651 to 1,200 category - Lola Weber, Martin "When we honor these top ment and Commodity, plus a Certificate of Merit for Com- Thomsen and Doris Rader,_ Montcalm; Shirley Tolles, communicators for their indi- munity Groups. Barry; and ~im Shull, Oceana. vidual efforts, we are also ex- pressing our appreciation to all In the 1,201 to 1,500 category - Darl Evers, Allegan; ¥¥-¥¥¥ the other news people who Katherine G.oodfellow and Dale Shade, Kent; and Duane Sanilac County, Wayne Wood, president, continued their have helped us tell our story," Wagner, Lapeer. winning tradition with five Gold Stars (Membership, Local Smith said. In the 1,5.01 and over membership category - Alvin Affairs, Policy Development, Safemark and Women), four MFB has conducted the rec- Gaertner, Monroe; William Sill, Genesee; and Clare Silver Stars (Commodity, Information, Political Action and ognition program for several Brown and ~en Fierke, Sanilac. Policy Execution), plus a Certificate of Merit for Community years to honor news people for Groups. their service to agriculture. Top ••••• Clinton County. Don Witt, president, was next with four Gold Stars and five Silver Stars, plus a Certificate of Merit. communicators state award. must first be nominated by county Farm Bu- reaus to be considered for the Leonard nominated by the Washtenaw was FBS/FPC Annuals Held Dec. 9 (continued terest payments were made to from page 3) . Bailey, Kalamazoo County; Gold Star programs were Membership, Commodity, Infor- stockholders and investors dur- Robert Rottier, Newaygo mation and Policy Execution; Silver Stars were won for ing the year. Most noteworthy, County; and James Sayre, Local Affairs, Political Action, Policy Development, Young 'Greatness however, is the fact that FPC Wayne County, were re~ Farmers and Community Groups; the Certificate of Merit , was able to disburse some elected to represent MFB on was for'Women. in each. $245,000 in cash to patrons, the FBS board. Also a four Gold Star winner was Newaygo, Fred . retiring deferred patronage Folkema. president. The county earned Gold Stars for credits on business done with Butz Grounded Membership, Information, Political Action and Policy Ex- the cooperative in the years of ecution. Silver Stars were earned for Policy Development 1963-64." farmers from throughout the and Young'Farmers, plus a Certificate of Merit for Women. Allen reported that the sale state packed Kalamazoo Con- of Agrihol, a gasoline and alco- vention Center's grand ball- hol mixture first introduced into room Dec. 9 to see Dr. Earl the Michigan market by FPC, Butz, former U.S. secretary of Tuscola County's three Gold Stars, two Silver Stars and agriculture and now dean has been expanded to 21 bulk one Certificate of Merit were a tribute to Margaret Boyne, emeritus at Purdue University. plants operated by the co-op. who served as president until her death on July 15. LeRoy They didn't get to see him, but' Schluckebier, a former Tuscola County Farm Bureau presi- they. did hear him via a tele- dent, served as acting president for the remainder of the Directors Re-elected phone hook-up between Butz's year. Tuscola earned Gold Stars for Membership, Com- Farmer delegates reaffirmed Purdue University office and munity Groups and Political Action; Silver Stars for Policy confidence in the leadership of the convention center .• Development and Women; and a Certificate of Merit for Farmers Petroleum Coopera- "Ma Bell" came to the rescue Commodity. tive, Inc. and Farm Bureau when inclement weather Also a three Gold Star county was Macomb, Joe Services, Inc.' with the re- grounded Butz's private plane, Malburg, president. Macomb had Golct Star winning com- election of all incumbent board preventing him from his sched- mittees in Membership, Community Groups and Local Af- members at the co-ops' annual uled appearance at the FBS- fairs; a Silver Star for Policy Development; and a Certificate meetings Dec. 9. FPC annual meetings. of Merit for Policy Execution. FPC voting' delegates re- Blitz told his audience, "If we elected Wesley .Prillwitz, Ber- want to build a peaceful world President's Golden Award rien County, and William - and that's mankind's number Brewer, Clare 'County. Elton one challenge in the next dec- President's Golden Award Trophies are earned by coun- R. Smith, Ken't County, and ade or two, we must eliminate ties that have made membership and target goals and have Walter Frahm, Saginaw Coun- hunger from the world. We the highest percentage' of their members participating in ty, were re-elected to represent can't build a peaceful world on these member-only programs: Mutual Auto, Workers Com- MFB on the board of the co- a base of hungry people," he pensation, Farm Recordkeeping, Member Life, Blue Cross- "There is a greatness In you," said Art Fettig, a humortst-motivator who op. said. Blue Shield Farm Bureau Services/Farmers Petroleum spoke at the Presidents apd Cam- Incumbents fe-elected to Reaching that goal of. a Cooperative'Rebate Card, Wheat Pool and Safemark group paign Managers Banquet. The re: serve on the FBS board were peaceful world, Butz said, rests purchasing. • nowned speaker said, ... don't make Loren Black, Grand Traverse largely with the agricultural in- The 1980 winners were: Alfred M. Turnipseed, Kalkaska; people great. People are born with dustry, and gaining public County; Frank Crandall, Cal- Robert Kartes, Ogemaw; Elmer Gowell, Oceana; Albert greatness In them .. My job is to help them realize that greatness and help houn County; and Bruce Leip- awareness of that fact is a chal- Cook, Ingham; and Elgin Darling, Monroe. them to do soinethlng with It. prandt, Huron Co'unty. Arthur lenge farmers must meet. JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGES KALAMAZOO, DEC. 10 American Farmers 'New Kid on Block' Inflation, Price Volatility in International 'Marketing Skills Predicted for 19808 Yeutter told the farmers that A leading educator and con- likely to change. they should urge their children sultant in agricultural econo- "In the past, such informa- to learn languages in order to ' mics told Michigan agricultural tion was available through Ex- compete more effectively in the producers at the MFB annual tension, newspapers, farm world market. meeting that his economic sce- magazines and other sources. "We'll sell a lot more in the nario for the 1980s presumes In the 80s ... your farm lender international market in the next continued inflation, expanded may be a source of more infor- 20 to 30 years if we speak international trade and increas- mation. more than one language. The e~ production costs for farm - "He is an imp~rtant element rest of the world appreciates operators. of your farm business. You someone who can speak their Dr. John Brake, who was re- need to find a responsible and language. They'll speak English cently selected for the M. I. helpful lender , one who will of- if they HAVE to because it's Myers Endowed Chair in Agri- fer sound advice on major deci- becoming the international lan- cultural Finance at Cornell Uni- sions and who will meet your fi- guage, but they don't WANT versity, advised farmers attend- nancial needs. to, 'and if one can go to Mexi-' ing the commodity session on co, Spain, 'Greece, the Soviet Dec. 10 to upgrade their skills "In the 80s, a slight differ- Union, Japan or China, or any in capital budgeting and invest- ence in interest rate between other nation, with a command ment analysis to meet this one lender and another is not - DR. CLAYTON VEUTTER of that language, they'll strike' a decade's management chal- - going to be nearly as important whole lot more deals." lenges and opportunities. as having a good working,rela- Dr. Clayton Y eutter, presi- the production side with noth- He urged farmers to learn Brake expects many of the tionship year after year." dent of the Chicago Mercantile ing balancing over on the mar- marketing techniques such as economic trends of the 1970s Successful farm financial Exchange and chairman of keting side. We can't forget the forward contracting and futures will continue into the 1980s. managers in the 80s will be ex- President-elect. Reagan's' a-gri- production side, but we've got trading. "In the next 20 years, "Farm numbers will continue perts in managing the risks of cultural transition team, told to learn how to sell the stuff! he who can handle these kinds to decrease. The amount of inflation, price volatility and in- farmers attending the Dec. 10 .of marketing tools is going to debt per farm will continue to vestment. Brake suggests the "We're simply not pros when commodity session during have a net worth a whole lot increase and the total amount use of commodity hedging or it comes to selling things in the of debt outstanding to agricul- futures contracts as a way to MFB's annual meeting that al- higher than he who does not international markets. We're ture will also continue to in- deal with commodity price though they were the most effi- know how to handle them," he the new kids on the block and cient producers in the' world, concluded. crease at the rate of inflation or risks. we're very amateurish com- they were "new kids on the Yeutter said that one thing perhaps slightly faster than the "Hedging or contracting pared to Germany, Japan and block" when it comes to ~nter- farmers do not need in the rate of inflation," he said. does not eliminate the risk," a number of other countries national marketing .. which have to export to sur- J 980s are embargoes. "There's "Most of the costs farmers Brake said. "It only changes Rumored to be one of the no way any embargo is ever face for items such as fuel, the risks. One can hedge or vive," Yeuttter said. leading contenders for the post going to be effective," he said. pesticides, fertilizers and labor contract at too low a price and of U. S. secretary of agriculture, I "Our exports have expanded "All the armies of the Western will continue to increase and one will seldom if ever hit the Yeutter addressed the issue of tremendously in recent years, world are not going to be able returns to farmers will be highly top price paid in any season. "Marketing Challenges and but that's been because we are to enforce a grain embargo and variable. But, if my .guess of the 80s Opportunities in the 1980s." in a seller's market. It's easy it's appropriate to lift. -the "It will be important to be price volatility is approximately "We ar'e the most efficient. when someone is leaning on (Soviet) embargo and move able to push a pencil or access correct, then there will be producers in the world - we your door and saying 'will you away from that kind of artificial a computer to analyze invest- numerous opportunities to understand production very please sell us some grain?' It's 'constraint. It's not going to be ment alternatives in your farm hedge ... at a higher price than well - and then we fall flat on not so easy when you get into a simple because the embargo is . operation - whether these are one would get by waiting for our faces when it comes to surplus supply situation and caught up in the whole U.S.- new machinery, expansion or the price at harvest time." marketing," Yeutter said. "We you have to begin competing Soviet relationship and ob- new enterprises." Brake also urged farmers to simply have to give a lot more with the Canadians, the Aus- viously will have to be looked But, Brake warned, sources make better income tax deci- emphasis to marketing. The tralians and others in marketing at by the new. administration in for acquiring these skills and sions to use today's higher pendulum has been over on that grain," he said. that context." manag~ment information are value dollar more efficiently. Farm Bureau Women Elect Women Urged, 'Go as far as 1981 Executive Committee Your Ticket Will Take You' Michigan Farm Bureau Wom- "There are those who don't en were taken on an imaginary want to make the trip but pose journey by Kenneth Cheat- as experts on the travel of ham, of the American Farm others. They are the ones who Bureau Federation, during spend time criticizing the jour- their annual meeting, Dec. 10, ney of others, questioning their at the Kalamazoo Civic Audi- choice of destination and ask- torium. ing - is this trip necessary? In an address titled, "Moving They don't want to go and they on in Century III," Cheatham don't want anyone else to go told the women there are basi- either. cally four kinds of people tra- "Then, there are those who veling through life today. want to go as far as their tickets "There are those who don't will take them, " Cheatham want to go anywhere, who are stated, hoping that the Farm bogged down in complacency, Bureau Women in Michigan satisfied to remain there. were in this group. "They have "Then there are those who the gift of dissatisfacti.on and di- only want to take just a little vine discontent. They have trip, who flit from mediocrity to hitched their hearts to a task or KEN CHEATHAM j mediocrity with enthusiasm. a goal they love, and with souls shoot at nothing and hit," he Elected to the 1981 Fann Bureau Women's Executive Committee They were born of inertia and ablaze with purpose, reach for concluded, as he urged the were, left to right, Faye Adam. Sanilac County, first vice chainnan: have had several relapses. , the stars. women to begin believing in Vivian Lott, Ingham County, chainnan: and Nancy Rottler, They don't even burn a candle "They would rather shoot at their beliefs - and then living Newaygo County, second vice chainnan. at ONE end," he said. something and miss than to them. PAGE 6 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 KALAMAZOO, DEC. 10 Young Fanners Build a Future in.Today's Agriculture DIstinguished Young creates many problems .... well as to succeed, and this can Farmer Named We'plan to keep the farm oper- only happen in a free enter- ation family owned and oper- prise system. David Amon, Grand Tra- ated," Amon said. Amon and his wife, Judith, Outstanding Young verse County fr~it grower, was live in Williamsburg where they Farm Woman selected MFB's "Distinguished Young Farmer" during young are involved in many commu- Andrea Hofmeister of Gag~- farmer activities on Dec. 10 at nity service, educational and town has been named MFB's the MFB annual meeting. business organizations. 1981 Outstanding Young Farm Amon, a graduate in agricul- Woman following a final series tural economics from Michigan Young Farm Wife of personal interviews held dur- State University, has been gen- Wins Discussion Meet ing the MFB annual meeting. eral manager of the family' Hofmeister and her husband farming operation sin.ce 1979. A 30-year-old Clinton Coun- began farming four years ago. At present, 270 acres are un- ty farm wife won the young Together they operate a der cultivation producing red farmer Discussion Meet held 350-acre farm in Tuscola tart cherries, sweet cherries, Dec. 10 during young farmer County, where they produce plums and landscape quality activities at the MFB annual wheat, navy beans and field spr~ce trees. In addition, the meeting. corn. family business includes a fresh Speaking on the topic, "Why Before the couple made the fruit farm market and whole- is a free enterprise system es- decision to farm full time, they sale fresh fruit sales. .sential to a highly productive were suburbanites. "'Our jobs In order to increase efficien- agriculture," Marsha Brook of were challenging and lucrative, cy and to achieve a goal of en- Ovid talked her way to the state but in both cases an essential ~ Grand Traverse County fruit grower David Amon (left), and his title and will represent Michigan ingredient was missing. The ergy independence by 1984, wife Judith, accept the recognition plaque for the "Distinguished Young Farmer" award from L. c. Scramlin, 1980 Young Farmer Amon is in the process of de- in the national meet during the opportunity to begin a task and Committee chairman. signing and building an on- American Farm Bureau Feder- see it through to a conclusion is farm electrical distribution sys- ation annual meeting in New a rare thing," she said. tem which will be powered by a Orleans in January. . "As family farmers, we plant wind turbine. The wind energy Her husband, Douglas, is the seed, cultivate and harvest project has been funded by a part of a father-son partnership the results of our labor. We Department of Energy grant as dairy .operation with 120 cows bear our children and guide a demonstration project for and replacements, 450 tillabl~ them to maturity by allowing Northern Michigan fruit farm acres of corn, alfalfa and soy- them to work and learn at our operations. beans. The Brooks have three side. Farming, is the last great Improvement goals estab- children, twins Jeffery and refuge for those who seek oc- lished by Amon and family Jeremy, 3112, and Jonathan, cupational satisfaction and partners include improvement 15 months .. family unity." in orchard quality and tree Brook, whose plans for the Hofmeister admits that le~rn- strength, )ncreased productivi- future include "raising my fami- ing to run a farm has been a big ty, reduction in application fre- Iy, being a spokesperson for change from her former occu- quency and costs of sprays and agriculture, and possibly finish- pation as an elementary school fertilizers -through use of inte- ing my master's and going back teacher. "I am trying to learn grated pest management, pres- to teaching," is a member of what I need to know to carry ervation of prime agricultural the Clinton County Farm Bu- the load by myself in times of farmland and increasing public reau Young Farmer and Wom- emergency. This requires pa- awareness of the need for en's Committees, Capitol Area tience and time because I don't Michigan farmland in opera- Mother of Twins Club, and is have a farming background." tion. active in the Grove Bible The Hofmeisters share Careful attention to an estate Church. equally in tne family farm oper- plan assures all me.mbers of the In her presentation, Brook ation. "Whether we are charg- Marsha Brook, representing District V in Discussion Meet com- partnership an orderly transi- said, "F.ree enterprise is essen- ing through sunny weather or petition, is awarded a first place certificate ~y L. C. Scramlin. Brook tion of properties, liabilities and tial for people to he highly sloshing through the mud, we will represent Michigan in Farm Bureau's national discussion meet other related holdings. "Loss of motivated; they need a sense pull together," she said. in New Orleans on Jan. 11, 1981. a major experienced partner of self-worth to be productive.' Hofmeister holds a master's through an unexpected death They need to be able to fail as degree in music education. MACMA President Pledges Commitment to Producer Interests Elton R. Smith, president of major market outlets. Now we "Most certainly we must take the Michigan Agricultural Co- have more processing coopera- into consideration the needs operative Marketing Associa- tives, grower-processors, joint and problems of our firms tion ,told members at the Dec. ventures, and a variety of parti- which process, store, and mar- 10 annual meeting in Kalama- cipation plans between growers ket finished products; those zoo that despite changes in the and processors. firms are our market outlets. market system, MACMA "I firmly believe we should They are between us and the fi- would remain a producers' as- continue to represent our nal market outlet - the consu- sociation representing produc- members in the determination mers. But we must resist the ers' interests. of prices, grades, and other temptation to push processing, "Many changes are taking terms of trade in this new mar- retailing, and marketing costs p,lace in the organizational ket system which is developing. and problems on to the produ- .structures of a significant num- We are a .producers' associa- cers of raw products," he con- ber of firms which process fruits tion, and we must represent cluded. and vegetables in Michigan," producers' interests," Smith Smith said that farm bargain- Music teacher turned full-time farm wife, Andrea Hofmeister Smith said. "Proprietary pro- told members attending the as- ing legisiation continues to be (right) of Tuscola County, is Michigan Farm Bureau's "Outstanding sociation's 20th annual meet- needed and that MACMA Young Farm Woman." She receives a gift and congratulations from cessors which paid cash upon L. C. Scramlin and runner-up Dana Sue Kirk of Clinton County. delivery were, in the past, our ing. (continued on page 7) JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 7 -KALAMAZOO, DEC. 10 'Government Protection 'Mirage' Must be Aggressive Smith Tells FB Delegates MACMA President Says '-- The American people gave a of us wants our work ~o be improve our competitive posi- command in the Nov. 4 elec- easier, we do want to be effec- tion and lead to greater sales (continued from page 6) we must become more united tion to "right face, forward tive and productive. For the and increased employment." would continue its strong sup- and aggressive. It is imperative march" away from ultraliberal first 60 years of this 20th cen- While the industrial produc- port of enactment of a national that we be unified within our philosophies and government tury, we had moved in the di- tivity of the U.S. has been de- law. "Our seven years of ex- organization and with others in programs and toward reliance rection of increased productivi- clining, agricultural productivity perience operating under the agriculture," Smith said. on the private economic sector, ty. During the 60s, however, continues to increase, Smith provisions of our' state farm In his operations report.to Michigan Farm Bureau Presi- that gain slowed and the alarm- said, but warned that Ameri- bargaining law has served as MACMA members, General dent Elton R. Smith told dele- ing fact is that the trend has cans need to be concerned that the basis for support of national Manager Noel Stuckman said gates in his annual address. worsened. Industrial produc- the nation does not lose its farm.bargaining legislation," he. that general economic condi- Speaking at the Dec. 10 tivity in this nation was actually competitive advantage in agri- said. tions and consumer demand kick-off luncheon, Smith said, negative this past year. cultural production. He challenged members to set the stage for the associa- "We have suffered from high "That means it took more "We are seeing less money, rememberi:hat they were a mi- tion's activities. unemployment, penalizing in- hours of work to produce the in real terms, spent on agricul- nority group in an era of big "Our skills are tested in - flation, sagging productivity, same amount of goods than it tural research each year," he government, big business and working with the supply and inconsistent energy messages, did the year before, and while a said. "At the same time, the big labor. "As a minority group, demand situation for each over-zealous regulations and working person's income may Soviet Union and the People's commodity as we work to get disastrous taxation - and voters have been higher, he had less Republic of China are increas- the highest returns possible and said, 'tl)is is enough - let's try a purchasing power. This meant ing their spending for research. sell all of the commodity pro- different philosophy.' higher prices charged by busi- Americans cannot afford to duced," Stuckman said. "I believe the American peo- ness in order to recoup the in- lose the one area in which we "The slowdown of the econ- ple have learned that govern- creased costs of production. have absolute advantage over omy, inflation, and high inter- ment protection is a mirage. "This drop in productivity is other nations - agricultural pro- est rates are causing the current Government-created inflation, not really the fault of the work- duction." cost-price squeeze which is ef- with,increasing minimum wage er," Smith said. "The fault has In conclusion, Smith said fecting all MACMA members. rates, gives the illusion that been in the liberal philosophy that while it will take some time The role of your association in wage earners are better off be- that considers profit to be bad to "stop the slide" and get mo- resisting the downward pres- cause they earn more money. and, therefore, should be taxed mentum in the direction of less sure on commodity prices is The facts are that workers lose away for government-decided government involvement and now more important than it due to inflation, higher taxes, and government-managed dependency, he is confident ever has been." erosion of savings and loss of programs. If business and in- about the future of the U.S. lOr MACMA operations are con- purchasing power. They lose dustry are granted the incentive think America has the opportu- ducted through 11 operating jobs because our industries are to spend money for research nity to redevelop itself into the divisions. The seven fruit and priced out of the markets. and to modernize equipment, uncontested leader in the vegetable divisions are in- "I believe we are at the point there is no question that pro- world, as it well should be," he volved in the marketing of where citizens of this country ductivity will increase. This will said. crops to processors through want to return to the private bargaining, price leadership, competitive economic system. marketing information and They are calling for a strength- other services to growers. Two ening of the market system. livestock divisions are involved They are saying that instead of in marketing feeder livestock taxing the private sector to do Speaki~g at the. Marketing Con- from farmers to farmers, and things by government, let's use ference dUring the MACMA annual the Direct Marketing Division tax incentives to encourage meeting, Jack Morris reviewed the Perishable Agricultural Commodi- and Michigan Certified Farm growth, employment and ties Act requirement that buyers of Markets Division are involved wealth within the economy," fresh and frozen fruits and vt!get- in the marketing of food prod- he said. abies must pay growers promptly ucts from farmers to consu- "Americans, by and large, when it is delivered according to the contract or agreement. mers. are not lazy people. While each KALAMAZOO, DEC. 11 Senator John Hertel Pledges Don't let taxes eat up profits 'Comm~n Sense' Approach to Ag unnessarily. Good far,m records Sen. John Hertel, chairman If budget cutbacks are too necessary to meet state stan- can help you to pay what you of the Senate Environmental severe, it will be many years dards - then something is dras- and Agriculture Affairs Com- before they can be built up to tically wrong. owe and no more! mittee, spoke Dec. 11 at the their current nationally-re- "At one point a few years MFB annual meeting and nowned status." ago, this type of state-federal In.terested in knowing more- pledged his support of "com- .Hertel said another common contradiction became so ludi- mon-sense" agriculture-related sense approach to help Michi- crous that following Michigan's about a sound year round farm legislation. . gan farmers help themselves "Part of this common sense would be by simplifying the housing rules to the letter placed you in violation of the records and tax management pro- - approach to agriculture needs often confusing maze of bu- federal housing rules, and vice gram? C01)tact Farm Bureau today! to be reflected in the state bud- reaucratic rules and regula- versa. Some folks suggested - get," Hertel said. "Although tions. only half in jest - that the deci- ------------------------------------------ deep cuts are being made in every aspect of state spending, "In many instances, Michi- gan regulations are more strin- I'm hopeful the Legislature will gent than federal regulations. sion on which set of rules to follow might be based on your particular preference of the FARM RECORDS PROGRAM: COMMODITY ACTIViTIES AND FaRm~ not 'cut off its nose to spite its This, in itself, is not the prob- face' with agricultural funding. lem," Hertel said. "However, state or federal penitennary. "With rising inflation and un- RESEARCH DEPARTMENT MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU P.O. BOX 30960 BUreaU "Many important agricultural when a farmer invests upwards certain weather, Michigan research projects underway at of $30,000 to modify a grain farmers certainly don't need LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909 Michigan State University and elevator to conform with feder- this type of aggravation. In Name other state-funded institutions al standards, only to be told by many cases, what we need is provide vital information and a state inspector a year later simply a gooadose of common Address guidance to Michigan farmers. that further modifications are sense," he concluded. PAGE 8 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 KALAMAZOO, DEC. 11 Pridgeon Present~d AgriPac Breakfast Raises Funds for '82 MFB's Top Honor Legislators, Coordinators Honored MFB's political action arm, AgriPac, kicked off its fund- raising activities with a break- fast Dec. 11. Many of the farm- ers who served as voting dele- gates to the MFB.annual meet- ing paid $15 for breakfast, with proceeds earmarked to help elect "Friends of Agriculture" in Rep. Mark SUjander (R-Three Rivers), center, received recognition the 1982 election. :..a..... from the MFB AgriPac for having what AgriPac considered a AgriPac first endorsed and Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Dean Pridgeon was "perfect" voting record on major issues effecting agriculture. Mak- supported candidates for politi- presented MFB's Distinguished Service to Agriculture award by ing the presentation were AgriPac chairman Larry DeVuyst, left, and President Elton Smith at the annual banquet Dec. 11 during the MFB President Elto,n Smith, right. cal office in the 1978 elections MFB annual meeting. Pictured with Pridgeon is his wife, Mary. when 66 of their 73 "Friends of Agriculture" were successful. In Dean Pridgeon, director of tion grew, so did his involve- the 1980 election, AgriPac en- the Michigan Department of ment in activities off. the farm," dorsed 81 candidates, 75 of Agriculture, was presented Smith said. "Dean has always whom were elected. with MFB's highest honor dur- believed that things which hap- Awards received by three ur- ing ceremonies at the organiza- pen off the farm can be just as ban legislators at the AgriPac tion;s annual banquet on Dec. important to a farmer as his breakfast illustrated that being a 11. Pridgeon received the "Dis- own production and marketing "country boy" is not part of the tinguished Service to Agricul- decisions, and he chose the criteria for receiving the "Friend ture" award for his contribu- area of politics to, serve his in- of Agriculture" designation. tions "for the betterment of dustry. " Four state representatives Michigan agriculture." Pridgeon served as a town- were honored for having what ship supervisor for 12 years In presenting the award, AgriPac considered "perfect" and also on the Branch County MFB President Elton R. Smith voting records on major issues Planning Commission. Active said Pridgeon's "outstanding affecting agriculture, and three in church, 4-H, Farm Bureau ability to look at issues ,in rela- were from urban areas. and school activities in his Twelve political action coordinators were honored at the AgriPac tion to total agriculture" has breakfast for heading successful drives to reach AgriPac county Those who received plaques home community, he was rec-. won him statewide respect. goals. Above, Betty Laurie received a plaque and congratulations for for their "consistent support of ognized by the Michigan State het success from AgriPac chairman Larry DeVuyst and President agriculture" were Rep. James "When he was selected by Junior Chamber of Commerce- Elton Smith. Defebaugh (R-Birmingham), the Michigan Agriculture Com- as Michigan's "Outstanding Rep. Stanley Stopczynski mission as the director of the Young Farmer'" in 1957. In (D7Detroit) , Rep. Thaddeus Michigan Department of Agri- 1970, Michigan State Univer- Stopczynski (D-Detroit), and culture, that action received sity honored him with its distin- Rep. Mark Siljander (R-Three praise from all segments of ag- guished service to agriculture Rivers). riculture, which is a real tribute award. A former prisoner of war to the respect held for Dean by Pridgeon served as vice pres- who spent nearly six years in a the entire Michigan agricultural ident of the Michigan Farm Bu- Communist pris'On camp in industry," Smith said. reau for nine years and in 1974 North Vietnam, Charlie Plumb, Pridgeon is a member of a was appointed to the Michigan LF was speaker at the AgriPac breakfast. Plumb, author of the farm partnership nea.r Mont- gomery in Branch County with book, "I'm No Hero," sug- , his father, Glen, and two sons, Natural Resources Commission by Gov. Milliken. He was elect- ed to serve as chairman of that gested that techniques used by Michael and Bill. The sixth gen- commission in January 1978. the POWs to survive. prison eration farming operation now He has been director of the Keynote speaker at the AgriPac Breakfast was Charlie Plumb, a conditions can be applied to markets 8,000 hogs a year. Michigan Department of Agri- former prisoner of war in Vietnam. meet the stresses of daily living. "While Dean's farm opera- culture since December 1978. J State Chamber President Tells FB Members: Political Action Critical to Associations The president of the Michi- free, democratic government phere of the 1980s is domi- got to be participating in com- gan State Chamber of Com- that allows the freedom to be nated by single interest groups municating with our legisla- merce told Farm Bureau mem- involved in associations. and a trend toward political tors ... saying 'these are my in- bers that although "volun- "In America, you and I are specialization. This trend, he terests and concerns and I want teerism is good for America," free to speak our minds and said, signals the need for you to consider them as you involvement in associations has follow any activity or industry greater involvement of associa- deliberate on important is- been taken too much for that we want to. This certainly tion members in the political sues.'" granted. isn't true for an overwhelming action arena. Barrett compared the politi- James Barrett, in an address majority of the world's people," "The major expansion of the cal contributions of organized at MFB's annual banquet, said he said. "But too many people scope of political responsibility labor in the 1978 elections to perhaps volunteerism isn't fully today have lost sight of the fact which began to develop in the those of business political ac- appreciated "until we compare that government can give to mid to late 70s is sure to be in tion groups. "Organized labor our way of life to that in coun- people only what it takes from full bloom in the 80s," Barrett spent about $3.5 million to tries where everything is of the people - and it is the individual said. elect candidates to statewide state, by the state and for the taxpayer wh-o pays for the ris- office. If you take all the state - even citizens and their ing social handouts and subsi- "This gives us a clear mes- business political action groups, rights. " dies." sage for our organizations that including the Farm Bureau and Barrett said that only about , The State Chamber presi- we've got to have our member- the Michigan State Chamber of 20 percent of the world's popu- dent told Farm Bureau mem- ships involved, participating in Commerce PACs, you'll see JAMES BARRETT STATE CHAMBER PRESIDENT lation lives under some form of bers that the political atmos- political action efforts. We'vf!: (continued on page 9) JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 9 KALAMAZOO, DEC. 12 Board has Four New Members; Smith Re-elected , ~~ "" .. · • __t LYLE LECRONIER MARGARET KARTES DA VID CONKLIN JANIS SANFORD ELTON R. SMITH DISTRICTS DISTRICT 10 AT-LARGE YOUNG FARMERS PRESIDENT Elton R. Smith of Caledonia; County, who did not seek re- Re-elected to the board were Barry); Jack Laurie, Cass City, were William Wilkinson, East Kent Cou~ty dairy farmer who election. Lowell Eisenmann, Blissfield, District 6 (Huron, Tuscola, La~ Lansing, secretary; Max D. has headed the state's largest Kartes, of West Branch, be- District 2 (Calhoun, Jackson, peer, Sanilac, St. Clair and Dean, treasurer and chief fi- farm organization since 1964, came the first woman in MFB Branch, Hillsdale and Lenawee Macomb) ; and Vivian Lott, nancial officer; and Robert E. was re-elect,?d president of the history to win a seat as a district counties); Elton R. Smith, Cal- Mason, elected to represent the Braden, Byron, reappointed Michigan Farm Bureau on Fri- director. She and her husband, edonia, District 4 (Ottawa, Farm Bureau Women. administrative director and as- day, Dec. 12. Robert, operate an 840-acre Kent, Ionia, Allegan and Other officers re-elected sistant senetary. The action took place during dairy' and livestock farm. the reorganizational meeting of, A member of this year's MFB the 16-member board of direc- tors in Kalamazoo, following policy development commit- tee, she has served for over 20 Farmer Members Take Stand the close of MFB's annual years in all phases of the Farm (continued from page 1) meeting. Earlier that afternoon, Bureau Women's program at Smith had been unanimously the county, district and state ing with set-asides that the "A continuing effort should ative Extension Service and nominated as president by the level. She is also active in the body adopted the policy. That be made to achieve a prosper- some other services to Michi- delegate body. American Cancer Society and phrase was: "Should it become ous, productive agriculture gan's agriculture, have not kept Also re-elected were Jack is a promoter of the bloodmo- necessary for the secretary of through economically sound pace with inflationary costs. Laurie of Cass City, Tuscola bile. agriculture to invoke a set-aside programs with a minimum use Care must be taken that such County dairy farmer, as vice Kartes will represent District program to avoid, burdensome of price and income support programs are not weakened to president; and Donald Nugent 10, which includes Emmet, surpluses, it is,essential that the measures. If improved net in- the point of being ineffective," of Frankfort, Benzie County Charlevoix, Antrim, Cheboy- program be voluntary." _ comes are to be long-lasting, they said. fruit grower, as third member gan; Presque Isle, Otsego, The details of any set-aside they must be achieved through of the board's executive com- Montmorency, Alpena, Aleo- program should be announced market prices obtained in the mittee. na, and Ogemaw counties, on at least six months in advance marketplace and must not be Barrett Speaks Newly-elected to the board the board. of the planting season for crops dictated by government." (continued from page 8) were Lyle LeCronier, Bay Kartes replaces Richard Wie- covered to alIow producers to Among the policies adopted County; Margaret Kartes, Oge- land of ElIsworth in Antrim make planting decisions and at- dealing with state issues were that business spent only about maw County; David Conklin, County, who did not seek re- tract enough participation to support for "Right to Farm" $2.1 million. Shiawassee County; and Janis election. make it effective, the delegates legislation, protection for pro- "I'm not saying that money Sanford, Jackson County. Conklin of Corunna returns said. ducers when agricultural han- buys politicians because I don't LeCronier, owner-operator, to the MFB board for his first They also stated that diver- dlers file for bankruptcy I and believe that. What I am saying of a 1,200-acre farm near Free- term as director-at-Iarge. He sion payments should be made continuing support for P.A. is that those who often have a land, specializing in corn, soy- previously served on the board to producers to offset overhead 116, the state's Farmland and different philosophy on the is- ,beans, alfalfa an'd edible beans, as young farmer representa- costs on set-aside acres, such Open Space Preservation Act. sues from those you and I may was elected from. District 8. tive. The dairyman has also as taxes and interest and pro- The delegates also addres- share, are doing a heck of a lot He'll represent Clare, Gladwin, served as vice president and vide a margin of return on land sed the issue of water rights, better job of supporting candi- Arenac, IsabelIa, Midland, executive committee member investment. charging that s(>ttlement of dis- dates for public office who Bay, Gratiot and Saginaw of the Shiawassee County The adopted policy reads, in putes through court action is share their attitudes. counties on the board. Farm Bureau. part: "Government programs "slow, tedious and uncertain," "We in the business commu- ,.LeCronier was president of Conklin replaces Walter with respect to agriculture and asking for enabling legisla- nity have a tremendous chal-. the Bay County Farm Bureau Frahm of Frankenmuth in Sagi- should be designed to create tion that would include identi- lenge in the political decisions in 1974-75, served on the MFB naw County. conditions which will permit fying critical water manage- made by elected officials which policy development commit- Sanford was 'elected to rep- farmers to operate under the ment areas on a watershed ba- have an impact on us. Political tee, was chairman of the MFB resent the young farmers on market system. We favor a sis . action is critical to any associa- feed grains comittee and also the board. She and her hus- . market-oriented agriculture be- In the area of state budget, tion. served on the American Farm band, Neal, are in partnership cause we believe farmers will the delegates said that although "Given the direction our Bureau Federation feed grains with his parents in a dairy oper- fare better under the market they support fiscal responsibili- government is taking in our committee. He has also been ation near Parma. system than under any type of ty, they believe any necessary state and nation, you can't af- nominated to serve on the Sanford, who became the goverment-managed system. budget cuts must be equitable ford not .to be involved, be- AFBF soybean advisory com- first woman to serve as the The essential ingredients of a between governmental depart- cause those decisions thqt are mittee. He is a trustee of the young farmer representative, sound national f~rm program ments with emphasis on elimi- made at the local, state and na- United Methodist Church of was the Michigan Farm Bureau include 'measures to assure and nation of any program that is tionallevels can more than off- Freeland and is past president Queen in 1974 and has been improve farmers' access to no longer necessary. set a.ny economies that you of the school board. active in the young farmer pro- domestic and foreign markets ..... Appropriations for the might effect in your day-to-day LeCronier replaces Larry gram at both the county and without government interven- Department of Agriculture, ag- business operations," Barrett DeVuyst of Ithaca in Gratiot state levels. tion. ricultural research and Cooper- said. PAGE 10 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 'Right Face - Forward March' (continued from page 2) ""I.. plaining increases in the cost of ernment is inefficient. Too Some people say that C011- employed. Our educational do. Sometimes we are inclined living. Each month we hear often, government programs servatives do not care about system is not doing so and per- to say, if you are not with us what is happening to food fail to help those who are truly people. This simply is not true. haps it can't. But job training completely, you are against us. prices, transportation, housing, in need of assistance. We hear Conservatives believe that and employment can be ac- We must be tolerant and look and other expenses included in of needy persons who can't get there is dignity in every human complished by business and in- at the big picture. -We must not the government calculated cost assistance due to some rule or being. I am convinced that dustry. This would require co- act in a way to pull the rug out of living. But politici~msnever regulation. At the same time, nearly every person wants to operation by government from under them in just a short mention. the largest single ex- we hear of millions of welfare contribute to society. One of through tax incentives and the period of time over a single, pense the average person will dollars obtaihea through cheat- the ways this is done' is to elimination of regulations emotional issue. pay over a lifetime - taxes. ing and fraud. assure that meaningful jobs are which currently make training We must work with our new- According to research done These factors, inflation, de- available. Where is the dignity nearly impossible. ' ly elected leaders letting them in 1977, it is estimated that the creasing productivity, per- to a person who wants to work As I look ahead to the direc- know when they err, but also average couple would earn ceived weakness on a world- in receiving an unemployment tion voters set, I am pleased. supporting them when they somewhere in excess of $1 mil- wide basis and unemployment, check? That statement is not to reflect take the proper action. I am lion over a 48-year work span. were bothering voters. In view Our present welfare system political partisanship. I am sure there willbe pressure from Here's how the money is spent. of these problems, voters said goes against the grain of pleased because the American those who do not believe as we Taxes will consume $244,000. let's try a new approach. Let's human dignity. That is the people have pointed us in the do. We must help and encour- Housing was second at be more conservative. reason for fraud and cheating. direction in line with traditional age our elected officialsto have $238,000, and food I believe the citizens of this People try to beat any system Farm Bureau philosophy .. the strength to act according to $169,000. Putting this another country want to return to the which is degrading. Winning carries with it tre- their convictions and in line way, every individual in the private, competitive, econoIJ1ic; I am convinced that our mendous responsibilities. I am_. with their campaign promises. United States has a share of the system. Americans are calling country will always have some certain our philosophy is good I 'am more confident about federal budget. If it were allo- for a strengthening- of the needy citizens who deserve and will strengthen this nation. the future of the United States cated equally among all house- market system. They are say- help. We must have a com- But it will not happen over- than I have been for many holds, the budget this year ing that instead of taxing the plete reform of our welfare night. Since the 1930s, Am.eri- years. I think America has the would cost ~ach family $7,559. private sector to create govern- system to meet these needs. ca has increasingly relied on opportunity to redevelop itself Compare this to the average ment programs, let's use tax in- The new system should pro- government programs and ser- into the uncontested leader in family expenditures of $4,438 centives to encourage growth, vide help based on financial vices. It will take time to stop the world as it should be. We for food and $2,700 for hous- employment and wealth within need rather than on an, ar- that slide and gain momentum will do so by strengthening our ing. the economy. bitrary set on conditions. The in the direction of less govern- country, by revitalizing our Two groups create money - When business and industry system should be easily ad- ment involvement and qepen- economic system, by rekindling counterfeiters and govern- are granted this incentive to ministered, minimize the dency. the spark of individual initiative ment. Government has done spend money for research and possibility of fraud and provide We have seen many people and by keeping our commit- very well. But while govern- to modernize equipment, there an incentive to get back into the elected who share our philoso- ments to our allies. ment can create money, it can- is no question that productivity stream of employment. phy. I hope we recognize, Yes, I am confident in Amer- not create wealth. Wealth will increase. This will improve Government should encour- however, that they will not ica. I ask you to join.with me in comes from investment in pro- our competitive position and age the private -sector to devel- always. do everything, act on the parade of progress to the ductive, creative enterprises. lead to greater sales and in- op meaningful, practical job every issue, or fill every posi- voters' command, right face, Furthermore, bureaucratic gov- creased employment. training programs for the un- tion as we would like them to forward march! JANUARY VALUES BARNYARD co-oP Q.UALITY BARGAINS JANUARY 1-30 wt.r.lfx.r F8rm eon.. FIrst co-oP HEATER FaRm~ HEATS LARGE AREAS IN MINUTES Bureau FARM SUREAU SEJMCES.INC CO-OP WATER SOFTENER SPECIAL 825995 REG. 540995 LIMITED QUANTITY FOR UP TO 40 GRAINS HARDNESS Features include: Available Thr~ugh The Following: -dialamatic salt saver -whisper-quiet earn -Flinn Bureau Services Branches -Fllnners Petroleum Branches valve operation BayClly 517.893.35 77 Breckenridge 517.842.3575 Carrollton 517.753.3457 Caro 517.673-7714 - high density poly- Coldwater 517.279.8491 Cassopolis 616-445-2311 ethylene cabinet Hart 616-873.2158 Comstock Park 616.784.1071 MODEL ClOOS Kalamazoo 616.381.0596 Emmett 313.384.1350 -quality fiberglass Marcellus 616.646-5115 Hart 616.873-3960 616.496.2385 resin tank Mendon Mt. Pleasant 517.773.3670 Highland Jonesville 313:887.4109 517.849.9502 -manual bypass valve Pinconning 517.879.3411 Linwood 517.697-5761 Remus 517.967.8358 Petoskey 616.347-3260 Schoolcraft 616.679-4063 -Sandusky 313-648-3032 Warms barns, garages, workshops. 616-757-2594 Scottville 616.757-3359 Scottville Traverse City 616.946.5836 St. Johns 517.224-7900 Supplies 90,000 BTU of clean forced air heat. MODEL UC XVI Yale 313-387.2202 Traverse City 616-947.6700 Instant ignition system assures fast starts even in sub-zero weather. Runs 14 hours continuously on * For participating dealers In your area call toU-free, just one filling of kerosene or # 1 fuel oil. ALSO AVAILABLE ARE MODEL EUC XXIII 1-800-292-2639. ext. 673 or 675. (70 GRAINS) AND EUC XXX (100 GRAINS) Some Itenl$ may not be stocked at all particIpating dealers but are auailable and may be ordered 01 special prices during the sole period, JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 11 1981 Michigan F~rm Bureau Policies PURPOSE OF FARM BUREAU Farm Burea~ is a free, independent, nongovern- AGRICUL TURE mental, voluntary organization of farm and ranch families united for the purpose of a.nalyzing their problems and formulating action to achieve educa- Michigan Agriculture tion improvement, economic opportunity, and Michigan citizens and their leaders can be ex- social advancement and, thereby, to promote the tremely proud of Michigan's agriculture. It is the national well-being. Farm Bureau is local, state- second largest industry, but number one as far as wide, national, and international in its scope and in- stability and continued growth is concerned. fluence and is nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and non- It is truly a "growing" industry, 20% a year. secret in character. Michigan farmers produce about 50 commercial food crops a year making Michigan the second most diversified state in the nation. Products in- Resolutions Adopted by the clude a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, Michigan Farm Bureau forest products, and livestock products. Board of Delegates, 61st Annual Meeting, Michigan leads the nation in the production of Kalamazoo - December 9-12, 1980 five crops and ranks 5th or higher in 24 products. Over 20 % of Michigan's agricultural production is exported. Feed grains, soybeans, dry beans and FOREWORD wheat lead the list of commodities in international As we assemble in this our 61st Annual Meeting, trade. Agri~ulture is our nations only hope to tive harmony and unanimity among Farm Bureau we are appreciative of the past and confident of the -reverse the unfavorable balance of trade. organizations throughout the nation .. future. Unlike most industries, farmer productivity con- In general, we in Farm Bureau have fared well Michigan's recommendations on national and in- tinues to rise. Each farmer now produces enough this past year. Our organization has achieved legis- ternational affairs are available to county Farm food to feed himself and 64 other people, an all lative victories, broadened its political support, and . Bureaus and others upon request. time high! This is accomplished on less land today successfully served membership iin this our thir- than ever before! teenth year of consecutive membership growth. Agriculture creates jobs, not only in the produc- As we prepare to adopt these policies for 1981, Appreciation tion of food and fiber, but also in the processing, we remember experiences gained in the past, and During the 80th Legislative Session much legisla- transportation, and marketing services. It has been _are enthusiastic pbo'ut what lies ahead. We realize tion consistent with Farm Bureau policies was estimated that 35-40% of Michigan's people re- . that there is a new political enviro'nment create~ in passed, implemented or in progress, including: ceive some portion of their income from agricul- the elections of 1980. Major philosophies of this en- ture. -Implementation of the 1978 Constitutional Michigan agriculture is leading in the promotion vironment are a renewed belief in the market sys- Amendment limiting state spending, procedures for tem, sound fiscal policies, decreased dependency of alcohol energy from farm and forest products, property tax rate rollbacks and maintenance of state thus helping to solve the energy crisis as well as pro- on government and a reduction of government reg- aid to local governments. ulation. viding valuable food byproducts. - Equalization of property by class and implementa- Agriculture - our basis industry - still has enor- It is in this political climate that much new legisla- tion of a "developmental" classification. tion will be developed. Of foremost importance to mous potential to produce more of our citizen's -Gasohol promotion, research and tax legislation. food, fiber, and energy needs close to the market agriculture is a new. farm program, marketing and -Wetlands legislation amendments exempting land bargaining legislation, and taxation. Our organiza- with greatest possible efficiency. It is perhaps our used for agricultural production. greatest Dope for the future. tion has an obligation and opportunity to be in- -State-wide land inventory legislation. . fJuential in shaping these legislative programs. We will continue to bring these facts and other in- -Legislation to control pseudorabies in swine. formation to the attention of elected leaders, For this reason, we approach our policy develop- - Major amendments to the Commercial Forest Act governmental agencies, and the public. ment process solemnly, knowing our responsibility and permit Farm Licenses for wood harvestors ... to agriculture and the rural community. We are - Land Sales Act amendments to permit sales and Right to Farm , proud of member involvement in this policy devel- leases by utilities for agriculture. opment process at community, county and state As people move from urban to rural areas they -Progress on Water Surveillance Fee rule amend- levels. This member- input has resulted in policies frequently select a home in close proximity to agri- ments .. which prepare our organization' to meet the cultural operations and later object to practices -Various amendments to dairy laws. challenges ahead. associated tvith normal farming operations. -Hunting and fishing law amendments .. But development of policies i~ only one step. We We support legislati.on that will recognize the -Suspension of drivers license and mandatory as Farm Bureau members must pledge ourselves "Right to Farm" within the state without fear of un- restitution for malicious property destruction with a anew to the enactment of these policies. We must due harrassment and include the right to carry out motor vehicle. continue to participate in the work of Farm Bureau generally accepted agricultural practices necessary -P.A. 116 amendments including payment of in- for the betterment of our industry. With this com- for the production of food and fiber. terest on late refunds. mitment, we can truly be number one in service, The "Right to Farm" specifically includes but is - Bean and Potato Commissions amendments. leadership and opportunity. not limited to the use of large irrigation pumps and' - Appropriations for the Extension Service, Agricul- equipment, aerial and ground seeding and spray- ture Experiment Station, FFA and 4-H. John Laurie, Chairman ing, large tractors, numerous farm laborers and the - Uniform Commercial Code amendment to solve . MFB Policy Development Co~mittee application of chemical fertilizers, insecticides apd farm loan problems. herbicides; all for the purpose of producing from - Amendments to the Grain Dealers Act. the land agricultural products such as vegetables, RECOMMENDA TIONS ON NA TIONAL - Exemptions for farmers from Drivers License En- grains, hay, fruits, fibers, wood, trees, plants, AND INTERNA TIONAL AFFAIRS dorsement requirements. shrubs, flowers and seeds. The "Right to Farm" I -Amendments to the Solid Waste Act. The recommendations on ¥tional and interna- shall also include the right to use land for grazing by - Amendments to the Probate Code. tional affairs adopted by the vc;>tingdelegates have animals, subject to the restrictions for intensive fowl • Workers' Compensation and Unemployment been forwarded to the America'n Farm Bureau Fed- or livestock farms. The foregoing uses and activities Compensation reforms. eration for use by the national Resolutions Commit- included in the "Right to Farm," when reasonable • Essential Insurance amendments. and necessary for the particular farming, livestock tee, which is made up of representatives of every state Farm Bureau. Michigan's recommendations We commend the Governor, Legislature and or fowl production, and when conducted in accor- will also serve as a guide for our voting delegates to various Departments on introduction, enactment dance with generally accepted agricultural prac- the forthcoming annual convention of the Ameri- and implementation of these and other measures tices, may occur on holidays, Sundays and can Farm Bureau Federation. which we have supported or are consistent with our weekdays, at night and in the day, and the noise, policies and are important to agriculture and the odors dust and fumes that are caused by them are The national and international policies adopted economy of the State of Michigan. We also appre- also s~ecifically permitted as part of the exercise of at our national convention will serve as the policy ciate that much proposed legislation not in the best this right. for all state Farm Bureaus. interest of agriculture has not been adopted or has The farmer, as a good neighbor, has an obliga- This is essential in order that there may be effec- been amended. tion to follow good agricultural practices. Such a PAGE 12 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 Policies Become: . Solutions to Farm.Problems law would also give persons moving into an agricul- Red Tart Cherry Federal Marketing Order We support the enactment of a program to require tural area notice of what may take place around spot inspection and annual certification of moisture The Federal Marketing Order for red tart cherries testing equipment by the Michigan Department of them. has been a valuable marketing management tool Agriculture. Bankruptcy of Agricultural Handlers for the industry. The Order employs the set-aside concept which Agricultural producers are often severely affected allows the processing of surplus cherries in a large Animal Health when handlers of agricultural products file for crop year and the storage of such cherries to years We continue to support the current strong pro- bankruptcy, as agricultural producers are regarded when these supplies are needed in the market to gram for tuberculosis and brucellosis control and as unsecured creditors. Therefore, we demand that maintain"~ steady flow of products to consumers. eradication in Michigan and commend the Michi- all claims for ag products delivered within two years The Cherry Administrative Board which operates gan Department of Agriculture for its effective ad- prior to the filing of the federal bankruptcy or state the Federal Marketing Order' should be reminded ministration. insolvency petition by the handler should be given that the .language and spirit of the Order is to sell the same priority as labor in the distribution of the set-aside cherries "to handlers at' prices and in a Livestock Testing net assets of the agricultural handler. manner intended to maximize returns to equity The import-export tests required on livestock by holders (mostly growers) and achieve complete Prompt Payment Michigan differ from those required by Canada. We disposition of such cherries." Nearly all growers believe reciprocal testing programs should be im- We deplore the practice of some processors and have participated in the set-aside of surplus cher- plemented and that all requirements be strictly en- handlers of farm commodities of operating on pro- ries. forced. ducers money due to delayed payment for com- Since the inception of -the F~deral Marketing modities delivered. Sometimes this period extends Order for red tart cherries in 1971, the production for as long as a year or more. and marketing patterns have changed somewhat. Swine Pseudorabies Control We therefore, urge producers to develop firm Utah and other western states were not included in We support the present state law (P.A. 203 of business policies concerning contracts on 'overdue the original program. We believe that an assess- 1980) enacted to effectively control the spread of accounts including an appropriate interest charge to ment of grower understanding of the present order pseudorabies in. Michigan swine. If a national pro- any account not paid in full after 30 days. operation in the western sta~es should be taken. If gram of pseudorabies eradication is implemented in We support legislation that would require pro- positive support is generated, we will work for the the future, we will support the payment of federal cessors and handlers purchasing farm commodities necessary action to assist in the extension of the indemnities to quarantined pork producers. from producers to make f!:;I1l payment within 30 market order activities to' include Utah and other days of date of purchase unless other provisions are areas. This support and action is intended so that made by written contract. the present Order will not be jeopardized. Milk Temperature Requirements The quality of milk is directly affected by the Marketing and Bargaining Legislation Soft White Wheat Delivery Point. temperature both on the farm and throughout the Soft white wheat is the major class of wheat pro- handling. Consumption of milk is'directly affected The Michigan Agricultural. Marketing and Bar- gaining Act (P.A. 344 as amended) has proven to duced in Michigan. It is the only class of wheat for by quality, thus "milkmust be kept cool at all han- be a fair and equitable procedure through which which there is no provision for delivery against a fu- dling points. marketing and bargaining associations and pro- ture contract. We urge continued work by Farm Current law requires that raw milk be cooled cessors negotiate fruit and vegetable prices and Bureau and the Michigan Elevator Exchange to below 45 degrees within 2 hours of milking and not _ other terms of trade. We support: establish delivery points for soft white wheat. The to exceed 50 degrees Fahrenheit and processed delivery points should be the same as for soft red milk not to exceed 45 degrees Fahrenheit. We 1. Amendments to P.A. 344, which would clarify recommend that the laws regarding temperature re- where necessary the provisions and procedures to wheat, namely Toledo and/or Chicago. quirements be strictly enforced. make it more workable. We urge that special attention be given to milk 2. Action to assist farmers in other states in the quality utilized in the school milk program or any development and the enactment of state marketing other mass milk distribution program. and bargaining legislation. 3. Enactment of proposed national farm bargain- ing legislation. Abandoned Orchards and Vineyards 4. Aggressive action to defend marketing and bar- Abandoned and severely neglected fruit or- gaining majority rule concept legislation. We will chards, vineyards, blueberry and bramble planta- oppose any efforts by opponents of P.A. 344 and . tions harbor diseases and insects. We support the national farm bargaining legislation to weaken or removal of such orchards and vineyards through cripple its operations and effectiveness. the Department of Agriculture removal program 5. Modification of the act so that other agricultural upon the request of a commercial grower. commodities can come under this legislation if pro- In order to accomplish this and enable farmers to ducers comply with its provisions. utilize integrated pest control we support necessary We urge that Farm Bureau at all levels give the -- funding for MDA to remove trees and vines from highest pri0t1tyto marketing and bargaining legisla- abandoned sites and recommend that the cost of tion. removal be placed as a lien against the property if the owner refuses to comply. We support an amendmenl to the present law to Grain and Bean Marketing include brambles and blueberries. Farmers should be in a position to control their Soybean Research and Market Development own bean and grain marketing. Producers deliver- Fruit Juices The production of soybeans- in Michigan con- ing grain to elevators should be .offered both a tinues to increase. Soybeans are an important in- Fruit juices have great marketing potential and warehouse storage receipt and a price later agree- come source to cash grain farmers. consumer demand for these products is very evi- ment and be able to select the one of their choice. Soybean producers recognized the importance of dent. Michigan is one of the major producers of Passage of the Grain Dealers Act of 1976 as this industry five years ago by establishing the fruit crops such as cherries. amended in 1980 relieved several concerns ex- Michigan Soybean Research and Market Develop- Frequently, adverse weather conditions cause pressed by farmers in Michigan concerning price ment Program, under P.A. 232 of 1965. This considerable quantities of cherries to be unaccep- later agreements. The Act must be strictly enforced grower sponsored program has contributed greatly table for No.1 Grade product, however, the raw by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. How- to maintaining and developing a healthy soybean product would be very acceptable for juice stock. ever, further improvements are needed to industry. We support the resubmittal. of this pro- Recent rigid interpretations and inspection and strengthen the Act. We support amendments to re- gram to a grower referendum, as required by the grade specifications by government agencies have quire the filing of certified audits by grain dealers to provisions in the program. caused serious hardship on many growers because the MDA. In addition, we will organize a Grain Dealers Act Task Force to recommend further they are not able to market their crop. The inflexible Inspection of Moisture Testing Equipment rules have been unreasonable and inequitable to changes to the Act which will further protect pro- ducers, but yet allow efficient elevator operations. Farmers who wish to sell crops at elevators must growers and consumers since considerable product The Task Force should include farmers, grain rely on the accuracy of moisture testing equip'ment. is lost from the market. handlers, grain industry groups, Michigan Depart- . There are no state regulations requiring inspection We continue to support research and extension ment of Agriculture staff and others. of the moisture testing equipment.of grain dealers. activities to develop the best handling procedures, JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 13 Policies -Provide: Direction for Action reasonable testing methods and definitions which Entry into Agriculture . boards and commissions involved in areas affecting will allow for maximum utilization of fruit crops and agriculture. Young people entering farming as a career are market expansion of these products. Agriculture should continue to be a voting mem- the hope for the future of agriculture. It is increas- ingly difficult for young farmers to obtain financing ber of the Air Pollution Control Commission and by trditional means for purposes of gaining an equi- Water Resources Commission. We will oppose re- Quarantine of Agricultural Products peal of the laws establishing these commissions. ty in farming operations. We favor efforts by MFB In trying to meet the growing need for food, to gather and make available information about farmers are doing all they can to increase food pro- alternative financial and contractual arrangements Local Fcllrs duction. This often calls for new methods, produc- as an aid in this effort. tion techniques and often the use .of chemicals. Michigan fairs are an important part of our state's While great care must be taken to use precaution heritage, and they are more popular today than in handling these chemicals, we recognize that ever before. The number of exhibits and the sometimes accidents occur. This may lead to number of exhibitors have increased steadily in the quarantine of farm products and possible disposal last decade. The important impact of the youth pro- of products. grams which culminate in competition of fairs and . We believe that for all products the quarantine of adult agricultural exhibits has been felt period should not exceed 30 days. By the end of throughout the agricultural industry. that period, the governmental agency imposing the The current tight budget problem may result in quarantine must take one or more of four actions: cutbacks in premiums offered and entries accepted. We feel that youth programs should re,ceive the 1. Revoke the quarantine. highest priority. 2. Continue the quarantine for an additional 30 We support the Michigan Department of Agricul- days. If the quarantine is extended for an additional ture's leadership in the Michigan Fair Industry. We 30 days, loan arrangements should be made available to producers whose products are quaran- '. ---- - ,/ also encourage the Michigan Legislature to con- tinue to create and make possible the funding of tined for conditions beyond their control. Total these endeavors. quarantine should not exceed 60 days. 3. Condemn the product and dispose of it within 10 days: Michigan State Fair We believe the Michigan State Fair helps to ,. create a better understanding and appreciation be- Agricultural Reporting Service tween the agricultural and industrial producer and The agricultural industry has developed many the user or consumer. Because of its location, the mechanisms for reporting the size and progress of Michigan State Fair is within relatively easy access crops and other agricultural commodities. The Michigan Department of Agriculture to the majority of Michigan residents and offers the system that has been most widely adopted by the unique opportunity to bring the producers and pro- The Michigan Department of .Agriculture ad- industry is the Agricultural Reporting Service. To cessors of food and consumers together. The Fair ministers a' number of programs which are crucial to insure the accuracy of their reports, farmers should has performed this function for over a century. the public health and safety, preservation of valu- give the Agricultural Reporting Service full cooper- We urge that agriculture be the priority attraction able natural resources and the economic well-being ation. Farm Bureau should work with the Agricul- at the State Fair with additional emphasis on youth, of the agricultural industry .. tural Reporting Service to find. ways to improve and and urge that Farm Bureau members attend and We commend the Director and the employees simplify the gathering of information, reporting and participate in the State Fair. on their efforts to maintain these essential programs other aspects presently criticized by farmers. We during this year's budget crisis. They have volun- recommend that the Legislature and the Michigan tarily signed up for pay reductions of over 1/2 Agricultural Education and Exhibition Center Department of Agriculture adequately fund their million dollars. They have gone beyond their nor- full portion of this cost-share service. mal responsibilities in their dedication to agricul- The development of an Agricultural Education ture. While there are other dedicated state employ- and Exhibition Center in Michigan will improve the ees, it is especially important in this .department. knowledge and management skills of farmers. We Agriculture is our basic industry and the most encourage continued aggressive action by the stable. Its potential is great. Besides essential food, Steering Committee to develop the planned Center Forest Product Price Report at Michigan State University. it creates jobs, raw materials, and is becoming a Current prices for iorest products are not readily major future source of energy. available. This lack of market information is a disad., We will continue to work to maintain those ser- vantage to private landowners who do not sell forest products frequently. vices and programs essential to the expansion of NATURAL RESOURCES agriculture. We will cooperate with landowners and the forestry industry to implement a public or private Agricultural Land Preservation forest product price report. This report should use Appointment of Michigan Department Agricultural land is essential to the well-being of uniform scales and measures. of Agriculture Director all Michigan citizens. The Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act (P.A. 116) provides a We believe the present method of selecting the voluntary method of preserving farmland through a Director of the Department of Agriculture is the contractual arrangement with the state and thereby most effective system to avoid compromising the limits property tax to a percentage of household in- Directdr's position through the use of political Noxious Weed List come. It is proving to be an effective program to pressure. A strong Agriculture Commission consis- preserve agricultural lands for future food needs Due to the speed with which they are spreading ting of individuals with a farm background has and and open space. Farmers throughout the state have throughout the state, we believe the Noxious Weed continues to serve all ~ichigan residents. enrolled nearly 2 million acres of agricultural land in Law should be amended to include Velvetleaf, the program of which over 40 percent is located Nightshade, Yellow Nutsedge"and Jlmson weeds. within urban areas. Agricultural Representation on The administrators of P.A. 116 are to be com- Boards and Commissions plimented for the efficient manner in which the pro- The increasing involvement of government in gram has been handled. We support retention of agriculture has significantly increased food produc- administrative responsibility for the program in the Michigan Bean Commission tion costs. Many producers have discontinued or Department of Natural Resources. We support the efforts of the Michigan Bean substantially altered their farming o;.>erations a's a We urge the Department of Natural Resources, Commission. The Commission should be the in- result of increased government regulations. This Mkhigan Farm Bureau, Cooperative Extension strument for fostering, surfacing and developing problem is magnified by thp fact that most ap- Servil e personnel and local government officials to new bean products nnd eX!1~nding the ises of dry pointees to various boards and commissions do not i\ggressively consider the program and its potential b~ans. Efforts by thl' Commbsion to establish local understand agricultUl e. w~ recommpnd and will benefits to their farmlnq operation. advisory committees ;,hould be continued to devel- continue to vigorously support the appointment of We rontinue to support P.A. 116 and will work II op better communications with dry bean growers. qualified persons' familiar with i\qrirulture to all h maintain and improve this major agricultural land PAGE 14 FARM NEWS . JANUARY 1981 Policies Reflect: The Voice of the Membership preservation program. We oppose enactment by Wilderness Act has resulted in the serious degrada- Water Rights the Legislature of additional agricultural land tion of the resource. It has been demonstrated that Agriculture is highly dependent on water. preservation programs which would confuse the removal of all manmade facilities has resulted in Michigan is well known for its abundant. water farmers and diminish the effectiveness of P.A. 116. sanitation and health problems that threaten the resources. However, the demands for water and We urge Farm Bureau members to take an active values the Act was designed to preserve. the rights to it, are an increasing area of conflict part in land us'e planning at all levels of govern- .Established wilderness criteria further threaten both in and out of court. ment. If local land use control is to be maintain'ed, it such areas by prohibiting the employment of power Because the demand for water from the three is imperative that local people accept the responsi- tools and vehicles in watershed management, trail largest sectors of Michigan's economy - industry, bility to plan the use of their land resources. maintenance, soil treatmen~, noxious weed control, agriculture, and tourism is expected to increase in We encourage the inclusion of managed forest waste management, and fire protection. For these the 1980's and ~ecause settlement of disputes via lands under the local option Open Space section of reasons, and the fact that wilderness management court action is slow; expensive, tedious and uncer- P.A. 116. is inconsistent with sound multiple use principles, tain, we recommend that Michigan Farm Bureau We oppose federal assistance to states for land we oppose further expansion of wilderness areas work foJ' enabling legislation that would: use planning except under a grant-in-aid'program. proposded under RARE II and urge reevaluation of Funds available to a state should not be withheld as all existing wildernesses under the Wilderness Act. 1. Identify critical water management areas on a a weapon to enforce compliance. We oppose Any future wilderness proposals should be subject watershed basis. federal legislation and agency policy ~hich would to environmental, social, agricultural an'd economic 2. Implement a water-use permit program for sur- impose land use regulations as a qualification for impact analysis in addition to heavily weighted con- face and groundwater on a critical water area basis. obtaining federal grants and loans. ' sideration of the views and land use plans of the 3. Allow establishment of minmum in-stream flow residents of the locality and state concer~ed. standards and/or maximum groundwater withdrawal rates to protect the natural resources of Subdivision Control the state from pollution, impairment and destruc- , The present Subdivision Control Act permits a Environment tion. tract of land to be divided into not more than four 4. Clarify that commercial agricultural irrigation for parcels of ten acres or less without platting. P.ublic concern for the environment continues to food and fiber production is in the public interest However, many instances of circumventing the be a powerful force. This concern poses serious im- and is a reasonable use of water. platting of land has been observed through the seIl- plications to agriculture. The future of agriculture is 5. Allow interbasin transfer of irrigation water and ing of land in parcels of 10.1 acres or greater. This dependent on air, water and land as natural tools of / modify the severance rule by permitting irrigation practice has led to several areas of unplanned production. Agriculture has an important responsi- water on land which is immediately contiguous and developments which can be costly to the communi- bility to improve the quality of our environment. adjacent to lands which touch lakes, streams or ty. All persons engaged in agriculture should con- other watercourses so long as such land is held in We will support legislation to eliminate the inade- tinue to become informed' of pollution sources and the ownership of a single individual or other legal - quacies of the present Act and require the platting discipline themselves so as not to add to the prob- person and is held for the purpose of agricultural of all subdivisions. lem. We urge that agricultural representatives 'be production of food and fiber. Local zoning laws should continue to control strip consulted during the development of pollution reg- 6. Clarify that the riparian rights doctrine is ap- building along highways or on agricultural land as ulations and that such regulations, when imple- plicable to groundwater. authorized under present zoning laws. mented, be realistic and consistent with good pro- duction practices. Draina!Je Continued research is necessary to find adequate Private Forest Reserve Act answers to agricultural waste disposal problems. Much of Michigan's nearly 12 million acres of The Private Forest Reserve Act has not been up- Continued emphasis should be placed on develop- farmland require drainage to produce food. Certain dated since 1960. We believe it should be studied ing recycling systems for agricultural waste. types of agriculture such as muck farming cannot to determine its effect on local communities, and its In an agricultural area whenever a proposal re- continue or expand without adequate drainage sys- effect on encouraging forest production and man- quires an environmental impact statement we tems. We support retention of authority for admini- agement. Changes should be made to improve the recommend an economic statement and an Agri- stration of the Drain Code in the Department of Ag- Act's effectiveness, but the original intent of the Act cultural Impact Statement also be prepared. riculture. We support amendments recommended should be maintained. by the MDA Drain Code Task Force to update the present antiquated Drain Code. The amendments Public Utilities would recognize and protect the need for adequate - agricultural drainage and update procedures of the Activities of public utility companies take them Code to better serve public interests. across much of Michigan's farmland. They often damage underground tile in farmlands when install- ing new facilities. Farm owners should be notified a minimum of 30 days prior to installation of such Water Surveillance Fee new facilities so the farmer can identify the location Public Act 293 of 1972 requires persons dis- of tile and prevent damages. charging wastes into -surface and underground Electric and telephone utility transmission lines, waters to file an annual report with the state and gas lines and oil rights-of-way for these purposes pay a surveillance fee for monitoring of the dis- should be standardized as nearly as possible with charges. The total annual surveillance fees charged contracts or other legal instruments including as must be equal to the appropriation made by the many protections to the owner as possible. Utility Legislature to fund the surveillance activities. The companies should physically expose underground law establishes a $9,000 maximum fee that can be wires and pipes when requested by the landowner. charged per location to anyone discharger. Due to We further believe that consideration should be rising costs and the maximum fee that can be charg- given to the leasing rather than sale of rights-of- ed a factor similar to that used in property tax way. equalization is applied to the fees levied against - We support legislation that would return aban- small dischargers including many agricultural doned utility routes (routes unused for twp years) to Mineral ~ights operations. We support legislation to remove the the land tacts originally yielding these lands for the Public Act 42 of 1963 permits oil, gas and coal $9, 000 ceiling so that large dischargers will carry utility purposes. mineral rights to revert to the owner of the property their full share of the surveillance fee. We also sup- We support legislation to require licensing of land unless they are re-registered by the owner of the port replacement of the current formula used to acquisition agents for oil, gas and utility companies. mineral rights. We believe this principle should be compute fees with a formula that will provide incen- The legislation should require that landowners be extended to other kinds of mineral rights. How- tives for dischargers to prevent environmental informed of their legal rights, the proposed use of ever, we believe that the present 20-year claim damage~ The new formula should result in a fee the land, the amount of royalty if any and the state period should be reduced to ten years. that accurately reflects the amount of surveillance agency that can provide further information. We oppose attempts to ban exploration for actually necessary to monitor discharges. mineral deposits. We support legislation requiring .. owners of mineral rights to notify landowners of Land Disposal of Wastewater and Sludge Wilderness Areas their attempt to explore for or develop minerals. The use of land to dispose of industrial and Experience has shown that the "no manage- Every attempt should be made to mutually nego- municipal wastewater or sludge is expected to in- ment" concept applied to certain areas under the tiate easements and damage. crease due to' national water ~pollution abatement JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGElS Policies Reflect: Strength Through United Action goals established by the Federal Water Pollution Michigan is fast running out of suitable land for Control Act. The supply of nutrients.and the water waste disposal. This is a wasteful practice and i'n these wastes could be beneficial to agriculture. should be stopped. We urge farmers to consider the ..possibilities of' Energy is costing more every day and this trend utilizing wastewater and sludge from municipalities will likely continue. The energy we are now burying contemplating land application. Government agen- should be saved and utilized. We will support the cies responsible for approving land application passage of legislation providing incentives for the systems shol!ld allow private agriculture to utilize recycling of rubbish, the burning of all burnable municipal wastewater and sludge whenever possi- materials, the recycling of metals suitable for recycl- ble and we will continue or efforts to seek approval ing and the burying of the ash. The energy derived of such a policy. We believe the use offarmland for from the burning process should be harnessed to disposal of such wastes should: produce steam for the generation of electricity. 1. Permit private enterprise agriculture with volun- We recommend that agriculture be represented tary participation. on all Solid Waste Advisory Committees required 2. Provide flexibility in amount and timing of ap- under Public Act 641 of 1978. . plication of the wastes according to agricultural needs. Trapping 3. Provide indemnity payments for unsaleable crops due to Food and Drug Administration regula- We support continuation of all established wildlife tions or. crop losses caused. by components in the control practices, using any type of traps, including wastes. steel traps, and the use of chemical toxicants under 4. Provide indemnity for land should it be con- Federal or State supervision. taminated because of components in the wastes. Deer Herd and in every instance have harmed the market for some products of American agriculture. We support the special Landowner Permit Pro- Section 208 Cost Sharing · In any evaluation of chemicals and drugs, the gram which recognizes the contribution of farmers possible detrimental effects must be considered in in providing feed and habitat to the deer herd. The The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 relation to the benefits derived. Only through a program allows most landowners in designated establishes a goal of zero water pollution by 1985. complete evaluation can a balance between en- areas to receive a permit to harvest a deer of either We believe the zero water pollution goal is imprac- vironmental control and chemical control be effec- sex on their property during the regular firearm tical and uriatt~inable. This unrealistic goal provides tively attained. Unless there is conclusive evidence deer season. We support its continuation and ex- direction for implementation of Section 208 of the to prove that a threat to public health exists, pansion where appropriate. Act. government agencies should not impose a zero We support legislation to prohibit state-wide the Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Act tolerance or issue an RPAR for any chemical or shining of deer except under a permit issued by the requires each state to designate appropriate agen- drug. Department of Natural Resources for crop damage cies to study area water quality problems and pre- We recommend that the Delaney Amendment control. pare and implement plans to control non-point sources of pollution. Plans prepared under Section be amended to permit the establishment of safe 208 must identify, if appropriate, _ agriculturally tolerance levels. We encourage all farmers to participate in educa- Destructive Wildlife and Pests related non-point sources of pollution, including run-off from manure disposal, areas and from land tional programs on the use of pesticides and take Many species of wildlife are causing serious used for livestock and crop production. The plan the required tests for the purchase and application damage to crops and property in agricultural areas. must also set forth procedures and methods, in- of restricted pesticides. All persons using chemicals We. recommend that intensive research and man- cluding land-use requirements, to control to the ex- and drugs should read and follow precisely the label agement efforts be continued by state and federal tent feasible such sources. Since Section 208 plans instructions. Such adherence to label instructions agencies to find effective methods of minimizing are intended to achieve public -goals, any limit on can help avoid government actions to cancel the these dangers. We recommend that landowners cost-sharing of approved conservation practices use of essential chemicals and drugs. We recom- contact United States Bureau of Fisheries and Wild- under the Agricultural Conservation Program for mend that pesticide dealers carry safety equipment life personnel stationed in the Michigan Department measures required by Section 208 plans sh<;>uldbe for purchase by applicators as required on pesticide ,of Agriculture, the Department of Natural Re- removed. We believe Soil Conservation Districts or labels or be able to suggest a source where the sources and Cooperative Extension Service for the ASCS should be responsible for administering equipment can be obtained on a timely basis. assistance in'dealing with wildlife crop damage. any Section 208 plans for agriculture. On-site Farmers are concerned about proper disposal of monitoring is the only acceptable method of identi- pesticide containers. We recommend that pesticide manufacturers develop a program for disposal or Public Access Program fying suspected agricultural operations. We request that agriculture be represented on recycling of these containers. Current law requires that any licensed hunter any bodies responsible for administering Section who hunts in Zone 3 must purchase a Public Access 208 programs for agriculture. Stamp at a cost of one dollar. Revenue from the Biological Pest Control We urge Farm Bureau members to take an active sale of the stamps is used to lease land from land- role in monitoring the Regional 208 plan in their The increasing restrictions on pesticide use pose ' owners who agree to allow controlled public hun- area. many uncertainties as to their future availability. ting on their land. We support legislation to exempt We' suggest that all funding of Section 208 be ter- While considerable progress has been made to de- landowners, who must purchase a license to hunt minated. velop biological controls against pests, much re- on land they own or rent, from purchasing a Public mains to be done. We support expanded research Access Stamp. to further develop effective biological pest control - Agricultural Chemicals and Drugs programs. Modern agriculture cannot continue to provide sufficient quantities of high quality food and fiber to Trespass meet the nation's needs without the use of agricul- Solid Waste Disposal The present law requiring hunters, fishermen, tural chemicals and drugs. Any undue curtailment Several years ago the Legislature passed legisla- snowmobilers and ORV operators to obtain written of the safe and appropriate usage of these products tion requiring the burying of solid wastes and that permission before entering upon farmland and con- will result in lower quality food and fiber at higher the wastes be covered daily. nected farm woodlots has reduced the number of costs to the consumers. Michigan counties have been attempting to com- trespass complaints. We urge owners of farmland We believe governmental agencies, research or- ply w!th the law. However, the state regulatory to fully utilize this law to protect their property rights ganizations and manufacturers of chemical prod- agencies are continually changing the rules and re- against trespass. We will oppose all efforts to repeal ucts must continue comprehensive research studies quirements for solid waste site operations. We or weaken this law. about the toxicity to humans, adverse effects, and recommend that before any new rules or regula- We are concerned about the growing problem of the life duration of the chemical. tions concerning the establishment or operation of crop destruction by ORV's. We recommend that We urge that responsible agencies not issue scare solid waste disposal sites are implemented, agricul- Michigan Farm Bureau arrange and conduct a warnings without complete and conclusive tural, environmental and economic impact state- meeting with landowners, law enforecment agen- evidence to justify warnings. Scare warnings have ments on the affected local areas must be prepared cies and ORV operators to discuss ways to ~een released on numerous occasions in the past and considered. minimize this problem. PAGE 16 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 Policies Include: Direction for the Organization voluntarily quit or are fired for sabotage, minor theft The Department has arrogantly elected to dis- or misconduct. regard all testimony, all advice from available ex- LABOR We are encouraged by the inclusion of these and perts, and to disregard the will and the welfare of other reforms as we understand them at this time . the people of Michigan. In a gross betrayal of the However, we continue to support the following: . public trust, the Department re-introduced its Worker's Compensation Unemployment insurance should not be paid to Youth Employment Standards again in December, Agricultural employers are concerned with the persons on strike, who retire, who refuse to work scheduling new hearings .. excessively high cost of Worker's Compensation when it is available, who knowingly and willingly This is an insult to the principles of the American and the misuse and abuses which have crept into work in seasonal employment, or to school person- . democratic process. It is an insult to the public the program. nel during semester and vacation breaks. which has taken the time to participate in this pro- During 1980 a reduction in the minimum Work- We believe the National Study Commission on cess at public hearings. It is an insult to the tax- er's Compensation insurance premium has made it Unemployment Compensation should identify and payers of Michigan who have been forced by arro- considerably less costly for some employers with recommend ways to reduce abuses and fraud in the gant bureaucrats to finance thirteen drafts of a set of small payrolls to protect emplovees. program. restrictions which no one wants and which cannot However, during the progress of this 1980 The minimum level qualifying an employer for be justified. delegate assembly the Legislature has agreed to a the Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) should in- We urge the Governor and the Legislature to Worker's Compensation reform, bill. We are crease at same percentage as the minimum wage. reprimand the Department's leadership. Since it is pleased that it contains many of the recommenda- Michigan farmers must compete in the United obvious the Deparment has excess funds and staff tions contained in our previous years policies. States and world markets. Therefore, we continue to waste in this way, we urge that the appropria- Some of these include: to oppose. any attempt by the State of Michigan to tions for the Deparment of Labor be reduced require more extensive coverage for agriculture accordingly. -Benefit reforms willtake effect January 1982, pro- cedural reform January 1981. than that provided by the Federal Unemployment Agricultural Housing - Henefits based on 80 % of after tax wages (90 % of Act .. Farm employers who will not qualify under the Agricultural employers continue to experience state average weekly wage maximum). problems with agricultural workers who refuse to -Elimination of minimum benefits which will pre- current guidelines should continue to be allowed to voluntarily provide unemployment insurance for leilVeon-farm housing after the work on the farm is vent a worker from drawing more aid than he made completed or who refuse to work after moving into while working. their employees. Since under federal law full time students are not agricultural housing provided by the employer. We -Two year statute of limitations (except for certain support development of laws or regulations which occupational diseases) ana elimination of written eligible to receive unemployment benefits, their would require workers to leave employer provided notice to the Bureau. wages should not be included in the Federal Unemployment Insurance base. housing within a reasonable time (one 'week) after -Banning collection of Worker's Compensation the work is completed or notice is given by the benefits and unemployment benefits at the same employer for_good reason. We recommend that a time .. swift eviction procedure be adopted so that - Banning benefits for injuries from social or recrea- employer-provided housing can become available tional activities. for other employees. - Limitation on heart and mental conditions and We encourage agricultural employers to destroy conditions resulting from the aging process'. Proof unused and abandoned farm labor housing. of a "significant aggravation" is required if work related. MI-OSHA - Benefit adjustments to previously injured wokers to be paid from the general fund. We encourage all farmers to become aware of - Permits the exemption of children and other any occupational hazards on their farms and volun- members of an employer's family. Also a similar ex- tarily adopt safety programs. We also support the emption for corporate officers if less than 10 concept of appropriate safety regulation. We op- stockholders. pose stat~ (MI-OSHA) regulations that are more - Expands a special fund to cover injuries in lumber- strict than federal (OSHA) standards. The disband- ing and logging. ing of MI-OSHA would help in alleviating the state -Several changes in administrative procedures in- budget situation while the federal standards would cluding reduction of attorney fees in some cases. remain in effect.. We favor educational programs and no penalty for first-time inspectio!ls. The new legislation appears to be a long step for- ward which benefits both employers and injured employees. We will work toward rules and pro- Youth Employment Standards Health Department Regulations cedures that will reflect the intent to reform the for Michigan Agriculture The Michigan Department of Health promulgates system. _ In ever increasing numbers, Michigan's young many rules and regulations affecting agriculture in- We further urge insurance companies to con- peole are seeking to enter the work force. Young cluding some under the MI-OSHA Act. We believe tinue to update a computerized list of statistics people desire a chance to gain experience and self an Agricultural Advisory Committee to the depart- related to Worker's Compensation injuries and respect, establish work habits and earn money from ment should be established to provide producer in- claims. Reporting techniques should continue to be gainful employment. Farm work has traditionally put on any regulation affecting agriculture. improved so as to separate actual production offered opportunities for young people to fulfilltheif agriculture injuries and claims from all other worker desires and develop skills and maturity while.work- classifications. ing in a safe environment. Elevator Regulations We recognize that farmer employers are respon- The job opportunities on Michigan farms could The current MI-OSHA interpretation of electrical sible for the protection of their employees while be severely restricted if the Michigan Department of codes relative to grain handling facilities and feed they are on the job. Labor is'successful in implementing proposed rules mills is causing extremely__severe economic 'hard- Michigan Farm Bureau and Michigan Agricul- identified as Part 3. - Hazardous Occupations in ship to the owners of these facilities, many of which tural Services Association willcontinue to work with Farm Work. These proposed rules would regulate are farmer cooperatives. Producers are also being other groups to review the new legislation and find the farm work activity of "minors" (except family seriously' effected economically. Agricultural em- solutions to any problem areas. members). A minor is defined as a person under 18 ployment is being lost and food costs will be un- years of age. These proposed state standards are necessarily increased. Unemployment Insurance more restrictive than federal regulations since the MI-OSHA regulations are far more stringent than federal regulations 'apply to persons under 16 years federal OSHA requirements. Many elevators in- The Legislature has reached agreement on an of age. vested heavily to update facilities and comply with Unemployment Insurance bill (HB 5606) during At five public hearings hundreds of pages of the regulations only to find the regulations changed our delegate session. While benefits for the testimony and hundreds of letters were submitted with additional requirements. Such bureaucratic _ unemployed have been adjusted certain reforms by parents, young people, youth advocate organi- tactics have placed Michigan in an even greater have also been included. Some of these are: zations, farm safety experts, as well as the Depart- non-competitive position with other states. - New qualifications for benefits. A person must ment's 'own Agricultural Labor Commission and Since MI-OSHA regulations do not provide any work 18 weeks (up from 14) and earn at least $67 a Michigan Youth Employment Council urging the greater safety conditions than OSHA regulations, week (up from $25). Department to drop its restrictive pointless stan- we urge that state requirements be consistent with • Prohibition of jobless benefits to persons who dards and ,adopt instead the federal standards . federal rules. JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 17 Policies Include: Suggestions to Members -Th~ Constitutional Amendment (Headlee) passed tion of a spouse to the building and accumulation of -Funding for K-12 schools on a multi-year basis. in 1978 is limiting property taxes. It has resulted in an "estate" particularly in agriculture. We believe -Full funding by the state for all state mandated tax rate rollbacks in some 57 counties and approx- that surviving spouses should not have to pay in- educational programs as required by the Tax imately 70% of the township and school districts. heritance tax on what they have helped to pay for. Limitation Amendment. There is also a need to adjust the exemptions We believe it is possible to achieve further educa- and/ or tax credits for dependents by an inflation in- tional finance reform within the present constitu- TAXATION dex. tional framework and without eroding the funda- mental right of the local community to determine Agricultural Land Taxation Taxation of Forestry Equipment educational goals within broad general guidelines provided by law. Michigan has one of the most progessive systems The growing and harvesting of logs, pulp and of property tax as it refers to taxation of agricultural other forest products is an agricultural enterprise. Therefore, equipment used for these purposes Educational Reforms land. should not be subject to sales tax or personal prop- We believe that additional reforms should be -The Farmland and Open Space Preservation Act, erty taxes. We support legislation to clarify that made in our education system. We recommend: P .A. 116, has proven to be an effective method of such equipment is not taxable. -The present State Board of Education should be preserving essential farmland while giving farmers nee'ded property tax relief. We willcontinue to sup- replaced by a bipartisan, odd-numbered Education port and prgmote P .A. 116 and work to improve it. Commission appointed by the Governor with the We willalso vigorously oppose measures which will advice and consent of the Senate. The commission dilute its effectiveness. should employ the Director of Education. -The "circuit breaker" program also provides prop- -State-wide testing and assessment of student pro- erty tax relief for homesteads and agricultural land. gress and total evaluation of education should be We favor increasing the benefits under this program continued and expanded. School systems should by increasing the $1,200 limit to at least reflect the emphasize the "basics" and require students to inflation factor. meet minimum academic standards for graduation. -The Constitutional Amendment (Headlee) passed -Reorganization of K-12 districts, intermediate in 1978 is limiting property taxes. It has resulted in districts, and community college districts should tax rate rollbacks in some 57 counties and approx- continue to be voluntary. However, if reorganized, imately 70% of the township and school districts. the policy-making board should be representative -We believe the "developmental real property" of all local boards of education and/or all areas of classification can be helpful if properly interpreted the districts. and administered. The intent is that other property -Cooperative programs among small K-12 school such as farmland, would not be subject to increased districts to help provide a broader curriculum. valuation because of nearby property being sold for -The use of program budgeting should be en- development purposes. countered at the local level as a means to equate - Higher valuation should not be placed on land as program costs to student needs. a result of a zoning change until such time as that -Guaranteed local control of schools including cur- land !Jndergoes a change of use. ricula, personnel, etc., in order to meet the par- Taxation of Mobile Homes ticular needs of the community. -In-service training including C.P.R. and first-aid -" ,Assessing Practices Presently, mobile homes in trailer parks pay, in for teachers and students be encouraged. iie.uof property taxes, a fee of $3 per month. Two - Local school facilities be used to their fullest We believe that in many parts of the state farmers dollars of this amount goes to the school, 50 cents are being over assessed under present law. A por- potential for educational purposes for both youths to the township, and 50 cents to the county. This and adults. tion of the law defining "cash value" states: fee system, enacted in 1959, is no longer realistic. -Vocational-technical programs for both youths "In determining the value the assessor shall The increased value of the trailer homes is not re- and adults be made available to all areas of the also consider the advantages and disadvan- flected, nor do they contribute a proper share of the state. Existing educational facilities should be used tages of location, quality of soil, zoning, ex- cost of schools and local government. Mobile wherever possible. The "World of Work" demands isting use, present economic income of struc- homes should be assessed on the same basis as saleable skills. tures, including farm structures and present other homes or dwellings. -Building accountability into the educational economic income of land when the land is be- system. School boards, administrators, teachers, ing farmed or otherwise put to income pro- Tax Credits students and parents must work together to set ducing use ... " We encourage the use of state and federal tax goals and objectives to improve student learning credits to promote the conservation of energy, de- and performance. We urg~ property owners to become aware of velopm4:mtof synthetic fuels and expansion of busi- -Evaluation of teacher education programs in the the several tax laws affecting their property and ness to create jobs. vigorously challenge any over assessment to their colleges. local Board of Review and, if necessary, use their - An evaluation program on human development EDUCATION for the experienced teacher. The emphasis is on the right of appeal to the State Tax Tribunal. individual, his or her inter-relationship and interac- We will continue to increase our efforts to make such property tax information available to members Educational Finance tions with students, subject matter, and teaching through the Farm Bureau Public Affairs Division techniques. We support a feasibility study on merit Major changes in the financing of education have pay. and County Farm Bureau Boards. been made resulting in a "new equity in Michigan -The inflexibility of the present Teacher Tenure school finance." Reforms include the initiation of Law makes it unreasonably difficult for school Inheritance Tax the "equal yield" concept guaranteeing a specific boards to discharge incompetent personnel. We be- Michigan's amended Inheritance Tax Act (P.A. dollar yield for each mill of taxation, a new formula lieve that consideration should be given to an in- 628 of 1978) provides significant inheritance tax for funding intermediate districts, and a formula for itiatory petition procedure for the purpose of cor- relief for Michigan farmowners. Heirs who enroll' assistance for bonded millage. recting the deficiencies created by the presentI While these and other changes are highly com- tenure law. estates in P. A. 116 for 10 years receive a 50 % ex- mendable, the property tax remains the major -Full implementation and funding of special educa- emption and a deferment of the remaining inheri- source of local school finance. However, the "cir- tion programs for handicapped children. It has tance taxes on real property for 10 years. Exemp- cuit breaker" concept and other reforms have aided been proven beyond a doubt that these children tions have also raised from $30,000 to $65,000 for in relieving the property tax burden. P.A. 116has can be educated to lead productive lives with digni- a surviving spouse and from $5,000 to $10,000 for also proved to be an alternative for farmland. We ty and contribute to society. other Class I heirs. support: - Programs for gifted children should be fully fund- We urge farmers to become familiar with all the many provisions of the Act and to use careful estate - An increase in the "circuit breaker" benefits to pro- ed. planning to minimize detrimental aspects of estate vide a more balanced tax system. - New and innovative instructional methods be re- settlement. - Permission to use the income tax by a local school searched and used after proven beneficial. While progress has been made we believe the In- district or intermediate district if voted. -Full state funding .of all special programs man- heritance Tax Law, like the Federal Estate Tax -Sufficient funds appropriate to pay in full all state dated by the Legislature or the courts. Such Law, does not adequately recognize the contribu- aid formulas. legislative actions should not have the effect of FARM NEWS ,JANUARY 1981 PAGE 18 Policies Become: Programs of Action mandating the raising af praperty taxes abave the develapments by this system. af Michigan yauth. We encaurage adults to. actively 15 mill canstitutianallimit. As we laak to. future warld needs, new tech- participate as praject leaders. We will cantinue to. -The camman gaals af the Michigan Department niques must be applied to. farming to. aid in salving suppart adequate apprapriatians far this warth- af Educatian shauld be a _helpful guideline far lacal enviranmental cancerns, canservatian af energy while yauth program. schaal baards. and natural resaurces, and to. meet future praduc- -We are appased to. the Department af Educatian's tian needs. Management of the Homer Nowlin Farm Gift interpretatian af bilingual educatian such as iden- The Agricultural Experiment Statian at Michgian ' The Hamer Nawlin Farm has been willed to. tificatian af students, etc. State University has been ane af the finest in the Michigan State University. We believe it is in the _Educatianal pragrams be canstantly reevaluated cauntry., It serves eight calleges, including Agri- best interest af all the peaple af the State af to. determine the priarities and needs af aur culture and Natural Resaurces, Engineering, Michigan that the Hamer Nawlin farm be kept in ecanamy and wark farce. Educatian at all levels Human Ecalagy, Human Medicine, Osteapathic the awnership 9f Michigan State University. We - --must meet the- canstantly changing needs af sacie- Medicine, Sacial Sciences, Natural Science anp further believe that because af Mr. Nawlin's clase ty. Veterinary Medicine. There are 30 departments assaciatian with the Caaperative Extensian Service and mare than 600 research prajects with aver 300 and the Callege af Agriculture and Natural Re- We suppart the preservatian af neighbarhaad scientists. saurces, all ecanamic resaurces fra.!11this praperty schaals, to. enable a student to. attend the schaal af We are praud af the wark dane by the Experi- shauld be allacated to. the Co.liege af Agriculture his chaice, and to. maintain the right af parents to. ment Statian. Hawever, we are cancerned that in and Natural Resaurces to. pram ate agricultural participate in schaal affairs, and the eliminatian af recent years apprapriatians have natkept pace with research and educatian. crass-district busing af regular K-12 students. rising casts. The statian has no. ather saurce af 'in- We further believe that apprapriate memarial came. We are shacked to. learn that numeraus recagnitlan shauld be given to. Hamer Nawlin far Teacher Tenure and Licensing faculty and research persannel have resigned; such his generaus gift in behalf af Michigan agriculture. The inflexibility af the present Tenure Act makes talent cannat be readily replaced. Gaad research is it unreasanably difficult far schaal baards to. dis- a 'cantin.uing pracess and cannat be turned an ar charge incampetent persannel. aff. Agricultural research has praven to. be a saund Agricultural Education Schaal baards are aften farced to. sit in hearing~ investment that has returned great dividends to. all The demand far mare teachers af vacatianal and far unreasanable periads af time. We believe the citizens far aver a century. We urge the Legislature technical agriculture cantinues with the ~dvent af Tenure Act shauld be streamlined to.: to. recagnize the need to. apprapriate sufficient "career educatian" and specialized pragrams an - Include the use af autside hearing afficers. funds to. carry an research prajects, such as: bath secandary and past-secandary levels in vaca- - Remave administratars fram the Act unless -Optimizing energy, land and water. tianal centers and cammunity calleges. specifically included by baard actian. - Impraving crap praductian. The Institute af Agricultural Technalagy, MSU I -Require a single appraach to. remaval pracedure - Dairy systems. naw affers seven areas af training including either thraugh the emplayee cantract, Tenure Act - Develapment af new Harticultural Experiment agricultural praductian; arnamental harticulture; ar caurt system. Statians. agricultural mechanics; natural resaurces; - Livestack and paultry. agricultural suppIles, service and praducts; sail, We strangly suppart the present system af -Impraving faad quality. chemicals and electrical technalagy. teacher certificatian with periadic review and - We strangly urge that teachers af vacatianal agri- evaluatian. We appase a licensing system. -Cantral af insect transmitted diseases. - Hausing far nan-urban cammunities. culture cantinue to. be emplayed an a 12-manth - Integrated cantral af pests. basis. Summer manths pravide the appartunity for Extension Service - Enviranmental manitaring netwark for agricultural students to. put into. practice much af the vacatianal The Caaperative Extensian Service has played a praductian .. agricultural instruction provided during the schaal vital and successful rale in the develapment af aur - Utilization af farage and grain by cattle in the Up- year. Praviding this an-the-farm ,instructian to. natian's agriculture. With the help af Extensian Ser- per Peninsula. students is an impartant part af the vacatianal vice infarmatian and educatian pragrams, Ameri- -Dry edible bean and beet praductian research. agriculture teachers' respansibility. Vacatianal can farmers have develaped their aperatians into. -Fruit and vegetable trials and praductian research. agriculture and FFA are unmatched in teaching "in- the mast efficient industry in the warld. This deve~- dividual enterprise" thraugh practical applicatian af Michigan is in direct campetitian with nat anly apment has definitely been a financial benefit to. in- classraam training. We feel madern agriculture and ather states eut also. ather cauntries; and to. remain dividual farmers, but also. has helped make it passi- related fields demand highly trained peaple. campetitive, we must have up-ta-date research ble far the American cansumer to. spend a lawer We urge Caunty Farm Bureaus to.: fram the variaus Michigan Experiment Statians. percent af his net incame far faad than any ather We stress the need far apprapriate funds far the .- Became in valved in their vacational agriculture cansumer in the warld. autlying MSU experiment statians with special can- pragrams and assist lacal schoal boards in_evalua- We believe that every effart shauld be made to. sideratian to. the Upper Peninsula. tian and planning thraugh participatian an lacal ad- use successful Extensian Service methads far edu- visary cammittees. catian programs fOf' all peaple in aur saciety who. - Determine whether vo-ag shauld be part af the desire them. Hawever, at the same time we are curriculum in area va-tech centers. cancerned that this will be at the expense af the Agricultural Extensian Service and Research pra- MSU Board of Trustees grams. In light af these cansideratians, we recammend: We urge Michigan Farm Bureau to. pravide leadership in a continuing pracess af selecting and -Special reparts required by the Extensian Service pramating party naminees far the Michigan State be financed by the necessary apprapriatians, nat by siphaning aff a part af the already avertaxed bud- University Baard af Trustees. Michigan Farm Bureau and AgriPac shauld evaluate praspective get. _Develapment af Extensian type pragrams far ur- candidates far this important pasitian and make an assessment af their qualificatians as early as passi- ban Reaple where they are needed under the juris- dictian af the Extensian Service with special appra- ble. priatians far these pragrams. _Extensian cantinue its traditianal educatian rale in supplying unbiased factual infarmatian, but avaid TRANSPORTATION taking pasitians pro. and can an public issues. -Caunty Farm Bureaus develap and maintain a Highways and Transportation stranger and claser warking relatianship with their An adequate system af rural raads and bridges is Caunty Caaperative Extensian Office. 4-H essential (ar farm to. market transpartatian. Inflatian has resulted in a multitude af detrimen- We cammend the Michigan Caoperative Exten- Michigan State University tal effects an net revenues to. build and maintain sian Service far its rale in the develapment af the Agricultural Experiment Station these raads. These include: 4-H Pragram. This pragram pravides valuable edu- The Agricultural Experiment Statians have and catianal appartunities to. bath rural and urban 1. The higher price af fuel has resulted in mare fuel cantinue to. play a valuable rale in aur saciety. yauth. efficient autamabiles and a decrease in the number Histarically, research dane in these facilities has We also. cammend the 4-H leadership and the af miles driven and the number af gallans af fuel us- helped to. increase efficiency In faad praductian. 25,000 valunteer leaders far the new and exciting ed. Since the gas tax is a flat rate per gallan the net Bath farmers and cansumers have benefited fram projects develaped to. gain interest and participatian revenue fram this saurce is decreasing. JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 19 Policies Reflect: Farmer Concerns, Tho'ughts 2. License plate fees are based on vehicle weight. -The check lane system should be continued in- Railroads New cars are much lighter. stead of using the proposed mandatory annual Railroads provide an essential mode of transpor- 3. Costs of building and repairing roads, continue vehicle inspection. ting agricultural commodities. The transportation of to escalate. - Reflectorized glass which cannot be seen through agricultural inputs and commodities produced is should be banned from use in licensed motorized County Road Commissions must dedicate dependent upon efficient and continued railroad vehicles. This presents a hazard for police officers themselves to using the most economical means service. Without adequate railroad service, it would when they stop such a vehicle. possible including the receiving of private bids on all .be impossible for trucks to meet the total need for - New or replaced highway guardrails should be transportation at peak harvest time. Many rural road construction to reconstruct and maintain constructed to eliminate the chance that a vehicle quality roads and to make tax revenues cover as areas are served by roads subject to weight restric- could be pierced by the guardrail. many of the pressing needs as possible. tions making trucking costs uneconomical. -We commend the 4-H, Boy Scouts and others on Presently townships that are financially able have We support the continued efforts of the Michigan their bicycle safety programs. We urge the present the right to contract for their own road building pro- Department of Transportation to meet the many laws pertaining to bicycles be amended so as to in- gram, especially when county matching funds are aspects of rail planning required by Federal laws. sure that bicycles yield to motor vehicles in the lane not available. County Road Commission permis- The Department should continue to utilize citizen of traffic and that safety flags be made mandatory sion is required. However, there are serious liability advisory groups in this important planning process. on bicycles used on public roads and that all laws problems. In order to expand this program, we At least one person familiar with agriculture and its pertaining to bicycles be more readily enforced. urge that ~he legal questions on liability be clarified. transportation needs should be named to serve on -We urge stronger sentences for liquor and drug When increased revenues are again needed only each group. related accidents. "user taxes" based on volume should be used for We support appropriations by the Legislature to road purposes. We must not revert to the property fund Michigan's share of subsidies necessary to re- - tax, special assessments, or money from the tain ess~ntial rail and cross-lake ferry service. The general fund as a means of~building roads. state should not purchase railroad cars or water transportation equipment. Highway Safety Subsidies to retain essential rail service should be considered a temporary solution. We believe _ Highway accidents take many lives each year. privately operated rail companies should be en- Many people are, injured and much property dam-' couraged and allowed to operate the railroad age results. We have and will continue to support system on a for-profit basis whenever possible and legislation which will promote highway safety. Ef- in the best interest of shippers. forts need to be continued. We recommend the We commend the individuals who have stepped following to further reduce highway accidents: forward to_ execute contracts with the State for -We urge that information and education be pro- private operation of important rail lines serving rural vided so that farmers become aware of the law in- Michigan. Shippers are urged to utilize services of- volving movement of farm equipment on the fered by these carriers whenever possible. highways. -Minimum lighting is required by law on all farm equipment traveling on the road'. One headlight • Abandoned right-oi-way should be left intact un- til such time as it is assured that they will not he us- ed for rail transportation. In the event of disposal, and one taillight are required in addition to the slow adjacent property owners should have first option. moving vehicle (SMV) sign. We urge a'lIfarmers to Railroad/Highway Crossing Safety maintain this required equipment and replace when We support legislation to require railroads to use faded or worn. reflectors or reflectorized paint on the sides of rail -We urge legislation which would allow specialized cars and distinctive moving headlights on railroad LAW agricultural trailers to be treated c;lS farm machinery engines which would improve their visibility. where licensing, lighting, permit and width regula- We urge MFB support of "Operation Lifesaver," tions are concerned, whether pulled by a farm a four part program to promote railroad/highway pickup or a tractor, when moving from field to field. -law Enforcement crossing safety. The four parts are educating the -We urge farmers to use care in preventing and drivir:tg public to appreciate and respect the risk of A lack of respect for law and law enforcement keeping field and animal residues off roads as these ignoring rail crossing warning signs, enforcement, agencies exists in our society. We urge citizens to create highway safety hazards. engineering of the crossing grade,. and evaluation carry out their responsibility to help law enforce- -Roads should not be used as headlands. It is of the overall project. ment officers by offering pertinent information and . dangerous to the farmer and hazardous to traffic. assistance. We also urge support and expression of - Present laws which deal with stopping for school confidence to our law enforcement officers and Rural Mail & Paper Delivery Vehicle Lighting urge that they be given protection from liability buses are not uniform in all areas and often lead to confusion. Uniform state laws should be adopted Because of increased traffic in rural Michigan, we when performing their duties. for the safety of both children and motorists. feel that rural mail and paper delivery vehicles We support adequate funding for remodeling - All school buses should be equipped with two-way which make frequent stops should display auxiliary and construction of penal institutions to retain communications for emergency purposes. warning lights as permitted in Section 698 of the public offenders. - Hardtop roads should be marked with center lines Michigan Motor Vehicle Code. Adequate police service in rural areas can be an and sidelines as an---aid to safer nighttime driving. important deterrent to rural crime. We urge both -County Road Commissions and landowners state and local officials to develop long range crime should be encouraged to clear roadsides and in- Motor Vehicle Emissions Inspection prevention programs to better assist citizens in the tersections of hazards within the road right-of-way The Federal Environmental Protection Agency rural areas to reduce crime. that obstruct the view of motorists. (EPA) is mandating Michigan and other states to Michigan State Police is a highly professional - Renewed emphasis should be directed toward the establish a program of motor vehicle emissions in- police department providing all types of service to placing of crossroad, yield or stop signs at unmark- spections by 1982. It is required that suc~ inspec- citizens and support to other departments. We ed rural intersections. tions be made in those areas that do not attain the strongly urge the Michigan State Police be main- - Reflectorized license plates are a major safety fac- required air quality standards. In Michigan at the tained and funded as a total agency providing ser- tor making disabled vehicles abandoned on road- present time this means in general the Detroit urban vice to all of rural Michigan. ways more visible. areas and perhaps other urban areas throughout - All rural roads should be marked with a name or southern Michigan. While we question the need for such mandatory emissions inspections we believe Health Cost Deductions number. Houses should be numbered by .the homeowner and coordinated in each county. A that if they are required any legislation should-apply Persons employed by others usually receive number clearly visible from the road is essential dur- only to those areas of the state that have not at- many fringe benefits including prescription drugs ing emergencies. tained the air quality standards and that certain ve- and health, dental, optical care and even life insur- - Mail and newspaper boxes should be placed on hicles such as agricultural implements should be ex- ance. While such benefits are a part of their total in- the same side of the road to make travel with large empt from such inspections. We believe that this come they are not taxable. machinery safer and easier. will be a most costly undertaking for the state as Self-employed people and others who do not re- -Red and amber reflectors and SMV emblems well as for the motorist required to pay the inspec- ceive employer paid health programs must pay should not be used as mailbox and driveway tion fees. Every effort should be made to reach air such costs out of their taxable income. _ markers. Only appropriate blue and green markers quality standards without having to take this drastic To correct this growing ineqUIty, we support should be used. step: ~ legislation' to permit persons who -pay their own PAGE20 • FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 Policies Include: Direction of ;ssues Affecting Farmers health care costs to deduct them from state income surance h 'he consumer by creating an additional between governmental departments with emphasis taxes. liability e>. )sure. Due to this confusion, higher on elimination of any program that is no longer Removing present inequitites will encourage the costs and l •\sumer concerns we support legislation necessary. use of private health care plans. to remove "Mini-Tort" from the law. We point out that appropriations for the Depart- . ment of Agriculture, agricultural research, Cooperative Extension and some other services State Juvenile Code Reform essential to Michigan's agriculture have not kept We believe the time for reform of the State pace with inflationary costs. Care must be taken Juvenile Code is long overdue. that such programs are not weakened to the point We support reforms that would: of being ineffective. We are also extremely concerned that some bud- 1. Preserve the present language of the law that a get cuts will create undue hardship on veterans care minor shall be obedient "to the reasonable de- facilities (e.g. Grand Rapids) that are dedicated to mands of his parents." the proper care of disabled veterans who have 2. Establish clear guidelines for the courts, parents given so much to us. We have a moral obligation to rights. juvenile rights, the protection of all citizens adequately fund such facilities and also maintain and cost effectiveness to county government. the federal share of these costs. 3. Simplify procedural requirements. 4. Allow for detention if no facility is established and space available within 25 miles from the court, Public Employment Relations Act providing minors are kept separate and apart from We oppose the legalization of the right to strike adults. for public employees. However, any legislation 5. Make provisiuns for a young offender to pay containing this concept must contain: strike deter- restitution to the victim of his crime and to give rents to provide economic loss to the striking parties voluntary services to society. from the first day, realistic penalties as strike deter- rents and maintenance of local school board policy making authority. Restitution by Juveniles Tractor Safety We oppose any effort to mandate "regionalized Michigan's prisons are overcrowded and the cost bargaining" and/ or compulsory binding arbitration. of new facilities is substantial. We support the in- From a safety standpoint we request MASA and creased use of restitution as a deterrent especially Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company to work with the American Society of Agricultural Engineers Annexation for juveniles and first offenders convicted of non- violent crimes. We believe that restitution should be and other safety groups, in cooperation With the The State Boundary Commission was established paid in full with the monetary amount of damages tractor manufacturers. to develop not only a PTO under Public Act 691 of 1968. The ComTDission is determined b~1the courts. This will help in reducing or engine kill switch at the rear of tractors but also composed of three state members appointed by the the prison population. result in payment to the vic- more uniform design, location and identification Governor for three-year terms. After annexation tim and provicL' a more meaningful form of punish- standards for PTO levers and handles. petitions have been presented ~o the Boundary ment than incarceration. We urge all members to be more safety conscious Commission the Probate Judge' in the affected when operating any farm equipment. county appoints two county members to help de- cide the specific issue thus bringing the commission No-Fault Automobile Insurance to five members. Employment Opportunities Petitions requesting annexation must be signed We support the general principles inherent in Recognizing the contributions of minority groups by a specified number of voters in the affected ter- Michigan's No-Fault Insurance law in that persons in our society. we believe that equal protection and ritory and presented to the Boundary Commission .. injured in automobile accidents now receive opportuflity under the law should be fully extended This proc~dure was developed to provide a third economic compensation more quickly and to all. Social and economic inequalities continue to party to decide the issue. We are concerned that equitably. exist which preclude s~me from the full exercise of township residents may not have an effective voice There remains, however. aspects of the law their consitutional rights. even though they are directly affected. We urge which: (1) restrict rights and responsibilities of the We believe that equal opportunities must be that affected township residents be given a vote in individual and (2) unnecessarily increase claims available to all and oppose quotas requiring hiring the annexation question. costs of No-Fault and ultimately the insurance or selection based on minority group or sex rather premiums paid by motorists. than qualifications of the individual. Voting 1. We urge the Legislature to redefine parts of the law which, because of ambiguity, are in danger of A person should not be permitted to ,?ote in any being interpreted by the courts far more liberally Doctrine of Governmental Immunity election in any community where he has not than the law.'s original intent. Statutory and case law has eroded the once established a permanent residence for a least 30 2. Presently, the law provides that unlimited strong .Doctrine of Governmental Immunity from days. We favor college stud~nts not being allowed medical and rehabilitation benefits be paid to acci- tort liability. We, therefore, find our local govern- to vote on millage proposals in the district where dent victims by their insurance company. We sup- ment agencies such as county road commissions, they attend college unless they are a permanent port one of the following alternatives for the pur- school boards, township boards, boards of county resident of the district. Convicted felons should not pose of controlling high claim costs: commissioners and hospitals as well as the in- be permitted to vote while imprisoned. Voters a. Establishment of a maximum benefit amount dividuals serving thereon, faced with suits for should be required to register in person a minimum per victim, such as $100,000 which would be in- damages where the boards or commissions were of 30 days prior to the election. Voter registration creased annually to reflect inflation, or, performing or intending to perform a governmental should be computerized as rapidly as possible to b. Establishment of a maximum benefit period function. This has had the effect of depleting local reduce duplication of voter registration. per victim, such as three years. Then, medical and tax revenues. taking the time of public officials and We recommend that national election projections rehabilitation expenses incurred by individual acci- public funds in defending such actions and requir- on Election Day not be released to the public until dent victims in excess of the maximum benefit ing high cost insurance coverage to protect against all polls are closed in the continental 48 states. amount or period would be assigned to a state-wide unfavorable settlements and judgments. We favor retention of the Electoral College for underwriting association and shared equit?\bly by all We believe that the Doctrine of Governmental Presidential elections. insurance companies. . Immunity should not have been weakened and we We ~rge that clear, concise and simple language '3. We believe that farm equipment burtt from a support legislation that will have .the effect of be used on all ballot issues. motor vehicle chassis and used primdrily off the strengthening this DGctrine. A common language is essential to the United road in the production of agricultural commodities States of America, and an understanding of our should be exempt from the No-Fault law. languao~ is a requirement for naturalization. State Budget Theref .....!. we urge elimination of any requirement Michigan's Constitution requires the stdtl: to of bilingui1' ballots in any public election. Insurance R~form operate on ~ balanced budget. Thb proviSion has "Mini-Tort' is a p?rtial attempt to lLlllstate Tort been effective ilOd neces~dry. Culs ill spendiny ~~ichi~an Pre;,identia: Primary Liability for ddmage l.\.>11{ to . ehicles. Not oilly \N.1I have I ~'ll1 maJ, {tom time to time. The Mici ,fJdli P, c;jl.i,mtlnl Primarv Election i~ It add to " '.-> very frustratioll it was intenued to \Ne support fiscal responsibilir' I ;dwever. we very (,0stly to ;1)('",1 and state gov':rnment. We eliminate. UUl it will also increa~ the cost of in- belie"e thui allY neceSSCl/y cuts must b~ equitable do not believe it pro'!ides a cost effective JANYARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 21 Policies Include: Programs to Serve Members method or improves the process of selecting and employees of Michigan Farm Bureau and Affil- nominees for President of the United States. We iated Companies has enabled Michigan Farm Bu- support legislation to repeal the .Michigan FARM BUREAU reau to realize 13 consecutive years of meQ1bership Presidential Primary Election. growth. The 4,276 member gain last year was the largest increase in 27 years - exceeding the tar- Our Farm Bureau geted growth necessary for financial stability for the Uniform Commercial Code Our Farm Bureau is a farm organization. It must year. In addition, Farm Bureau experienced a net We believe the Uniform Commercial Code be an aggressive organization geared to serving gain of 1,060 regular members adding to the basic should be amended to exclude livestock. This Code commercial farmers with bold and imaginative pro- , strength of the organization, that of representing currently applies. to anything that is bought or sold grams. The building and maintenance of a bold and the farmers of Michigan. and has an implied warranty section that guaran- aggressive farm organization depends heavily on We approve the formula which allocates equit- tees to the buyer that the animals will remain heal- attracting the best in farmer leadership. This leader- ably-a 5.4% increase or 3,724 members in 1981 thy for an indefinite length of time and thus make' ship must be active in all levels of the organization, _ among the 69 County Farm Bureau units. The ac- the seller liable for damages completely unrelated from Community Gro.ups through state officers. tual county increase of 9.66% will be based on last to conditions at time of sale. The organization must maintain the best type of year's goal or last year's final membership which- employees to carry out the wishes of the members. ever is less. The primary purpose of Farm Bureau should be With continued cooperation between the mem- Financial Disclosure to serve the needs of active, producing farmers. bers of the Farm Bureau family, plus expanded We are opposed to financial disclosure re- However, in serving these needs, we will un- member-only economic services provided by Farm quirements of public officials that would be imposed doubtedly develop policies and establish many pro- Bureau and its Affiliates, this membership growth in pending legislation known as the Financial Dis- grams and services which will attract some non- can be achieved. closure Act. We believe such requirements will dis- . _farm people to our organization. County Farm Bureaus and Affiliate Companies courage well qualified candidates and would not ,We should welcome the support of non-farm must continue to strive for regular member growth, update the standards and abilities of, those serving people who wish to join our farm organization and recognizing full well that much of the future growth the office. · support the policies which are set forth by our must come from the vast potential of rural non-farm farmer members. residents, residents who, in many cases, have The authority and responsibility for determining' similar needs and concerns as their farmer neigh- Narcotics and Harmful Drugs who shall be a member and the classification of bors. The rapidly growing misuse of narcotics and membership should remain with the County Farm harmful drugs must be stopped. We encourage Bureau Boards. .massive, direct and realistic education efforts to in- The right to vote in Farm Bureau should con- Farm Bureau Women fo~m youths, parents and others concerning the tinue to be limited to, regular members'- We further endorse the policy of determining tQe number of The goal of the Farm Bureau Women's Program harmful effects of drug abuse. We oppose the voting delegates to the State Annual Meeting based is to promote opportunities for the women of our legalization of marijuana. on regular member count, and urge that this policy member families to participate in Farm Bureau. We Courts should continue to strengthen penalties be extended to the American Farm Bureau Federa- commend the women for making progress toward imposed on drug pushers. tion. this goal. We urge County Farm Bureau Boards of Rehabilitation centers and drug information pro- Directors to promote and support active Women's grams are now available to drug users in most parts Committees in all counties in Michigan. We reit- of Michigan. erate the need for Women's Committees and We support enforcement of laws to tighten the Boards of Directors to involve women in all phases importation, manufacture, and distribution of nar- of Farm Bureau, including committees, boards. co~ics and harmful drugs. special projectS, etc. We encourage Farm Bureau Women to direct their efforts to leader development, legislation, Pornography political action and agriculture understanding acti- American youths and adults continue to be ex- vities. We also support Farm Bureau Women put- posed to a heavy volume of pornographic publica- ting special emphasis on member involvement, es- tions and programs' from movie theaters, news- , stands, bookstores and, to some degree, television. , pecially young farm women. We urge Farm Bureau members and the general public to seek the support of theater owners, movie production companies, publishers, newsstand Farm Bureau Young Farmers operators, television stations and networks, and The major. goal of the Y oung Farmer program is program sponsors for efforts to control this menace Member ResponsibUity to surface and develop new Farm Bureau leader- to the moral fiber of our nation. We are proud of our organization.' As members, ship. The State Young Farmer Committee has Our pornography laws should be enforced; and it is our responsibility to uphold and promote a been successful in initiating County Farm Bureau stiffer penalties should be provided by law where. positive 'attitude toward the programs and policies programs that promote and develop Young Farm- children are used in the production of por- we adopt. . ers into strong leaders and active Farm Bureau nography. Farm Bureau is a democratic organization with members. ,They accomplish this through various ac- every member having the right to participate in tivities such as discussion meets, leadership con- making recommendations and decisions. The op- ferences and district meetings. Welfare Young Farmers are eager for meaningful' in- portunity to participate is available to members by The many agencies now responsible for public attending Community Group Meetings, County volvement in vital, issues concerning agriculture as welfare and a myriad of other social programs have Annual Meetings, the State Annual Meeting, and evident by their planned activities in marketing pro- mach! governments role in welfare policy and ad- serving on county and state committees. We are grams, legislative programs, AgriPac, and addi- ministration unmanageable. The cost of administra- pleased that our members take this responsibility tional cooperation arid communication betweeo the tion has gotten out of hand. The basic causes of ris- seriously. State Young Farmer. Committee and the State ing welfare costs should' be identified and However, the right to participate carries with it Women's Committee. systematically addressed. the responsibility to support the decisions of the The success of the Young Farmer Program de- We favor the adoption of a new approach to majority. This requires a sense of organizational pends on the strong and active support of County public welfare to achieve the basic goals of discipline which can only be self-imposed by the Farm Bureau leaders. We encourage County Farm eliminating all misuse of these programs and mQv- member. Bureau Boards to challenge the leadership talents ing toward greater state and local control and We encourage our members to study, discuss' of their Young Farmers by giving them leadership supervision. and recommend changes in policy when appro- responsibilities at the county level. More influence We will support public aid based on individual priate. should be given in 1981 to increasing the involve- needs but will not support public aid programs so ment of Young Farmers at the county level through lucrative that there is an economic advantage in service on County Farm Bureau Boards and com- becoming a recipient. We oppose further prolifera- Membership Growth mittees. We encourage County Farm Bureau tion of welfare programs through the. extension of Hard work and dedication on the part of hun- Boards to give' regular counsel and advice to their the "food stamp" concept to other costs of living. dreds of Farm Bureau members, Insurance Agen~ County Young Farmer Committee. PAGE 22 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 Michigan Farm Bureau . • • • • • • Community Groups bipartisan Committee for their dedicated service. Health Care For decades the Community Group program has The AgriPac Committee thoroughly studied voting Our Farm Bureau health care program through been recognized as the "backbone" of the organiza- records and asked each County Farm Bureau to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan continues to tion, providing Farm Bureau with a two-way com- evaluate their incumbent legislators on severi;ll provide Farm Bureau families with the best group munications system between the members, county, criteria in the process of selecting their eighty-one health care coverage available today. Our. compre- "Friends of Agriculture." We are most gratified that hensive and econo plans offer Farm Bureau mem- state leaders and staff. Community Groups are a main source of policy seventy-five of these "Friends of Agriculture" were bers a choice of plans and premiums enabling all recommendations for many counties and are vital elected on November 4. ~ members to obtain adequate health care coverage. contributors to policy execution. They offer an op- We'salute the AgriPac Committee for their ag- We urge the Micnigan Farm Bureau Board of Di- portunity for leadership development of our gressive campaign to solicit AgriPac contributions rectors to continue their effort in seeking the best members and for active involvement of members in through the Michigan Farm News, personal letters health care coverage at the lowest possible cost for their organization and in their communities. and fund-raisers. Their innovative idea to have the Farm Bureau member. We believe that the strength of this organization each County Farm Bureau designate an "AgriPac We urge the Michigan Farm Bureau Board of Di- still lives at the grass roots level and that the Com- Coordinator" who would be responsible for the rectors to seek' revision of the Blue Cross Blue munity Group system is the best means of deter- county's AgriPac goal worked well. Ten Coor- Shield agreement so that all members have an op- mining members' interests and needs. dinators achieved their county contrib~utions goal. portunity to enroll, through a continuous enroll- We recommend that the Community Group pro- . We believe that the Committee's state goal for con- ment clause, subject to the appropriate waiting gram be given emphasis in the years ahead by all tributions was conservative and realistic; we regret period as stipulated by the member status. County Boards. To assist in this endeavor, all .that only 50% of this goal w.as achieved. In ord~r to increase AgriPac contributions in the future, we Service-to-Member County Farm Bureaus should appoint an aggres- sive Community Group Committee 'with the re- urge that the MFB Board consider including a Valuable economic services are a prerequisite to sponsibility to get more members actively involved voluntary AgriPac conribution request with the continued membership growth. We are pleased in Community Groups. MFB Annual Dues Notice. Michigan Farm Bureau has added a Money Market We encourage every Farm Bureau member to' Fund to its growing list of Service-to-Member Pro- become familiar with their elected officers at the grams. The Fund is a valuable cash management MFB Group Purchasing, Inc. local, state and national levels and assist them in tool that all Farm Bureau members should ex- The MFB Group Purchasing, Inc., administers a every way possible to understand the importance of amine. Group Purchasing program for Farm Bureau mem- Michigan's agriculture and lits problems. Special ef- Additional economic service programs will be bers-only in conjunction with the American Farm fort should be made to become acquainted with needed if Michigan ..Farm Bureau is to achieve Bureau Services Company. Safe mark tires and bat- those elected officials who were not designated as significant membership growth in future years. We teries and Weise and Kondex steel products are "Friends of Agriculture." Their support of our direct the Michigan Farm Bureau Board of Direc- distributed through this program. policies should be sought so that they' may be tors to coordinate efforts with all Affiliate Com- This is a County Farm Bureau program! County designated as "Friends of Agriculture" in future panies in developing and implementing new Farm Bureaus decide if they wish to participate in election years. Service-to-Member Programs. We recommend that the program. County Group Purchasing Commit- Our Michigan Farm Bureau "AgriPac" Program these programs be for members only .. tees appointed by County Farm Bureau Boards has functioned through two General Elections. We play a key role in selecting and supervising are pleased that the MFB Board will be making a Public Relations for Agriculture Safemark dealers and steel product vendor~. thorough review of our Political Action Program We are proud of the public relations activities of We commend the MFB Group Purchasing, Inc. early next year with special emphasis on the selec- the Michigan Farm Bureau and our rpembers in Board for developing a new plan for selling steel tion process of "Friends of Agriculture." presenting the story of agriculture to the non-farm products through vendors. A vendor working in population .. each community will make it convenient for Farm As farmers become a smaller minority of the pop- Bureau members, to participate in this money- ulation, the need for more public awareness of the. saving' program. contributions of agriculture to our economy be- We challenge all County Farm Bureaus to par- I comes increasingly important. ticipate in this Group Purchasing Program and to All farmers benefit by these public relations activi- make their members aware of these quality Safe- ties. We urge Farm Bureau members to work mark and steel products. We further challenge through their organization at the state and county every Farm Bureau member to take advantage of level to build a greater understanding of agri- these economic savings. culture's importance to farm and non-farm people. Reaching the urban population with agricultural Michigan Agricultural Services Association news and information is the goal of the Michigan MASA has established itself as the primary source Farm Bureau Public Relations Program. The real of information on farm labor issues for its MASA , .......-- "voice of agriculture," however, is farmers members. It plays an important role in interpreting themselves. We ~ongratulate our members who the complex rules and regulations which dictate the have spoken on behalf of agriculture and Farm employment reqolrements on the farm. All agricul- Bureau in newspaper articles, news programs, tural employers of one or more persons are encour- Local Affairs documentaries and to outside groups to give a aged to take advantage of MASA's three member- firsthand account of how current issues affect ship programs: Farm labor Information; Agricul- Members are proud to be associated with an farmers. tural Legal Services; and legal Defense Fund. - organization that takes a strong stand on local We have s~en a st.rong development in informa- All Farm Bureau members are urged to consider issues, and follows through with effective action on tion activities at the County Farm Bureau level to MASA's expanded Legal Services program which problems which affect them locally. A strong effec- improve media relations and keep membership in- now provides personalized farm legal services in- tive local Affairs Program builds County Farm Bu- formed about issues, activities and services of in- cluding partnership ~greements or incorporation reaus. terest to farmers. Information and public relations services, wills, estate planningJlnd tax-related mat- We commend the numerous County Farm Bu- activities at the county level have resulted in better reaus which have worked on local issues, thus, pro- ters. news coverage of special events sponsored by Farm The legal Defense Fund Program developed by viding a valuable service to their members. We urge Bureau.' such as Agriculture Understanding Day, MASA allows farmers to pool their resources in de- all County Farm Bureaus to actively pursue local shopping mall displays, rural-urban meetings, farm fending their rights in court. The fund offers finan- issues, thus, building a strong, more viable visits and educational and county fair promotions. cial assistance to help offset legal expenses incurred organization to serve members. We thank the Farm Bureau members who parti- by members involved in agricultural litigation. cipated in the Michigan State Fair project. By vol- Legislative Study We appreciate the fact that MASA programs are unteering their time and effort many farmers were for Farm Bureau members only. We urge Farm Bu- We recommend' that the MFB Board initiate a able to meet with consumers and discuss agriculture reau members to utilize these MASA programs. study to compare the Michigan Legislature and Its on a one-to-one basis. procedures with other states to determine whether there are more efficient procedures and systems. Member-to-Member Marketing Political Action Program Such a study should include size of Legislature, We appreciate the efforts of MACMA, to expand Michigan Farm Bureau's "AgriPac" Committee length of session, term limitation, multi-year the direct sale of top quality products to Farm Bu- carried out an effective 1980 Political Action Pro- budgeting, salary and benefit structure, staff reau members through its Direct Marketing Divi- gram. We commend the six farmer-members of this organization and sunset legislation. sion. JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 23 'Agriculture'-s Action Organization' We commend the Division for expanding its is proud of its Rural Crime Prevention Program. In the meantime, we have many Farm 8ureau inter-state program. It now supplies Farm Bureau We appreciate the excellent relationships estab- members who are excellent potential customers or members in ten other states with quality Michigan lished with the Michigan State Police, the Michigan policyholders for Affiliates. We also have Affiliate' products. Three of these states were added in Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Michigan patrons and policyholders who are excellent pro- 1980. Sheriffs Association and other organizations. spects for Michigan Farm Bureau membership .• We urge MACMA to continue its efforts to direct We believe citizen participation is a most effective We urge County Farm Bureau Membership market food products through food cooperatives in ingredient in law enforcement and crime preven- Committees and local Affiliate Company personnel our Michigan cities and communities. tion. Therefore, we encourage all County Farm to work closely together in sharing prospect lists. Member-to-member marketing holds a great fu- Bureaus to make rural crime prevention an active Agreements signed between County Farm Bu- ture potential as a market for our products and as a ' part of their Local Affairs Program and we urge all reau and Farm Bureau Affiliate Companies have service. to Farm Bureau members, but we must Farm Bureau members to participate in the Rural been used effectively to clearly define the respon- never forget that strict quality control at the state Crime Prevention Programs available through their sibilities of the parties involved. It is of utmost im- and county level is vital to success. County Farm Bureaus. portance that every County Farm Bureau Board re- We also believe that the Operation Eyes Program view their Affiliate Company agreements annually. Farm Bureau Marketing Programs can be an effective tool. in the prevention of rural This review will help to create a better under- crime. We urge all County Farm Bureaus to con- standing of the duties of both parties and lessen the We continue to recognize agricultural marketing sider and offer this program to members. chance of misunderstanding. as a major concern of farmers. Many farmers are in- terested in learning more about marketing their Orientation of Employees and Agents Cooperation With Other Farm Organizations commodities in the most advantageous way. Farm The employees of,Michiga~ Farm Bureau and all We urge Michigan Farm Bureau and the Bureau should continue to develop educational its Affiliated Companies represent our overall Farm American Farm Bureau Federation to continue to programs along. with the Cooperative Extension Bureau organization when contacting members work in coordination with other farm organizations ~ervice and other agencies to provide farmers with around the state' and the public at large. Unin- in executing the policy positions adopted by this this information. formed or misinformed employees or agents may convention. We urge Farm Bureau at the county, state and contribute to a poor or weak image of Farm Bu-. We believe that continued active participation in national levels to actively support sound marketing reau. meetings with other general farm and commodity programs and marketing legislation which will im- We commend th~ .efforts being made to inform organizations has resulted in improved communica- pr.ove members' incomes. We ~request strong, ag- employees about the objectives: philosophies and tibn and understanding between organizations. We gressive management from our Affiliates to .be com- programs of Farm Bureau and its Affiliates through urge Michigan Farm Bureau to continue active par- petitive which will encourage all Farm Bureau a regular liaison program. We encourage expan- ticipation in this type meeting. members to support programs of their Affiliate sion- of this program on a priority basis. Companies. Farm Bureau stands ready to assist members in meeting their marketing needs. The Status of Previous Resolutions American Agricultural Marketing Association has Coordination of Affiliate Companies The policies adopted at the four previous Annual proven to be an important and beneficial Affiliate of Michigan Farm Bureau and Affiliate Companies Meetings are hereby reaffirmed except insofar as AFBF and we urge that the American Agricultural share a common goal - to serve farmers. We con- they have been modified or supplemented by later Marketing Associatio!, be continued. tinually strive to have all patrons of Affiliate Com- policies, including those adopted at this Annual panies become members of Michigan Farm Bu- Meeting. All other policies shall be deemed to have Rural Crime Prevention Programs reau, and to have all Michigan Farm Bureau mem- lapsed except insofar as the Board of Directors may Crime continues to be a serious and increasing bers patronize their Affiliate Companies. We must specifically find that such a prior policy provides the problem in rural Michigan. Michigan Farm Bureau continue this effort. only basis. for action on a current problem. AT EASE: During breaks in the action at the _Farm Reagan Chooses Block Bureau annuals, delegates viewed the various displays MFB President Elton R. Smith expressed the hope that or visited the popular Koffee President-elect Reagan's selection for secretary of agricul- Klatcheteria, sponsored by ture will signal a return of the USDA "back to its original in- Farm Bureau Insurance tent of serving the farmers of this nation." Group. In response to the announcement Dec. 23 of Reagan's choice of John R. Block, Illinois agriculture director and owner-operator of a 3,OGO-acre family farm, Smith said he was pleased with the selection. "We are confident that we will see a reversal of the trend of USDA being a consumer-oriented agency back to its original direction of serving the farmers of this nation. Block has proven his administrative abilities as director of the Il- linois Department of Agriculture, and we are pleased that he has displayed strong support for expanded foreign trade of our agricultural products. "We believe his experience as a producing farmer, and his previous involvement in Farm Bureau leadership positions, will move us toward a market-oriented agriculture and away from a government-managed agriculture. He will have our strong support as he moves toward that goal," Smith con- cluded. Block, 45, raises 6,000 farrow-to-finish hogs on his corn and soybean farm. He has been Illinois director of agriculture since February 1977. His Farm Bureau involve~ ment has included serving as chairman of the Illinois Young Farmer Committee and the American Farm Bureau Federa- tion Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee, president of the Knox County Farm Bureau, and member of the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors. He supervises the Illinois Department of Agriculture's ex- port offices in Brussels, Belgium and Hong Kong. PAGE 24 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 fits range from $97 to $136. will have to be repaid within There are several provisions Workers', Unemployment Idled workers would collect 70 three years or millions of dol- in both the Workers' Compen- percent of their after tax in- lars in penalties will be added. sation and unemployment leg- Compensation Receive come but not more than 58 This means that unemploy- islation that will be helpful to percent of the state average ment taxes will rise and/or the agriculture and other small Legislative Attention weekly wage. wage base increased in spite of businesses. They both are in The bill prohibits jobless any reform. line with Farm Bureau policies. benefits to persons who volun- During the last days of the •Banning benefits for injuries tarily quit or are fired for legislative session, agreement from social or recreational acti- sabotage, minor theft or mis- was reached on both the work- vities. conduct. In order to qualify ers' 'compensation issue and •Limitation on heart and men- after quitting, such a person unemployment compensation. This did not happen through tal conditions and/or condi- tions resulting from the aging would have to earn $868 and then be laid off. This is a major CAPITOL the usual legislative procedures process. Proof of a "significant reform. with committee hearings, etc., but instead by extraordinary aggravation" is required if work related. One interesting change is REPORT and exclusive negotiations be- that a single worker will receive •Benefit adjustments to pre- tween Gov. Milliken and the the same dollar benefit as a viously injured workers will be worker with a family. By "Quadrant." Daid from the qeneral fund. By early January, Michigan Robert E. Smith The "Quadrant" consists of •Permits exemptions for chil- dren and other members of an will be in debt to the federal the governor and Democratic employer's family. A similar ex- government for $1 billion. This and Republican leadership of the House and Senate. The ne- emption for corporate officers, gotiators were well aware of the if less than 10 stockholders, is positions held on these issues by labor, business interests, allowed. •Expands a special fund to Department of Labor Accused of Farm Bureau and others. In each case, benefits are in- cover injuries in lumbering and logging. *Bureaucratic Arrogance' creased. At the same time sev- •Several changes in adminis- eral reforms are included to trative procedures including re- Representatives of the Michi- posed MIOSHA standards reg- sound at best, irresponsible eliminate abuses. There are no duction of attorney fees in gan Farm Bureau and the ulating farm work activity for perhaps, and bordering on bu- cost estimates on either pro- some cases and a new Appeals Michigan Agricultural Services Michigan youth under 18 years reaucratic arrogance in the ex- gram at this time. The following Board (five employers, five Association called for the total of age which are more restric- treme." is an outline of the main provi- employees and five public rep- abolition of the Michigan Occu- tive than current federal stan- sions in each proposal. resentatives) . pational Safety and Health Act dards. He also challenged the DOL Gets 'Spirited' Approval of 1974 at a Department of hearings panel to explain why The testimony of one witness Workers' Compensation The new legislation appears Labor public hearing in Lansing the testimony presented at five likely will not appear on the S.B. 1044 passed the House to be a long step forward which Dec. 4. previous hearings, held in May DOL hearing record. The most 95-0 and the Senate 32-3. The benefits both employers and in- Robert Craig, manager of 1980, had been ignored by the outspoken witness on behalf of benefits and reforms become jured employees. It is most the MFB Commodity Activities department. the DOL/MIOSHA regulations effective January 1982. Ad- complex and will take time to and Research Department, told "Over 100 people took ad- was the "spirit" of King George ministrative changes become analyze its effectiveness. members of the DOL hearings vantage of the opportunity to III. The royal witness applaud- effective Jan. 1, 1981. The re- Workers' Compensation has panel that "total abolition of speak at these hearings in per- ed the efforts of the department forms in the bill are fully in line been a major controversial is- MIOSHA. . .would save the son. Over 500 more respond- and urged them to continue with Farm Bureau policy. sue for about 12 years. The state of Michigan approximate- ed in writing to the Labor De- acting in the spirit of his histori- Some of these include: present economic squeeze ly $3.8 million in the current partment," Scharp said. "Every cal reign of England and the brought about action. •Benefits are changed from the fiscal year. comment told the department colonies. present % of gross wage to 80 Unemployment "In addition to a substantial that the federal standards "I, King George, could have percent of "after tax wage." Compensation cost savings to state govern- which apply to persons under taken lessons from you. Pre- The maximum weekly benefit H.B. 5606 passed the ment, Michigan farmers and 16 were reasonable and effec- tend to listen to their prattle. is raised to 90 percent of the House 103-0 and the Senate other private employers would tive regulation. Every comment After all, what do the common state average weekly wage. 35-3. Many claim this to be re- have a potential savings of was against the proposed state people know? •Elimination of minimum bene- form, others claim it will cost almost $1.7 million in private standards in favor of adopting "In my day, I didn't have to fits which will prevent a worker employers more in the long safety education and training the federal standards." have standards and hearings from drawing more aid than he run. However, many changes money. The total potential Scharp said several ques- and deviations to keep them in made while working. This is will help farmers and other public and private cost savings tions raised in previous line. I like your improvements very important to farmers. small businesses. would be over $5.5 million." testimony had not been ad- . . . . You keep them in check •Two year statute of limitations In order to qualify for bene- Craig emphasized that the dressed by the department af- with regulations and mountains (except for certain occupational fits a person must work 18 'armer organization was not ter five months of reviewing the of paperwork and more bu- diseases) and elimination of weeks (up from 14) and earn at calling for the elimination of oc- hearing record. reaucracy to tangle with." written notice to the bureau. least $67 a week (up from cupational health and safety He said those questions •Banning collection of Work- $25). protection for employees. were: What has been done to ers' Compensation benefits and Benefits would be increased "We stand by our strong identify so-called hazardous unemployment benefits at the to a maximum of $182 in commitment to providing safe farm work? Why were farmer- same time. 1981, present maximum bene- working conditions for all em- employers of youth not part of ployees, but let's let the federal the advisory committee? Who government do it through the has determined that more re- enforcement of federal regula- strictive state standards are Tompkins Reappointed tions," he said. According to Craig, a prece- needed and what evidence led to that decision? to Ag Commission dent for eliminating the feder- ally approved state OSHA pro- Another question that needs to be addressed, Scharp said, gram has been set in California. was what plans does the Labor Rebecca J. Tompkins of Tra- tenure three previous times, He said California's auditor Department have for dealing verse City has been reappoint- the first woman to serve in that general recommended that the with the "massive unemploy- ed to the state Agriculture capacity. state Legislature consider aban- ment of youth which will surely Commission for a term effec- She is the recipient of the doning its program due to the result if these proposed stan- tive Jan. 1, 1981 and expiring Distinguished Service to Agri- high cost in comparison to the dards are implemented. Dec. 31, 1984. culture Award from Michigan benefits received. "Over and over again, I hear State University, Michigan the same question - why more Tompkins, a homemaker Farm Bureau, Michigan Asso- Earlier Hearings restrictive state regulations? I and former teacher, has served ciation of Soil Conservation Testimony Ignored think an answer is that some as a Republican on the five- Districts and Michigan Horticul- In other testimony on Dec. employees within the depart- member bipartisan commission tural Society. She was also rec- 4, Harold Scharp, operations ment feel compelled to promul- since 1966. She currently ognized in a joint resolution manager of the Michigan Agri- gate standards," Scharp said. The spirit of King George III "In my opinion, the depart- "materialized" at the DOL hear- chairs the commission, and has from the Michigan House and cultural Services Association, ings to applaud the department's served as chair during her Senate. spoke in opposition to the pro- ment's reasoning here is un- new methods of "tyranny." JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 25 Programs Offer Learning Opportunities Marketing & Pricing 1( Michigan Agricultural Leadership Michigan State University's government programs and The Michigan Agricultural quette, Elk Rapids; William M. MALP coordinators. Department of Agricultural public policy to provide Leadership Program (MALP) White, Jones; Ronald M. He said documentation fol- Economics, in cooperation background on the current has selected 30 of the state's Wood, Scottville; and Joshua lowing each of the Kellogg Pro- with the Cooperative Extension political situation and review most promising potential lead- S. Wunsch, Traverse City. gram classes shows that many Service, will sponsor a series of current and prospective farm ers for special training that Nominees (male or female) of the participants moved into marketing and pricing work- programs; technical analysis of begins in early January. are successful farm operators community leadership roles shops during January, Feb- futures markets, its rationale Sponsored by the MSU Co- committed to farming as a chief and in some cases contributed ruary and March in various lo- and how this information can operative Extension Service, means of livelihood, or are substantially to the improve- cations throughout the state. be useful for hedgers. MALP is the sequel to the agribusiness persons commit- ment of Michigan's agricultural Cost of production to review Kellogg Farmers Study Pro- ted to continued involvement industry. The workshops will include in Michigan agriculture. Partici- one, two and three-day intro- procedures used in figuring gram, which operated from Ralph Hepp, Extension agri- enterprise costs and establish 1965 through 1973. pants are from about 25 to 35 cultural economist, said that ductory or advanced courses. years old who have demon- representative figures for cur- The enrollees, confirmed in about half the private funding Topics to be covered will be rent and future periods, and strated some leadership poten- needed for MALP has been mid-December include: Robert alternatives for pricing: cash risk management, showing tial. raised to date. L. Beck, Morenci; Roger W. sales, price later agreements, how it applies to decision- The program will provide 28 "The cost to put an indi- Bloss, Swartz Creek; James E. forward contracts, futures con- making in view of uncertain days of formal instruction in vidual through MALP is Byrum, Onondaga; Connee K. tracts, basic pricing and gov- prices and yields, will also be political science, economics, $8,000," he said. "Each partic- Canfield, Decatur; Gary R. ernment programs. covered. sociology, communications, ipant is to contribute $3,000, Carmichael, Evart; Wayne E. Terms, definitions, rules and Interested producers should Cook, Mason; Charles R. philosphy, history and educa- with the remaining to be under- operational procedures relative contact their county Extension Cork, Peck; Robert G. Craig, tion. The program includes a written through private contri- to cash sales: transportation, agent for future program details St. Johns; David L. Eichler, two-week U.S. travel seminar butions from organizations, drying and commercial storage and location of workshops. Pigeon; Wanda L. Gale, Law- the first year and a two- to businesses and individuals in- will be clarified during a session Tentative dates for the rence; Kent. A. Gettle, Bad three-week international travel terested in Michigan agricul- on cash sales. workshops are: Axe; Albert A. Hass, Bad Axe; seminar the second year. ture." A session on futures will help Patricia L. Hillard, Kaleva; MALP will assist each stu- To make contributions, con- participants increase their un- Larry A. Leach, Climax; Paul dent toward becoming a tact Larry Connor, MALP, Jan. 13, 20, 27 -Calhoun, Branch, greater local community asset, derstanding of what futures Jackson, Hillsdale M. Lubbers, Hamilton; David MSU Department of Agricul- markets are, the terminology, Jan. 15 - Menominee J. Ludwick, Lapeer; and said Dr. Gene Trotter, MSU tural Economics, 202 Agricul- speculation versus hedging, Jan. 19 - Iron Kathryn R. Middleton, Orton- Extension agricultural ture Hall, East Lansing, Mich. and economic rationale. Dur- Jan. 14, 21, 28 - Calhoun, Branch, ville. economist and one of the 48824. Jackson, Hillsdale ing a session on hedging, in- Jan. 20, 27 - Clinton Others selected were Marvin structors will demonstrate how Feb. 3, 10 - Clinton B. Oesterle, Mason; William E. producers might use hedging and the procedures involved. Feb. 4 - Branch, Calhoun, Jackson, Hillsdale Penn, Hope; Glenn R. Pres- ton, Quincy; William G. Prid- Milk Marketing for Women Feb. 5, 12 - S.E. Michigan Other sessions will include Feb. 16, 17 - Presque Isle geon, Montgomery; Frederick fundamental analysis to alert Feb. 19, 24, 26 - Saginaw C. Richow, Albion; Wayne E. Before a gallon of milkk Feb. 5, Episcopal Parish Hall, Hillman, participants about the major Mar. 3, 5, 10 - Sanilac Rodgers, Caledonia; Robert A. reaches the check-out counter,', Montmorency County forces effecting their prices and Mar. 5, 12 - Ionia Rottier, Fremont; Mark D. Feb. 6, Ironworks Restaurant, Elk Mar. 4, 11, 18 - Van Buren it must go through a maze of Rapids, Antrim County provide them with some tools Mar. 18 - Kent Smuts, Charlotte; Keith R. marketing and inspection pro- Feb. 10. Bank of Stephenson, for doing their own analysis; Talladay, Milan; Dean R. Veli- cedures which are not alwaysS Stephenson, Menominee County fully understood. Feb. 11, Chippewa Restaurant, Chassell. Houghton County Clarification of the milk mar- Roadside | keting process is the purpose of• Feb. 12, Kinross 4-H Center, Kinross, Marketing J Hog Producer Shortcourse a one-day seminar being of- Chippewa County fered in 17 locations through- The morning segment of the out Michigan. "Spotlight oni program features discussion on John and Carolyn Beck, The possibility of $4 per Station researcher. Dairy, Producer to Consum-- the manner in which milk is owners of Uncle John's Cider bushel corn - coupled with a "Being able to manage effec- er," is designed to educate2 currently marketed and the re- Mill, St. Johns, will tell partici- more than $45 price needed tively, in the face of what may farm women and non-farmi lationship of the consumer to pants in the 21st annual X)hio per pig just to break even - be, at best, an uncertain mar- women about dairy marketing. the dairy industry. Roadside Marketing Confer- does not promise lucrative ket, is going to be extremely The seminars are being spon- Speakers for this segment of ence, Jan. 11 through 13, how profits for Michigan pork pro- important during the coming sored by the Michigan Statee the program are Glynn Mc they turned their farm into a ducers in 1981. year," Hogberg said. University Department of Dairyy Bride, MSU Extension agricul- booming cider operation. Yet the shortcourse planned The team of speakers from Science and the MSU Cooper-- tural economist, and Necia Their success story and by Michigan State University's MSU includes Howard Person ative Extension Service. Sharkey and Bonnie Lynch, others will be told during the Cooperative Extension Service and William Bickert, agricul- The sessions run from 9:30) Michigan division of the conference which is scheduled may help state hog producers tural engineers; Gerald Schwab a.m. to 3 p.m. The date and1 American Dairy Association. for the Dayton Convention make the most of profit poten- and John Ferris, agricultural location of each meeting is as5 Center, Dayton, Ohio. tials during the coming year. economists; David Eillis, swine follows: The afternoon program has The Becks, who are mem- The sessions are geared veterinarian; and Hogberg. Jan. 13, Tietz Family Restaurant, concurrent sessions on new bers of the Clinton County toward growers who produce For more information con- Imlay City, Lapeer County and traditional dairy products, Farm Bureau, turned their for the commercial hog mar- tact a county Extension office. Jan. 14, Black Forest Restaurant, and farm management. small orchard and large barn kets on a continual basis. Frankenmuth, Saginaw County Jan. 15, Ubly Country Club, Ubly, The segment on dairy prod- into a retail operation where The shortcourses will be held Huron County ucts is being conducted by cider sales in two months now in the following locations: Commodity Jan. 16, Holiday Inn, Jackson, Mary Zehner, MSU Extension surpass total annual market Jan. 13, 20, Van Buren Skills Jackson County consumer marketing specialist, sales of five years ago. They Center, Lawrence Conference Jan. 20, MSU Cooperative Extension and Gale Baumgardner, MSU will discuss quality, production Feb. 12, 19, 26, Zehnder's Office, Adrian, Lenawee County Restaurant, Frankenmuth Jan. 21, Holiday Inn, Mt. Pleasant, dairy specialist. methods, pricing, advertising Feb. 11, 18, 25, B. E. Henry The MFB Spring Commodi- Isabella County The session on farm man- and promotion and how each Building, Marshall ty Advisory Conference has Jan. 22, Pines Restaurant, Owosso, agement, which will outline contributed to their success. Feb. 17, 24, Mar. 1, Second been set for Feb. 16 and 17 at Shiawassee County how to develop and under- Participants from about 25 Reformed Church, Zeeland the Harley Hotel in Lansing. Jan. 23, Dutch House of Beef, St. Johns, Clinton County stand balance sheet and cash states, plus provinces in "The program will cover There will be general ses- Jan. 30, Winter Inn, Greenville, flow to determine the dairy Canada, are expected to at- three areas: production and sions on both days with in- Montcalm County operation's net worth, is being tend the conference. More in- marketing, energy conserva- dividual commodity committee Feb. 2. Carriage Stop Restaurant, conducted by Sherrill Nort, formation is available from M. tion, and herd health mainte- meetings on Tuesday morning. Martin. Allegan County Feb. 3, Cadillac State Bank, Falmouth, MSU Extension agricultural E. Cravens, 2120 Fyffe Road, nance," said Maynard Hog- Watch the February issue of economist and MSU Agricul- Missaukee County Columbus, Ohio, 43210, berg, Extension swine specialist the Michigan Farm News for Feb. 4, Forwards Logmark Restaurant, tural Experiment Station re- phone 614-422-2701. and Agricultural Experiment program details. West Branch, Ogemaw County searcher. PAGE 26 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 AGRINOMIC Agriculture Does Not Exist UPDATE 180 in an 'Economic, Vacuum' Report of the Commodity tion on farm production costs is accumulation and supply and supply management and pro- Activities & Research Department sure to be part of any discus- price management. duction controls should an ex- sion of loan rates and target Future policy options must cessive quantity of grain be ac- prices. Provisions to adjust recognize three important fac- cumulated in the reserve and Agriculture no longer exists, needs to remember - the beef these farm program features to tors: not released in an orderly way if it ever did, in an "economic price controls in 1973 and sub- "keep up with inflation" or to (1) Production of major back into the market. - vacuum." Problems in the over- sequent grain embargoes and "offset the impact of inflation" commodities overlaps various (3) Government efforts to all economy are quickly trans- . the recent pressure for interna- are sure to take up a substantial regions of the-country. There- bring about short-run stability in ferred to the farm ecol1omy . . tional trade agreements for 'a part of any farm program dis- fore, it, is important that loan a particular commodity are cer- Continued high inflation refresher of the negative long- cussion. Experience and- re- rates-, target prices and other tain to bring about greater in- rates and declining productivity term implications of these search have clearly illustrated program benefits do not en- stability and more government in the general economy -'will short-run political decisions. the risk of losing market share courage, or discourage the pr9- involvement in that commodi- continue to put pressure on the As inflation persists and pro- which producers must face duction and utilization of one ty, and others, over time. farm economy. Pressure will be ductivity continues to falter in when price and income sup- crop at the expense of others. Unless the problems of in- . on many farmers who will need the overall economy, pressure .ports are out of line with world (2) Policy options for major creasing }nflation and declining to generate additional cash' wilf continue on the agricultural market prices over the long commodities must address the productivity in the overall flow. Pressure also will come sector to offset the impact. This term. importance of the loan rate as a economy are met soon with from those who perceive food is especially true for farm ex- Further, those who believe factor that can affect U. S. ac- decisive monetary and fiscal as a cause of inflation and will, ports. Givel} the state of the that prices cause inflation are cess to international markets. measures, efforts to maintain a' therefore, push for policies that economy, the United States likely to ,argue for expanding In addition, policy options market orientation for' 'major keep food from out-pacing the certainly needs to increase farm the reserve program and other should recognize the relation- farm commodities will not suc- overall inflation rate. exports. Recent research has policy' measures to moderate ship of the loan rate to the op-. ceed. In short, the farm econo- Most of these pressures will, shown that everyone dollar of food price increases. eration of farmer-held reserve my is no longer insulated from of course, come at a time when farm exports generates another The most important aspect release and calJ prices and the the economic problems in the prices for most farm commodi- dollar's worth of economic acti- of the situation currently con- danger of moving back toward . general economy. ties are favorable from the pro- vity in the non-farm economy. fronted by the producers of ducer's standpoint. Food prices U.S. farm exports are not only major farm commodities is that Your Membership In The may increase even further due important to farmers - they are they are now competing on the MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU to the relative tightness of the of strategic importance to the world market. Thus, the funda- . Now Makes Available supply and demand situation economy in total. However, in- mental things producers of for most farm commodities. Farmers need price relief to make up for the past several creasing farm exports surely will be met with alternative poli- these commodities (1) access to markets and (2) cies by some who believe that flexibility in farm prpgrams to need are: Institutional years of little or no growth in real farm income, but price we are headed into a period of keep production, food production shortfalls and marketings, in line or at least with world Liquid Asse~ strength is likely to come in the that ever-expanding f~rm ex- demand in qrder to avoid the Designed to provide daily midst of higher inflation. ports cannot be sustained. accumulation of grain stocks by money market income with Two Portfolios: Food prices likely will remain It will be against this back- the government. The Prime Obligations Portfolio and the Government an issue in the coming months. drop that. a future farm pro- Access to markets is obviously Portfolio seek to attain the objective of maximizing In turn, this could cause renew- gram will be discussed in 1981. reduced by domestic, embar- current income to the extent consistent with the ed pressure on political leaders A fair question to ask is: "What goes or foreign trade barriers, preservation of capital and the maintenance of liquidity. and the federal government "to does all this mean?" but access to markets also can The Prime Obligations Portfolio invests exclusively in: do something." Price controls One thing it means is that, be reduced by the provisions of (a) marketable securities issued or guaranteed as to or export constraints, or a com- given the serious underlying domestic farm programs which principal' and interest by the United States Government or bination of the two, could get problems in the economy, it permit loan rates to rise above by agencies or instrumentalities; (b) certificates of deposit another round of discussion in will be very difficult to keep pol- world market prices, as under and bankers acceptances of the 50 largest banks in the the farm policy debate. Any icy discussions focused on earlier programs, and in recent United States (after excluding The First National Bank of such measures would work problems unique to agriculture, times when market prices drop- Chicago); (c) high quality commercial paper;--including against the long-term bestJnter- such as the decline in tradi- ped at, or very near, loan levels variable amount master demand notes; (d) repurchase agreements pertaining to the above. ests of producers, consumers tional agricultural research. For for wheat and feed grains with \ and the nation. One only example, the impact of infla- the risk of governmental stock The Government Portfolio invests exclusively in: (a) marketable securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States Government or by Buckwheat Bound for Japan agencies or instrumentalities and (b) repurchase agreements pertaining to the above. The first shipment of buck- The Chippewa Cou/nty Farm "The central location of • Investment Adviser: THE FIRST NATIONAL Bureau was a strong supporter Kincheloe, right in the middle BANK OF CHICAGO wheat from a new grain eleva- tor complex in the U.P.'s Chip- of locating the facility at the of Michigan's fertile buckwheat • Administrator and SALOMON BROTHERS pewa County is on its way to Kincheloe base. Official county 'region, was an important in- Distri butor: Japan. board support plus letters to the ducement for 0' Arcy," said R. A prospectus containing mnre complete in/ormation The $800,000 complex, lo- editor from county Farm Bu- Michael McCarty, president of iru:luding management fees and expenses, will be sent upon cated on the former Kincheloe reau President Robert Hes- EDC. "So was the availability reaipt of tM attac~d coupon. Send tM coupon ro Michigan Air Force Base, opened in mid- selink informed the public that of well-maintained rail facilities National Bank. Trust Department, at 77 Manroe Center, September. Owned by 0'Arcy the facility would be a beneficial on the former base." P.O. Box 28040 Grand Rapids, Michigan .1,9501. Read tM and welcome addition to the prospectus carefully befare you invest ar send money. Far Foods, Inc., of Minneapolis, it The return to participating current yield infarmation call roll free 800/621-2550. is thought to be the world's county's agricultural communi- largest exporter of buckwheat ty. farmers on this year's crops was r----------------------------------------------------, Mail to: Money Market Fund Program The 40-acre complex is cap- originally projected at $1.5 and other specialty grains. for Michigan Farm Bureau Members able of receiving, drying, clean- million. It probably will be far Michigan National Bank. Trust Department The buckwheat is being haul- P.O. Box 2804. 77 Monroe Center ed by rail to Vancouver, British ning, storing and out-loading less, McCarthy said, because Grand Rapids. MI 49501 severe windstorms did heavy Columbia, and then by ship up to half a million bushels of o Please send me a prospectus. buckwheat per month. Field damage, not only in northern across the Pacific. Name (as it appears on membership records) peas, oil seeds, pelleted pro- Michigan but all across the 0'Arcy was attracted to the ducts and hay cubes will be ad-' United States and most of Kincheloe site by a package ,of Address ded as market conditions war- Canada. incentives put together by the City State Zip state of Michigan and the Chip- rant. "The important thing is that Membership no. pewa County Economic Devel- 0'Arcy has contracted with the D' Arcy facility is operating opment Corporation (EDC) some 500 farmers in the east- and proving feasible, if not yet after the Pentagon turned over the $750 million base for ern U.P. and northern lower Michigan for the purchase of fully profitable. We expect it to be a great success in 1981," he Salomon Brothers civilian use in 1978. crops from some 15,000 acres. said. L ~ ,('""rt ,rill'" JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 27 Farm Bureau Insurance Group, Farm Bureau President Expresses Michigan Farm Radio Network Concerns on Ag Budget Cuts Honor 'Farmers of the Week' "Michigan seems to have a health, insect control, gasohol been told of Michigan's econ- mania for discouraging indus- research, foreign trade promo- omic problems - many of The Farmer of the Week Award, sponsored by the Michigan try, business and agriculture," tion, cooperative extension ser- which they have helped to Farm Radio Network and Farm. Bureau Insurance Group, MFB President Elton R. Smith vice and ag research at Michi- create," Smith said. recognizes Michigan farmers for their contributions to the agri- told Gov. Milliken in a recent gan State University, have "Agriculture is the number culture industry and the community. letter. "Unfortunately, farms been cut, Smith said, there are two industry in the state, but it In addition to recognition from the local news media, award cannot be moved to states that other costly programs that have is number one as far as stability winners receive a plaque and award buckle and belt from the welcome business activity and created havoc in the agricul- is concerned. Michigan is not local FBI G agent. jobs." tural community. likely to regain its previous au- The Farmer ,of the Week Award recipients for November The letter, written at the "For example, the outrage- tomotive industrial strength, 1980 were: direction of the MFB board, ous demands of MI-OSHA on but it's agricultural and forestry outlined the "extreme concern" the elevator industi-y. For some potential is enormous if we are Farm Bureau leaders have re- reason we fail to understand, willing to make a modest in- garding the consequences of Michigan seems to think its re- vestment - modest in compari- the budget cuts effecting agri- quirements and regulations son to the multi-millions of dol- culture. While farmers under- must far exceed federal regula- lars spent in other depart- stand the problems' the gover- tions," Smith told the gover- ments," Smith said. nor faces, Smith said, "We be- nor. lieve those programs essential Another example, he said, "Our plea is that even to agriculture have taken a dis- are the rules just released by though this is a period of fiscal proportionate share of the bur- the Department of Labor re- distress, your budget recom- den, not only during the pres- garding youth employment mendations provide for those ent recession, but also in previ- standards that go beyond fed- programs essential to agricul- . (, ous years." eral requirements. "It seems ture - our basic indus.try and While programs essential to that governmental departments perhaps our greatest hope for agriculture, such as animal and bureaucracies have not the future." '~ ;l.' • l ~ ,.. V-..I} -(,\ - I II Ralph Baker Re-elected to CLARICE VASOLD Week of Nov. 3 - Clarice Vasold, a' WILLIAM BOLDT Week of Nov. 17 - William Boldt, Farm Credit Board of St. Paul sheep and cash crop farmer from Free- 31, a dairy farmer who farms 500 acres Ralph Baker, a. Jonesville corn and 150 acres of alfalfa, president of the Michigan Fed- land who farms 140 ac.res. Besides a and milks 170 registered Holsteins near dairy farmer and member of with the balance in small grain eration of FLBAs and has been large commercial sheep flock, Vasold Deckerville. He serves on the Decker- the Hillsdale County Farm Bu- and pasture. a member of the FLBA Advi- also raises corn and soybeans. She is a ville Schools Board of Education; reau, has been re-elected to a sory Committee. member of the Freeland Women's serves as a deacon and Sunday School three-year term on the Farm Baker served eight years as Baker served as director of Study Club, the Saginaw County Farm teacher at the East Marion Baptist Bureau, and serves on the Tittabawas- Church; is vice chairman of the Sanilac Credit ~oard of St. Paul, effec- president of the former Federal the Michigan Artificial Breeders see Township election board. She is a County Dairy Herd Improvement As- tive Jan. 1, 1981. Land Bank Association (FLBA) Association and Milk Market- past member of the Citizen's Dialog sociation; is a member of the Michigan Baker, a member of the of Hillsdale, which is now part ing, Inc. and is a member of Committee of Freeland Schools and Milk Producers Assocition, the Michi- of the FLBA on Concord-Hills; Michigan Professional Dairy board since 1975, represents past statewide president of the Michi- gan Animal Breeders Co-op. and the Sanilac County Farm Bureau; is a past Federal Land Bank Associa- and is presently a director of Farmer's Assocication, the gan Jaycees Auxiliary. She and her husband, Duane, an electrician, have chairman of the Young Farmers Com- tions (FLBAs). He operates an the FLBA of Concord-Hills. He Hillsdale County Redevelop- two children. mittee; was involved in statewide 850-acre dairy farm with 120 has served as president and ment and Resources Commit- young farmer discussion meets in milk cows and 150 young vice president of the National tee and many other organiza- 1975, 1976 and 1978 and was select- tions. stock. He grows 550 acres of Federation of FLBAs, as vice ed as state runner-up in 1975. Boldt is also past president of the Sanilac Camp of the Gideons. He and his wife, Diane, have four children. *. ********************************************* * , * ** * ** * :: Member to Member:: * :: Winter Sale * :: * * * * t* ORDER DEADLINE: t* t January 16, 1981 :: :: DELIVERY DATE: t STANLEY GILL PAUL DIRKSE * Week of February 2 * Week of Nov. 10 - Stanley Gill, 47, who farms 2,000 acres and manages a Week of Nov. 24 - Paul Dirkse, a blueberry grower from Fruitport who ** To place your order, contact * herd of 900 Holsteins in partnership with his brother, Donald. Their opera- tion, known as Gill Farms, is located farms 100 acres. Dirkse, 42, is a mem- ber of the school board of Muskegon Christian Schools; a member of the t your county Farm Bureau. t near Canton. Gill serves as a trustee of the Cherry Hill United Methodist Fruitport Christian Reformed Church; a cadet leader for the church youth ** Temple Oranges, 4/5 bushel $9.25 #* Church and is a former finance com- mittee member for the church; treasur- program; a past deacon and elder of the church; serves as chairman of the *** Pink Grapefruit, 4/5 bushel $8.50 #* er of the Cherry HillCemetery Associa- tion; a member of the Wastenaw County Farm Bur~au, the Michigan -Fruitport panel of the Michigan Blue- berry Association; and is a member of the Muskegon County Farm Bureau. * * Hi-D Orange Concentrate, 24/12 oz. cans/case Hi-D Grapefruit Concentrate, 24/12 oz. cans/case $24.80 $22.70 ** *** Red Tart Pitted Cherries, 30 lbs. $18.95 Milk Producers Association, and the Dairy Herd Improvement Association; a past member of the county Farm Bu- He and his wife, Judith. have four children. * Blueberries, No Sugar, 30 Ibs. + $20.25 *# reau board, the board of the Artificial Breeders Association of Washtenaw REMINDER: t* . Apple Slices, 7 1 Vitamin C Preserved, 12 Ibs. IQF Whole Strawberries, 30 lbs. Frozen Asparagus, 12/21/2 lb. boxes/case $6.60 $22.95 $29.65 ** County; and a past commftteeman of the ASCS. He also served on the Farm Land Preservation Committee for Farm Bureau members get one free 25-word * Frozen Broccoli, 12/2 lb. boxes/case Frozen Cauliflower, 12/2 lb. boxes/case $18.00 $17.60 t* Superior and Canton townships. Gill ad each month in the and his wife, Sara, have two children. Michigan Farm News. ********************************************* PAGE 28 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 Health By Syd Turner Blue Cross-Blue Shield • IS Wealth your prognosis is for health, protection against that possible - and Vice Versa? Blue Shield of Michigan. The broad coverage, th~ .instantly must renew your Farm Burea"u membership now! The absolute New Farm Bureau members' or continuing members who time when care is needed is recognizable ID card (no matter deadline for this renewal is Jan. wish to enroll in Blue Cross for vital in these importar:t days where you go), and the admin- 31, 1981. If you fail to renew, the first time, or change cover- ahead. istrative services cannot be you will lose your group health age, will be able to during open Your best bet f6rhealth care beaten. care benefits from Blue Cross- enrollment - March 1 through insurance is still Blue Cross and To keep your benefits, you Blue Shield! 15, 1981. MSU Reviews Department Consolidation The state's dairy industry is viewing a possible combining of Michigan State University's Dairy Deparfment with the Ani- mal Science Department with some concern, according to Robert Craig, manager of MFB's Commodity Activities and Research Department. "Last year MSU lost over a dozen top agricultural pro- fessors to better offers else- where. Other states have made an ongoing commitment to quality agricultural research - in good financial times and bad, something that the Michi- gan Legislature and governor have not done during the cur- rent budget crunch," Craig said. "If the proposal to combine the Dairy Department into a super Animal Science Depart- ment will save costs, maintain or improve quality and provide needed research, extension and teaching services to Michi- gan farmers and citizens, then we're for it," Craig said. "But if it will further weaken the dairy science professionals at Michigan State University,- then we are opposed to it." New Manager at Carson City Madelyn Jacobs has been promoted to manager of the Carson City Farm Bureau. She started at the FBS branch in 1975 as a secretary and was promoted to assistant manager in July 1980 JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 29 Pesticide Users Sowa Heads Beef Commission OPEN "Must Renew Jeanne M. Sowa has been Sowa comes to the commis- Credentials named executive vice president sion from Michigan State Uni- LETTERS Farmers who have been cer- of the Michigan Beef Industry Commission. Sowa will join MBIC Jan. 1 in the position versity's Department Science and Human Nutrition. Sowa has a bachelor's de- of Food tified to use restricted use pesti- gree in family studies and previously held by Retha M. I cides for more than two years Hankey .. home economics from Penn- Andrea Hofmeister are being advised by the Michi- Michigan Farm Bureau Hankey stepped down after sylvania State University and a gan Department of Agriculture master of science degree in nu- 1980 Outstanding serving four years as both that they will have to renew director of food service and trition from MSU. She is work- Young Farm Woman their certification credentials home economics and execu- ing toward her registered dieti- next vear. tive vice president. tian certificate. Dean M. Pridgeon, MDA di- Dear Brother, rector, said renewal notices How is life in the big city? I hope all is well with you. You'll . and information manuals are never guess. what has happened to me recently. I was given an scheduled to be mailed directly award by the Michigan Farm Bureau and asked to write a column to growers approximately 90 to for their monthly publication. Life sure does change in a hurry . 120 days prior to expiration of I remember as a child of three or four having only one aspira- . their present certificates. tion. I wanted a cute, blue-eyed, blond, little boy to kiss me. We "All growers must bring their lived in Mt. Clemens then and he was the policeman's son. He renewal notices with them to lived on the next block, burat that age it seemed like miles away. one of 18 examination sites We moved to Birmingham before I could get my kiss. and complete a written exam to Then in grade school, aliI wanted to be was a horse. Do you re- renew their certification to use member? I wanted to be a. stallion (whatever that was), and I pestiCides which are restricted," could whinny and snort better than Trigger himself. We had a said Dean Lovitt, plant industry couple of acres of woods across th~ road and I would thunder division chief. through them on imaginary hooves until suppertime. Even though commercial CHAIN SAWS In those difficult high school years, I just wanted to be a part of pesticide applicator firms are li- the crowd. I couldn't manage to do that and I found that playing censed annually, such firms the piano ~ased the lonely afternoons. Good thing. My piano must also have a valid restrict- playing provided me with a good income later on. ed pesticide use certificate. When I went off to college I thought that being a singer would These expire every three years, be exciting. After all, singers wear lovely gowns and get roses and Lovitt said. cheers from the audience. They travel to exotic places and meet "Exams will be graded while interesting people. I got a chance to do a few of those things, but I applicants wait. A $10 fee is FARM PUMPS was longer on dreams than talent. I curtailed those dreams and assessed after the exam is pass- came thudding back to earth. I decided to teach public school ed. A temporary. certificate music and I wanted very much to be a good teacher. which is valid for 90 days will Then suddenly, there was Ken. "Marry me and my future . be issued until a certification farm," he said. From then on there was only one goal ~ buy a card is processed ~nd mailed," farm. It took five years of work but in 1977 we finally made it. We Lovitt said. bought 110 acres of partially tiled, partially cleared land. It wasn't Amendments to Regulation much of a farm by some standards, but I thought it was beautiful. No. 633, Restricted Use Pesti- Then the overriding passion was to be a great farmer. cides, of the Michigan Pesticide Two kids and three years. later, I haven't even made it to Control Act became effective FARM AND HOME mediocre farmer.: There is so much to know: mechanics, April 10, 1978, restricting 51 chemistry,' politics, marketing, biology, ecology, systems manage- chemicals in various formula- GENERATORS ment and accounting. I have found my education severely lack- tions. A restricted product may ing. Meanwhile, I have discovered another important ambition. I be sold only by licensed dealers need to be a good mother. That may be the most challenging and and only to persons who have rewarding aspiration of all. qualified through the certifica- So brother, I've come full circle. When I returned from the state tion process for using this type annual meeting in Kalamazoo, I only had one ambition. I wanted of pesticide product. Available through the following: this cute, blue-eyed, blond, little boy to kiss me. But this time he For more information con- was my little boy and he did - again and again and again. tact the MDA plant industry di- Bay City Farm Bureau Services. Ine. 517~9j.J577 Breckenridge Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. 5 I 7~41-J575 Love, vision in Lansing at 517- Caro Farmers Petroleum Cooperative. Inc. 517-67J.7l14 Andi 373-1087 or one of MDA's re- Carrollton Farm Bureau Services. InCJSaRinaw Supply Center 517.75." J457 Carson City Farm Bureau Services. Inc. S I 7. ';84-(,6 JI gional offices. Cassopolis Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. (, 16-44 .s.n I 1 Chesaning Chesaning farmers Co-op, Inc. 517 ~4.r;.. W4U Coldwater Farm Bureau Services, Inc. 517.179~491 Comstock Park Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. 616-784-1071 'Marketing and Taxa~ion Studies Available Ellsworth Emmett lIJsworth Farmers hchange Farmers Petroleum Cooperative. Inc. • f>1 6- 588-1300 H J. J84-1J50 CaRetown Farm Bureau Services, Inc. 517-665-9975 Hart Farm Bureau Services, Inc. 61M17J.1 I 58 Highland Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. ]1 J.887-4109 MFB's Commodity Activities information on this controver- industry groups and marketing lonesville Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. 517~49-9501 and Research Department has sial issue, together with the experts from Michigan State Kalamazoo farm Bureau Services, Ine. 616- J8WS9b Leslie Leslie Co-op, Inc. 517 ..589-8148 just completed two reports opinions and ideas of farmers, University. 517-697-5761 Linwood Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. which are available to Farm Michigan Elevator Exchange To order copies of these re- Marcellus farm Bureau Services, Inc. 6 I 6-646-.5/15 Bureau members upon. re- and other grain handlers, grain ports, fill out the form below.' Marion Marion ITCa 6/6-74J.18/1 Mendon St. Joseph County Farm Bureau Services 61 b-496-Z /85 quest. Midland Cohoons lIevator 517~J5-7714 Mt. Pleasant farm Bureau Service~, Inc. 517.771-/670 "Michigan's Taxation of Petoskey Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. 616-J47.llhO Farm Inheritances" is designed Commodity Activities & Research Department PmconninR Farm Bureau Services, Inc. 517~79-J411 Remus Farm Bureau Services, Inc. 517.967.3511 to inform farm property own- Michigan Farm Bureau ,?othbury Rothbury Hardware & Farm Supply, Inc. 6/b-8~S9(/ ers, their heirs-in-prospect, the P.O. Box 30960 Sand Lake Anderson's Heating 616-636-5608 lansing, Michigan 48909 farmers Petroleum Cooperative. Inc. JI J-648-.I012 heirs of the deceased property Sandusky 616-679-406/ Schoolcraft Farm Bureau Services, Inc. owners, and farm managers Please send: "Scottville farm Bureau Services. Inc. 616-757.J780 and rural appraisers about key o "Michigan's Taxation of Farm Inheritances" Stanwood Burden's /TCa farm & Home Center 61b-8ZJ.ZblI7 SI. Johns farmers Petroleum Cooperati\e. Inc. 517.ZZ4-79t1lJ portions of the Michigan In- o "A Study of Price Later Agreements" Tra~City farm Bureau Services, Inc. 616-946-58J6 heritance Tax Law so they may Yale St. Cla;r County Farm Bureau Servi£es. Inc. 31 J.]87.11(Jl work more effectively together. "A Study of Price Later Name Address -For Participating d.al .. In your area, call toll tr .. 1-800-292-28311, ext. 873 or 875 . ISome items may not be stocked a( all participating dealers, . Agreements" combines a re- ______________ Zip Code _ but are available and may be ordered ) view of existing research .and - PAGE 30 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 G'overnment Fa.rm Programs The Problem Current government farm programs authorized by the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 are scheduled to expire in 1981. Commodities affected include wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, rice, soybeans, dairy products, wool and peanuts. The legislative setting for farm program discus- TUVIl: sion will follow the 1980 crop year in which net farm income is projected to decline to $23.4 billion, 25 percent less than the 1979 level of $33.1 billion. by KEN WILES Manager; Member Relations Inflation is expected to average 14 percent for the year and agriculture, in general, will be a most dif- ficult economic climate during 1981. These circumstances will provide a stronger basis for arguments by critics of the "market-oriented" agriculture to move forward toward a restricted inflation on marketing costs. Now we can expect production and utilization of one crop .at the ex- supply-management type farm program based on food prices to increase even further .due to the pense of others. If there is to be government in- acreage restrictions ar:!d marketing quotas. relative tightness of the supply and demand situa- terference in the market in response to "'perio~iic tion for most farm commodities. economic and political pressure, the intervention Basic Information Food prices likely will remain an issue in coming should recognize the economic relationship among The decade of the 1970s provided an important months. In turn, this could'cau'se renewed pressure these c.ommodities. change in the philosophy of government farm pro- on political leaders and the federal government to b. Policy options for major commodities must grams. That change resulted in programs with sig- do something. Price controls or export constraints, address the importance of the loan rate as a factor nificantly less direct government interference in in- or a combination of the two, could result in another that can affect U.S. access to international markets. dividual producer production and marketing deci- round of discussion in the farm policy debate. Any In addition, policy options should recognize the sions, but with a continuation of "supply manage- such measures would work against the long term relationship of the loan rate to the operation of the ment" objectives established by the government. best interests of producers, consumers and the na- farmer-held reserve release and call prices. Protecting consumers from higher grain and live- tion. One only needs to remember the beef price controls of 1973 and subsequent grain embargoes c. Government actibns to bring about short run stock prices became an integral part of the govern- and the recent pressure for international trade stability in a particular commodity are certain to ment farm program management process. agreements for a refresher in the negative long- bring about greater instability and more govern- Programs were designed to provide producers term implications of these short run political deci-' merit involvement in that commodity and other~, with the freedom to choose to participate, or not, sions. over time .. based upon individual econoinic circumstances and to provide the Secretary of Agriculture with broad As inflation persists and productivity continues to Unless the problems of increasing inflation and administrative tools to manage grain supplies and falter in the overall economy, pressure will continue . declining productivity in the overall economy are prices within ranges established by the USDA. The .on the agricultural sector to offset the impact. This met with decisive monetary and fiscal policy farm program has been operated in order to give is especially true for farm exports. Given the state of measures, efforts to maintain a market orientation farmers some protection from low prices and con- the economy, the United States certainly needs to for major farm commodities will not succeed. sumers from high farm prices. increase farm exports. Recent research has shown The major elements of the present farm program that everyone dollar of farm exports generates include: target prices, price support loans, farmer- ~ another dollar's worth of economic activity in the non-farm economy. However, increasing farm ex- held reserves, and substantial discretionary authori- -Agricultural Arena ty to the Secretary of Agriculture for implementing ports surely will be met with alternative policies by some who believe that we are headed into a period What will be the direction of agriculture under the programs for wheat and feed grains. The basic ob- Reagan administration? What are viewed as key ag- jective is to use these elements to manage supply in of food production shortfalls and that ever- expanding farm exports cannot be sustained. ricultural concerns and issues? order to hold prices within a price corridor establish- It will be against this backdrop that a future farm The President-elect's agricultural policy transition ed by the USDA. Price support loans are used to team has this overall view: farm policy will be provide a floor under commodity prices and the program will be discussed. It means that it will be very difficult to keep policy decisions focused on market oriented,' there will be greater foreign farmer-held reserve is used to put an upper limit on market development and the Secretary of Agricul- prices. The farmer-held reserve, set-aside and di- ....problems unique to agriculture, such as the decline in agricultural research. For examp'le, the impact of ture will play more of an advocacy role for the na- version programs are used by the USDA to manage tion's farmers and ranchers, with less emphasis on supply and force grain prices to average, for the inflation on farm production costs is sure to be part of any discussion of loan rates and target prices. so-called consumer interests. year, close to the target price established by the '''No rocking of the boat" on farm program policy USDA. Provisions to adjust these farm program features to keep up with inflation, or to offset the impact of in- appears to be the general view of the transition Economic Problems flation, are sure to take up a substantial part of any team. Those on the team see a review of some farm program discussion. areas, especially the dairy program because of the Agriculture no longer exists, if it ever did, in an Further, those who believe that prices cause in- over-production problems and the grain reserve economic vacuum. Problems in the overall econo- flation are likely to argue for expanding the reserve program, which is seen as a centerpiece of the my are quickly transferred to the farm economy. Carter farm policy .. Until the problems in the overall economy are program and other policy measures to moderate food price increases. Writing a new Farm Bill next year when the cur- solved, we can continue to expect to spend a dis- The mo~t important aspect of the situation cur- rent one expires, depends on the person selected proportionate amount of policy.discussion on many rently confronted by the producers of major farm as Secretary of Agriculture. If that person as problems in agriculture whose roots are found cOj11modities is that they are now competing on the "Washington experience," action is expected; elsewhere. world market. Thus, the fundamental things pro- otherwise the present farm program probably will Continued high inflation rates and declining pro- be extended through 1982. ductivity in the general economy will continue to ducers of these commodities need are: (1) access to put pressure on the farm economy. Pressure will be markets and (2) flexibility in farm programs to keep -Here are some specific issues directly or indirectly on many farmers who need to generate additional production, or at least marketings in line with world related to agriculture that the team expects will demand in order to avoid the culmination of grain receive top attention by the Reagan administration: cash flow to offset the impact of inflation and pur- stocks by the government. chase inputs on the purchasing power of farm in- -Food Assistance programs - an exploding area Access to markets is obviously reduced by with "an incredible tab" of nearly $15 billion for come. Pressure will also come {rom those who domestic embargoes or foreign trade barriers, but 1981 or over 60 percent of the USDA budget. perceive food as a cause for inflation and will, therefore, push for policies and stabilization access to markets also can be reduced by the provi- -Food prices - short 1980 crops coupled with a measures to keep food from out-pacing the overall sions of domestic farm programs which permit loan cyclical livestock situation will put upward pressure rates to rise above rural market prices. inflation rate. on . food prices and possible consumer political Most of these pressures will, of course, come at a Future policy options must recognize three im- pressure for relief from higher prices. time when the overall agricultural supply/demand portant factors: -Farmers Home Administration - scrutinize loan and price relationships for most farm commodities a. Production of major commodities overlaps policies and requirements. are favorable from the producer's standpoint. In various regions of the country. Therefore, it is im- -Grain embargo - any decision will consider short, we are in a difficult time. Food prices are ex- portant that loan rates, target pric;es and other pro- foreign policy and internatiol}al events; it cannot be pected to increase simply because of the impact of . gram benefits do not encourage or ~iscourage the (continued on page 31) JANUARY 1981 FARM NEWS PAGE 31 Government Farm Programs, . , continued from page 30 isolated as only an agricultural matter. viding efficient movement of supplies and materials commodities do farmers desire in order to ensure -Fqod production research - greater emphasis will within the nation. federal support of prices or income for production be stressed but gains will result only by concerted -Water - action programs need to be developed to agriculture? efforts of concerned groups because of federal insure adequate supplies for agriculture and the rest 3. If present programs are continued, how budget pressures. - of the nation. should Farm Bureau suggest implementation of the -Soil conservation - new, imaginative approaches provision for target prices, price support loans, and are needed to improve efforts to save the nation's Questions for Discussion farmer-held reserves? productive soil. 1. What kind of government programs, if any, -Transportation - attention to long-term solutions 4. What changes, if any, are required in the should Farm Bureau support for the 1980s? dairy and wool provisions of the current farm pro- for transport problems; success is vital to expanding farm markets, especially overseas, and for pro- 2. How much government management of farm gram? Farm. Bureau Market Place SPECIAL RATE TO FARM BUREAU MEMBERS: One free non-commerdal25-word ad cents per word one edition, two or more editions, 10 cents per word. Copy deadline: 13th per month per membership, additional words, 10 cents each. Figures such as 12x16 or of month. Mail classified ads to Michigan Farm News, P.O. Box 30960, Lansing, MI 48909. S12.50 count as one word. NON-MEMBER and ALL COMMERCIAL advertisers: 15 Publisher reserves right to reject any advertising copy submitted. FARM EQUIPMENT FARM EQUIPMENT LIVESTOCK MISCELLANEOUS FOR HOMEMAK-ERS FOR SAlE: USED STORAGE TANKS. 6000 WANTED: OLIVER 88 Diesel tractor for parts. Ray- MILKING SHORTHORNS: Young bulls. year- RAM PUMPSI Water powered, high volume resi; GREAT SAUSAGE RECIPES. illustrated book to 20.000 gallon capacity. Vertical or horizontal. mond Krzenlnskl. Route 3. Portland. Mich. lings and calves for sale. Write or visit Stanley M. dential and commercial models. free catalog. Tri- with over 100 recipes explaining sausage making. Phone 616-798-1805. (1O-6t-15p) (1-11-130 Powell and Family. Ingleside Farm. Route 2. 3248 Rivers. Inc.. Box 5262. Columbus. Georgia 31906. curing, smoking. Free equipment and supply cata- Powell Hwy.. Ionia. Mich. 48846. (l2-tf-280 (11-12t-2OpI log: SAUSAGEMAKER. 177-70 Military. Buffalo. NEW ALL WIRE MBBIT CAGES and equip- DON'T BUY. SELL. TRADE WITHOUT Mar- N.Y. 14207 (9-9t-25p) ment now available. We can build cages to meet shall's Farm Equipment Guide. New 280 page 3rd REGISTERED & GRADE HOLSTEIN BULLS SEE! HEARl 20 rolls KODAK or FUJI film 50 cents your needs. Dettmers Bunny Patch. Carson City. edition now available. Latest used equipment prices. for sale. Complete records. Clarkstead Holstein (except movie or instant). $10 cash. check. or M.O SAUSAGEMAKERS, GREAT! RECIPES. Mich. 48811. 517-584-3765. (5-tf-25b) specifiCations. Nebraska tests, serial numbers. more. Farm. 819 Tamarack Road. Pittsford, Mich. Phone 20 redeemable coupons plus 2 for 1 prints or slides. Frankfurters. Summer. Bologna. Headcheese. Tractors. combines. balers. forage harvesters. 517-5&7-8626. (2-tf-19O SUPER savings over $100. Try it! You'U like U or 7 Venison. Pepperoni" $1 00. includes catalog' 45 WANTED: New Idea single row cornplcker. Phone windrowers 1%5-up. $8.50 postpaid. Marshall day refund! Need proof? One free coupon for name more recipes available! Ham. bacon. curing. smok- 517 -523.2803 evenings. Pittsford. Mich. Publications. 306M Foshay Tower. Minneapolis. FINNISH LANDRACE SHEEP: purebreds and and address! DDS. Box 449. Carson City. Mich. ing. meat. fish pickling' Hamiltons. Box 652-131. (1-tf-ll0 MN55402. (1-3t-43b) crosses with either Suffolk-Columbian-Targhees- 48811. (12-6t-58pl New Ulm. Minn. 56073 Ramboliett-Montadale. Lee Breasbois. 9780 Gar. 1l.l\.28p) FOR SAlE: Stormor grain bins. Farm Fans dryers. field. Freeland. Mich. 48623. Phone 517. SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS FOR FARM USE G.T. Tox-o-wik dryers. Stormor Ezee-dry systems. LIVESTOCK 695-5692. (7-12t-180 at wholesale. Beller lubrication. longer change inter- MUFCUITS - A delicious blend between muffins Hamilton Distributing Company. Hamilton. Mich. vals. less down time. Free information. Don Ekema. and biscuits. 10 quick and easy recipes. Send $ 1.00 49419. phone 616-751-5161. (4.tf-25p) ARABIANS ALL AGES. for breeding. pleasure or DUROC BOARS & GILTS and bred gilts. Ag- 91 Woodhenge. Mattawan. Mich. 49071. to Dale Plumhoff. Route 1. New Era. MICh.49446. show. Special discounts for 4-H terms if desired. gressive and productive. Bred gilts are bred to - (12-2t-22p) (1-1t.240 MANURE PUMPS: pump direct from lagoon to Dale Kirklin. phone 616-381-2774. 14-tf-191) $2500. Magic brand. everyday sale day. Jim field. utilize traveler or movable guns. Plummer Sup- Preuich. 517-467-2874. Route 1. Onsted. Mich FREE SECRET POLISH-SLOVAK RECIPE ply. Bradley and U.S. 131 Exit. P.O. Box 177. REGISTERED SHROPSHIRE SHEEP SINCE 49265. (8.tf-250 WANTED: WOOD DASHER CHURN. Oak COOKBooKLET. Featunng cabbagerolls. nut- Bradley, Mich. 49311. 616-792-2215. (10-tf-26b) 1890. Breeding stock for sale at all times. Hewens commode. old horse bits. horse driVing reigns. rolls. pierogis. etc $2 00 postage and hanJhng Farm, 7400 Bemis Road. Ypsilanti. Mich. 48197 • FOUR REGISTERED MORGANS top blood Laura Miller. 10411 Runyan Lake Road. Fenton. Slovak Recipes. Dept. MlCh News. 18631.molhy. DON'T BUY, Sell. Trade. Used Equipment with- Phone 313-482-2658. 15-rl-221) lines. 7211 South Stony Creek Road. Monroe. Mich. 48430. Phone 313.629-4327. (1-lt-231) W Mifflin.Pa 15122. (1221-26p) out Marshall's Price Guide. New 280 page edition Mich. 48161. Phone 313-242-3983 (8-tf.160 now availabl~. Lists current market prices (or tractors FOR SALE: YORKSHIRE & SPOTTED ser- IRON HAY PULLEYS. tractor lenders and SPICES. HERBS. TEAS & COFFEES. Finest and combines. major machines 1965-up. Also spP- viceage boars and open gilts top bloodlines tested at CORRIEDALE SHEEP: Registration available_ cultivator. westeul saddle. school d~s and rabies. quality Free price list Sil rs SpICeCo . 37JO Room cifications. Nebraska tests. serial numbprs. more. MSU test station. All registered stock. Richard Cook~ Craig R. Adams. 14368 Jackson Road. Tekonsha. Call 313-678-2743 anytime. (I-It. 161) son Road. SnoV'er Mlch 4~72 (1-11 !l}p) $8.50 a copy from Marshall Publications. 306M 1/2 mile east Mulliken. M-43. Phone 517.649-89~. Mich. 49092. Phone 517-767-4250 (9.6t-15f) Foshay Tower. Minneapolis. MN 55402. 111.tf-25!l (12-2t-46p) REGISTERED POLLED HEREFORD GOOD CLEAN (RENTAL TYPE) WORK DUROC & LANDRACE BOARS & GILTS. HEIFERS bred for spring c.alving. Also weaned CLOTHES: 6 pants and 6 shirti. $19 95. postpaid. Also crossbred gilts. John Swearingen. 655 Prattville Heifer calves. Excellent 4-H projects. Excellent per. Send siZes' with order to: Walt.s Wholesale. 251 NURSERY STOCK MID-SOUTH TRACTOR PARTS. Route 2, Box 316 .. Sikeston. MO 63801. call toll free. 1-800. Road. Pittsford. Mich. 49271. Phone 517- formances Gold Seal bloodline. Victor-Domino Pearl Street. Darlington. S.c. 29532 (l1-6t-26pl 325-7070. Used tractor and combine parts. Good 56i-8975. (3-tf-190 Sam Catey. 517-627-6248. (1-2t-250 TR~: hybrid poplars. nut. firewood specIes selection oltires. We Ship Anywhere. (1O-4t-27p) FOR SALE: 2 or more black walnut trees. Would Windy Hills Farm. 1565 E. Wilson Road. Scottville. QUARTER HORSES: Disposition for 4-H. ability REGISTERED HOLSTEIN BULLS. Fond like estimate on price Utica area - 313. Mich. 49454. (12-31-14p) 22" CASE GRAIN SEPARATOR - excellent for callie. conformation for shol.l.'. Reasonable Master. 15 mos .. dam 20,071 milk at 2 years. 781-3210. (l-It-Ioll condillon Also good International 8' grain binder on prices. Customer satisfaction a priorit~. Visitors Elevallon. Chief. Mall sons. Tested: English WOOD LOT TREES: White Ash or Red Oak 1 rubber. Phone 616-837-8773 or 531-2840 welcome .. Walton Farms. Rosebush. Phone 517- Shepard dog. 1 year, trained with stock. George year seedlings. Hardy_ modl'rate growth ratt', ex- (l-It-181) 433-29?5. (3-tf-241) Robb.517-223-9462. (1-1t.251) $300 - $700 MONTHLY raising rabbits for us. cellent shade trees_ $30 per 100 plus 1O't for Ship' Deta~s, 25 cents. LABORATORY ANIMALS. Box ping (early spnng)_ Three Oaks Nursery Co .. U.S. FOR SALE: 1936 JOHN DEERE MODEL 0 FOR SALE: Landrace boars and gilts. also Duroc SEVEN WELL BRED HOLSTEIN HEIFERS. 5 2467 FN. Grand Rapids. Mich 49501 12 West. Three Oaks. MICh.49128 616-756-7396 tractor. $800. Myrle Dean. 14440 Fishlake Road. boars and gilts. George Carpenter family. 6545 springers. 2 breeding age. Ed Charter. 5690 Lewis (12-3t-18p) (1-2t-40p) Route 6. Holly. Mich. 48442. Phone Cogswell Rd .. Romulus, Mich. 48174. Phone even- Ave .. Ida, Mich. Phone 313-269-6492. 313.634-4749 11-It.21f) Ings313-721-0240. \9-tf-230 (1-11-190 JOHN DEERE 95 EB COMBINE: raspbar. bin REGISTERED HAMPSHIRE BOARS AND FOR SALE: Show quality quarter horses and extension. Hume reels, extra set large tires: 434-N GILTS for sale. Validated herd. Dale Terry. paints. Vlsito~lways welcome J & H Stable. 616- corn head -95LI,-30218H: John Deere -115 chuck- Palmyra. Mich. Phone 517-263-5854. (1O-tf-150 695-3234. Home of Total Nine. (1-12t-201) wagon. -963 John Deere undergear 313-659-6535. (l-lt-251) CORRIEDALE SHEEP: Purebred breeding stock BREED YOUR HORSE to Syccessor + , a pure- for sale. Paper optional. Waldo F. Dieterlie. 7285 bred Arabian stallion..and you win have a registered 1973 DODGE SHORT W.B. MQDEL 800 trac- Textile Road, Saline, Mich. 48176. Phone half-Arabian' Ittner's Arabians. 5790 Fort Road. tor with 5th wheel. saddle tanks. 413 engine. good 313-429-7874. (1-tf-19O Saginaw. 517-777 -1956. (1-11-240 rubber. only 36:000 miles, only $3.975 now. 517- 674-2311. (1-1t-231) REGISTERED ANGUS: Yearling bulls & heifers. DUROC BOARS - our program is built on feed ef- club calves. Write or call Neona Farm. Neal ficiency and daily gain. Our entire herd has been on FARROWING STALLS - All steel. $124.20. In- Feikema. Evart. Mich. 49631. Phone 616- concrete for four years. Steve Black. Lachine. Mich. cludes feeder-waterer. top rail. rump rail. Weighs 734.2579. (2-tf-19O 517-379-3206. (12-5t-25f-2p) 204 Ibs. Free literature. Starr National. 219 Main, Colchester. IL62326. 309-776-3446. (1-It-24p) PERFORMANCE TESTED ANGUS. quality BROADVIEW FARMS PUREBRED SALE of registered Angus breeding stock and club calves. 100 head Yorkshire & Chester White bred gilts. Contact Bordner Angus Farms. 68730 County Farm open gilts. boars and young pigs. Sat .. Feb. 14 at 1 prevent FOR SALE: VanDall.' overhead shuttle feeder for 80 ft. feed bunk. Complete with motor. John Rd .. Sturgis, Mich. 49091. Phone 616-651-3456. p.m. Ann Arbor. Mich., 4100 Stone School Road. Kronemeyer. Pickford. 906-647-8158. (1-It-180 (12-tf-240 Bill McCalla & Family. Certified P.R.V. herd No. 101. (l-2t-25f-I5b) WANTED: A feed grinder lU).dmlxeT, state con- dition. make size and price. Phone 517- 732-9387. (.1-1!-140 ANGUS BULLS: one service age. one six months old. R. Krzeminski. Route 3. Portland. Mich. 48875. Phone 517-647-6859. (1-lt-180 MISCELLANEOUS Birth DALE A. DEAN FISH FOR POND STOCKING - Hybrid Sun fish. Catfish. also Rainbow Trout. Spring Valley Defects Trout Farm. Dexter. Michigan. Phone 313- 426-4772. (4-tf-19O J-E-E-P-S - S19.301 - C-A-R-S - S13.501 - AUCTIONEER- 650.000 ITEMS! - GOVERNMENT SURPLUS - MOST COMPREHENSIVE DIRECTORY REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE TELLS HOW. WHERE TO BUY - YOUR AREA - $2 - MONEYBACK GUARANTEE BROKER - "GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES:' DEPARTMENT EG-l, BOX 99249. SAN FRAN- 33 YEARS AND 4000 CISCO. CALIFORNIA 94109. (1-12t-31pl APPLES: Wholesale llOd Retail. Gift packages shipped U.P.S. Blossom .Orchards. The War- dowski's, two miles north of Leslie. 3589 Hull Road: phone 517.589-8251. (9-5t.220 BUY WHOLESALE THROUGH FARM SUP. PLY CATALOG AND save on our low prices. send $4.00 for catalog to Henry Koch. 11475 Met- calf Road. Yale. Mich. 48097. (l1.3t-24p) PAGE 32 FARM NEWS JANUARY 1981 BUR You can make your est?te work effectively for you now, and for your heirs later, with the Estate Protector life insurance policy. With the Estate Protector, you can: - • Avoid losses from forced sale of estate assets . • Meet estate transfer costs without borrowing . • Avoid the need for cash or liquid securities . • Pay estate liabilities' FOR the estate, not FROM the estate . • Guarantee the full amount of cash whenever death occurs . • Help the executor carry' out the estate plan. Estate Protector life insurance is purchased ,with level premiums. That means that your costs cannot be increased by inf~ation. Also, guaranteed ,cash values and the build-up of dividends provide funds for emergencies or education. Cash values can also be used as an additional monthly income when you retire, allowing you to live in dignity and enjoy your golden years. Begin your estate planning now. Call your professional Farm Bureau Life agent and ask about Estate Protector. FARM BUREAU INSURANCE GROUR FARM BUREAU MUTUAL • FARM BUREAU LIFE • COMMUNITY SERVICE INSURANCE