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Farmere MFB Annual M .e ec. 11 duringeetlng.

Extra Effort Makes the Difference

In this issue:

With more than 13,000 new memberships to their credit, Farm Bureau Insurance agentsdemons4rate their commitment to Farm Bureau goals and ideals

THE COVERAs farmers look ahead to theharvest season, the U.S. HouseAgriculture Committee playspolitics with Farm Bill '85legislation. See related articles.USDA Photo

AUGUST 1985VOL. 64 NO.8

Rural Exchange - page 17Agrinomic Update - page 24Discussion Topic - page 26Farm Bureau Market Place - page 31

Rural Route - page 4Country Ledger - page 5

Legislative Review - page 6Front & Center - page 16

A publicationof the

MichiganFarm Bureau

FARM NEWS

19

Students Participate in Democratic ProcessFarm Bureau provides a model of democratic political process for

high school juniors and seniors during the 22nd annual Citizenship Seminar

14

Farm Bureau Strives for Rational Dairy PolicyFollowing a policy direction set by FB delegates, organization leaders

seek support for dairy provisions in the FB farm bill proposal

COLUMNS

10

Michigan farm News RURAL LIVING: Michigan Farm News Rural Living Is published monthly. on the first day. by the Michigan farm Bureau Information andPublic Relations Division. Publication and editorial orflces at 7373 West Saginaw Highway, Lansing, Mich. 48909, Post Orflce Box '}()960; telephone. Lansing517-323-7000, Extension 510. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $1.50 per year to members, Included In annual dues. $.3.00 per year non-members in Michigan, $5.00per year non.members out of state. Publication No. .345040. Established Jan. 13. 1923 as Michigan Farm News. name changed to Michigan Farm News RuralLiving Dec. I. 1981. Third-class postage paid at Lansing. Michigan, and at additional mailing offices. EDITORIAL: Connie Turbin. Editor and BusinessManager; Donna Wilber. Contributing Editor: Marcia Dltchle. Associate Editor; Cathy J. Klrvan. Associate Editor. OFFICERS: Michigan farm Bureau: President.Elton R. Smith. Caledonia; Vice President. John Laurie. Cass City; Administrative Director. Robert Braden; Treasurer and Chief financial Officer, Matthew But-zin; Secretary, William S. Wilkinson. DIRECTORS: District I, Arthur Bailey, Schoolcraft; District 2, Lowell Eisenmann. Blissfield; District 3. James Sayre.Belleville; District 4, Elton R. Smith, Caledonia; District 5, Albert Cook, Mason; District 6, John Laurie. Cass City; District 7, Robert Rider, Hart; District 8, LyleLeCronler, freeland; District 9. Donald Nugent. frankfort: District 10, Margaret Kartes, West Branch; District I I. Bernard Doll. Dafter. DIRECTORS AT LARGE:Dave Conklin, Corunna; Michael Pridgeon. Montgomery; Wayne Wood. Marlette. fARM BUREAU WOMEN: faye Adam, Snover. FARM BUREAU YOUNGFARMERS: David Lott. Mason.

Douse Ag CommitteePlays Farm Bill Politics

Farm Bureau's farm bill (H.R.1965 and S. 908) was the resultof one of the organization'smost concerted efforts to gainthe broadest possible grass-roots farmer member involve-ment in the policy develop-ment/ policy execution process.

Wewere optimistic that afederal farm program closelyparalleling Farm Bureau's farmbill would become law.

Then subcommittees of theHouse Agriculture Committeebegan their work on Farm Bill'85 and Farm Bureau's powerfulvoice for agriculture had tocompete with the din of manyother voices.

Any real concerns for thewelfare of agriculture on thepart of members of the subcom-mittee on wheat, soybeans andfeed grains were overshadowedby their political ambitions,resulting in a proposal clearlywritten to please everyone.Their proposal for a yearlyreferendum on mandatory pro-duction controls, a step thatwould be disastrous for agricul-ture and agribusiness, was anirresponsible cop out - a routethey chose rather than makingdecisions based on the manyhours of testimony on Farm Bill'85.

Not only would mandatorycontrols violate farmers' basicproperty rights, they would alsosharply curtail our export sales,stimulate production in com-peting countries, and hurt theentire ag-related economy.

The dairy portion of FarmBureau's farm bill receivedmuch discussion as it was be-ing drafted and is broadlyrecognized as a rational eco-nomic approach to the indus-

4

try's problems. Yet, the HouseAg Committee has passedlegislation that contains provi-sions placing unnecessaryburdens on dairy producers fora program that will not work.

It is vitally important thatdairy producers understand themajor differences between FarmBureau's program and the HouseAgriculture Committee's proposal.

The committee's version con-tains assessments, a diversionprogram and revision of Class Ifluid milk differentials, all ofwhich Farm Bureau strongly op-Doses.

Under the diversion programthat recently ended, only 20°/0of dairy producers signed upbut the 50cf. per cwt. assess-ment was paid by all dairyfarmers, a total of $875 million.That still left $80 million of thecost of the program for tax-payers or the federal deficit toabsorb.

Despite its high cost, the1984-85 diversion program didnot solve the industry's prob-lems. The 3°1o drop in produc-tion that occurred during thatperiod cannot be attributed en-tirely to the diversion programbecause there was also a signif-icant cut in marketings by non-participants and a strong de-mand for dairy products.

What has happened since thediversion program ended onApril 1 further proves its inef-fectiveness in bringing supplyin line with demand. The num-ber of milk cows in May 1985exceeded the number in May.1984 by 179,000. Milk produc-tion was up 5°1o from May 1984and on Jan. 1, 1985, there were44 dairy heifers 500 poundsand over for every 100 milkcows - an all-time high.

Farm Bureau opposes thecommittee's revision of theClass I fluid milk differentialsbecause they would be deter-mined politically by Congressrather than through the federalorder administrative processwhich involves a hearing proc-ess for all interested parties.

Congress could easily chooseto ignore the fact that thevolume of milk delivered by pro-ducers to federal order marketsin 1984 was more than twicethe volume required for Class Ineeds. Legislating the differen-tial to offset reductions in theprice support is clearly an effortto gain support among dairyfarmers who otherwise opposethe committee's program.

I hope the dairy meetingsheld throughout the state thispast month have resulted in abetter understanding of thedairy program contained inFarm Bureau's farm bill. The ar-ticle on page 14 of this issuewill also provide you with im-portant information.

Your congressman will behome on recess this month. Istrongly urge you to take thisopportunity to share your con-cerns about the proposals thathave come out of the HouseAgriculture Committee and itssubcommittees.

Tell your congressman thatFarm Bureau's farm bill is thebest for agriculture, for con-sumer taxpayers, and the entireeconomy. Encourage him not tobend to the political pressuresto settle for less than the best.

~ie- Il~~lton R. Smith, PresidentMichigan Farm Bureau

RURAL LIVING, AUGUST 1985

COUNTIlY LEDGER .

Ag Uas Deep Roots in State's Uistory

(Editor's Note: As Michigan ap-proaches its sesquicentennial(150 years) celebration, manycitizens are becoming more in-terested in the state's history.The following article by MargaretSchrepfer, a freelance historicaland travel writer living in theLansing area, describes the sig-nificant role agriculture andfarm organizations have playedin the state's development.}

Sieur Antoine de La MotheCadillac, appointed comman-dant in 1694 by the French, wasthe first to suggest that Michi-gan was not solely a place to beexploited for its furs andtimber. He recommended thatthe French government estab-lish a genuine colony by bring-ing in farmers and artisians anddeveloping towns.

However for more than 100years, Michigan continued to beexploited for its furs andlumber. Farming on an exten-sive scale developed slowly.Before 1818, a legal title toproperty could not be obtainedexcept in the vicinity of Detroitor Mackinac.

Part of the reason for thisslow growth was a report givenby the surveyor-general, Edward.Tiffin, to President Madison in1816. It claimed that Michiganconsisted of only swamps, lakesand poor, sandy soil which wasnot worth the cost of surveying.This report, plus outbreaks oftyphoid and malaria, did not en-tice people to come to Michi-gan. A popular folk rhymewarned:

"Don't go to Michigan, thatland of ills; the word meansague, fever and chills."


During the 1830s everythingchanged. A contagious interestcalled "Michigan fever" broughton a sudden boom of emigrants,mostly from the New Englandstates. Land sales jumped from147,062 acres sold in 1830 to498,423 acres sold in 1834. The1834 Michigan sales accountedfor more than one tenth of thenational income received fromland sales. Public land could bebought for $1.25 an acre.

Since proximity to roads andrivers was an important consid-eration, about 12% of thestate's population lived inWayneCounty in 1837. Althoughit had the most people, it didnot have as many farms as theneighboring counties of Oak-land and Washtenaw, which pro-duced three times more bushelsof the state's main crops:wheat, oats and Indian corn.

At an early meeting of theState Agricultural Society,which was organized in 1849,state Rep. Edwin H. Lothropstated that attention must begiven to farmers' sons. Heestimated that four-fifths of theyouth would pursue agriculture.This stirred the rural populationto support the founding of anagricultural college. The federalgovernment approved an act in1855 creating Michigan Agricul-tural College, the first landgrant college in the UnitedStates.

It was not long before farmerswere asking for the new knowl-edge generated at MAC. In1911, Robert J. Baldwin was ap-pointed superintendent of Agri-cultural Extension to extendresearch findings beyond thecampus boundaries. The nextyear, H.G. Smith was employed

. as the first county Extensionagent in Alpena County. Withina year, a dozen more agentswere hired in other Michigancounties.

In 1914, the Smith-Lever Actwas approved which providedfunding for state cooperativeextension work, and thereforesecured its future.

The main role of the Exten-sion Service was education.County agents started localfarm bureaus to further this.Three years after the Smith-Lever Act was enacted, Dr. ElienMumford, the state countyagent leader, began to hold an-nual conferences pertaining topest control, livestock produc-tion, inter-county projects suchas drainage, and military draftdeferment for farmers.

In 1919, farm families werestruggling for economic sur-vival. The federal governmenthad made post war settlementswith industry, but not withfarmers. While prices paid forfarm products declined, farmcosts soared. Also, farm taxeswere so high that some had tosell out in order to fulfill taxobligations.

On Feb. 4 that year, countyagents and farmers from 57county farm bureaus met in thelecture hall at MAC's Horticul-ture Building. Realizing thatfarmers could not solve theseproblems alone, they decided tounite under a state organiza-tion.

Called the Michigan StateFarm Bureau, the new organiza-tion was to have a president,vice president, second vice

(continued on page 28)

5

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW

Farm Bill Actions - Thefinal bill reported by the HouseAgriculture Subcommittee onWheat, feed Grains and Soy-beans provides for traditionalloan rates and target priceswith a voluntary acreage con-trol program. The bill alsoemploys provisions for producerreferenda on the use of man-datory production controls withhigher price supports.

The House Agriculture Com-mittee passed a dairy subcom-mittee recommendation whichwould revive the recently-endeddairy diversion program, placeassessments on production andraise the Class I fluid milk dif-ferentials in .35 federal milkmarketing orders.

AfBf President Robert Delanoexpressed disappointment inthe action by the House com-mittee members, saying thatthe legislative proposals en-courage overproduction, exertnegative impacts on other agri-cultural industries and raiseuncertainties about future farmprogram costs.

Leaded Gas - Efforts todelay an EPAban on leadedgasoline are gaining support inCongress. H.R. 2795, intro-duced by Rep. Edward Madigan(R-I1I.)now lists 24 co-sponsors.The bill would delay a total banon leaded gasoline until a jointEPA-USDAstudy is completed todetermine the impact of a leadban on farm machinery.

An identical proposal, S.1.39.3,has been introduced bySen. James Abdnor (R-5.D.)withtwo co-sponsors: 5ens. Nickles(R-Okla.) and McClure (R-Idaho).

6

Trade Initiative - USDASecretary Block has offered asecond sale under a new pro-gram to use U.S.surplus com-modities to regain foreigncustomers lost to unfair com-petition. A subsidized sale-of600,000 tons of wheat flour toEgypt now takes its place be-side an offer of a million tons toAlgeria.

The offer was targeted toEgypt to help regain the marketshare lost by the U.S. throughunfair trade practices by com-peting countries. Before theestablishment of the EEC,theU.S.supplied about half ofworld wheat flour demand. Thatshare has now slipped to 15%.During the same period, theEECincreased its market sharefrom 20% to 55%. The 600,000tons of wheat flour offered toEgypt would fill more than 40%of that country's estimatedflour needs.

Export Administration -Prior to the July 4 recess, an ex-tension of the 1979 Export Ad-ministration Act was passed byboth houses of Congress. Theact gives the president controlover exports of sensitive prod-ucts to communist countries,

and also deals with presidentialauthority on export embargoesfor agricultural products. TheExport Administration Act pro-vides:

- Agricultural products are ex-empted from specific exportcontrols justified on nationalsecurity grounds, and will notbe included in the list of sen-sitive or militarily restrictedproducts.

-The president may embargofarm products for foreign policyreasons only if such an em-bargo covers all trade and is inresponse to a breech of thepeace or a direct threat to thesecurity of the U.S.

-In short domestic supply sit-uations, the president may con-trol exports, but those controlscan apply for no longer thanone year. If controls are in-troduced, a full report must beprovided to Congress immedi-ately. Congress must then af-firm the need within 60 days orthe controls are automaticallyterminated.

- Export controls will not ap-ply to products with sales con-tracts signed prior to the an-nounced control with deliveryscheduled within 270 days ofthe announcement.


Budget Action Delayed UntilClosing Dours of Legislative Session

The Legislature finally recessedfor the summer in mid-July.Much of the delay resulted froma controversy over the workers'compensation reform issue. Asa result, several 1986 depart-mental budgets were also de-layed until the last minute, re-quiring conference committeesto work out differences betweenthe House and Senate versions.

MDA Budget - The MDAbudget for 1985-86 totals $46million. Of that $26 million isfrom the general fund, about$839,000 is from federalsources and $19.1 million isfrom fees and licenses which in-cludes $16.1 million from horseracing revenue. The total isabout 7.5°10 higher than thisyear. Sen. Gast, chairperson ofthe Senate Appropriations Com-mittee, has strongly supportedagriculture with needed in-creases last year and again thisyear.

Increases include funds toprovide full-time ag people inthe Brussels and Tokyo officesto promote sales of Michigan agproducts. A new $100,000 pro-gram was added by the Houseto develop an African trade pro-gram.

Local soil conservation dis-trict grants were increased from$500,000 to $750,000 for soilconservation and non-pointwater pollution issues. Thestate soil and water conserva-tion program is about $800,000.Another $50,000 is for MichiganTech University's U.P. soilsurvey program.


The Northwest HorticulturalResearch Foundation received$25,000 for development costs.The funds cannot be expendeduntil the proposed program isapproved by the Senate andHouse appropriations commit-tees.

The Animal Health DiagnosticLaboratory was an issue. Thegovernor's budget cut this$375,000 program to $100,000.The Senate raised it to $275,000and the House cut it to$170,000. The Senate prevailedby raising it to $375,000.

Livestock breeders awards($150,000 to $200,000) wereeliminated three or four yearsago due to recession cutbacks.The Michigan Water WonderlandPurebred Breeders Associationwas formed to work out a pro-gram for breed shows and$600,000 was requested. TheSenate put in $150,000 to starta program, but the House cut itout. Again the Senate versionprevailed. FB supported the pro-gram.

Gypsy moth control fundswere increased from this year's$204,500 to $339,200. TheLegislature ordered a study todetermine the best method ofcontrol. The fact is that thepest is beyond control in manyareas. A major problem is oftenthe opposition of local peopleand environmental groups tospraying.

The horse racing section ofthe budget is always compli-cated. Much of the revenuefrom this source is also used forimportant agricultural needs.The horse section includesfunding for quarter horse, Ap-paloosa and Arabian horse pro-grams which are still at issue.However, they will receive therevenues their programs gener-ate.

The silo PCBcontaminationprogram is funded at the same$2 million to finish the pay-ments for the condemnationprogram.

The FFAis funded at thesame $15,000.

Premiums are funded at$1,111,300. Of that amount$12/100 is for the 4-H animalscience exposition, $25,500 forthe Michigan Dynamometers As-sociation, and $34,500 for theMichigan Draft Horse BreedersAssociation.

There are dozens of other pro-grams administered by the de-partment including numerousinspection programs (fruit andvegetable, gasoline, food han-dlers, weights and measures,livestock auctions, grain eleva-tors, food products, animalhealth, dairy, beans, apiary, ,plant disease and pest control,feed and fertilizer, nurseries,toxic substance control, etc.).

Other programs include theFamily Farm Development Au-thority, funds for fairs, agricul-tural statistical reports, Market-ing and Bargaining Board, com-modity promotion, marketingdevelopment, grants to citieswith race tracks, grant to theSilverdome, etc.

It should be noted that about40°/0 of the MDA's expendituresare recovered by fees, licenses,fines and horse racing revenue.

Other Budgets - Agricul-ture also has a great deal atstake in the budgets of severaldepartments. For example, the"supplemental" budget con-tains the appropriations for thefarm financial survey, the tele-

7

arts or any combination with atleast .30% enrollment (up from20%); and one year of health orphysical education with at leastIS% enrollment (up from 10%).

A new requirement is onesemester of computer educa-tion with at least SOlo enroll-ment.

There is an option for qualify-ing for the extra $28 per pupilif the school requires pupils tocomplete, as a 1988-89 gradua-tion condition, three years ofEnglish, two years of math, twoyears of science, three years ofsocial science, one year ofhealth or physical education,and two years of foreign lan-guage, fine arts, vo-ed or prac-tical arts.

Another $8.3S can be earnedfor all K-12 pupils if the classsize in kindergarden and firstgrade averages not more than2S pupils. A study will be madeto determine if a smaller classsize has an advantage.

The budget also containsfunding for the numerous"categoricals" (special educa-tion, gifted and talented, trans-portation, compensatory educa-tion, vo-ed, etc.) Pupil testingrequirements in grades 4, 7 and10 are also continued.

Workers' Compensation -This is the most controversialissue of the session. It hasresulted in delaying budget andother bills. While S.B. 7 containsprovisions to speed up the ad-ministration of the law, a greatdeal is lacking.

The major issue is the defini-tion of disability. Presently aninsured or otherwise disabledperson can remain on workerscompensation benefits until heor she becomes able to do thesame job, even though they arequalified to do other kinds of .work.

A new definition that is usedin .37 other states would require


$ 14.00

12.00

PRICE

Education Budget - K-12school aid totals $1.8 billion, an11% increase. The school aidformula for 1985-86 will be$.30.3 plus $68.S0 per operatingmill plus another $28 if theschool has six high school classperiods. At least .30% (up from20%) of grades 9 to 12 must beenrolled in the sixth period.

Schools must also offer fouryears of English with at least60% enrollment (up from 40%);three years of math with atleast 40% enrollment (up from.30%); three years of socialscience with 40% enrollment(up from .30%); two years of aforeign lanugage, fine or per-forming arts, vo-ed or practical

million to county road commis-sions, $170 million to cities andvillages, and $87 million to thecomprehensive transportationfund. These are only the majorbudget items.

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Analytical Laboratory"Where Quality is Assured"

phone hotline to aid farmers infinancial distress, and funds foradditional fruit and vegetableinspection due to increased proc-essing in the state.

Sen. Gast also put $.300,000in the budget for renovation ofmigrant housing. This SO-SOmatching program has not beenfunded for some years. He alsoproposed funding for this pro-gram in the Department ofPublic Health budget.

The higher education budgetbill contains the appropriationsfor the Cooperative ExtensionService and agricultural research.The Senate increased the ap-propriations by 9% but theHouse approved only 7%. Theamount needed was 11%.

The Department of Transpor-tation budget of $786.1 millioncontains no general funds.Another $286.2 million comesfrom federal funds. Some $.30Smillion goes to the statetrunkline system, $S million tothe critical bridge fund, $.30S

8 RURAL L1VINO, AUOUST 1985

Hand Signals forUse in Agriculture

FIG. I-THIS FAR TO GO-Place palms atear level facing head and move laterally in-ward 10 indicate remaining distance 10 go ..

FIG. 5-STOP-Raise hand upward to thefull extent of the arm. palm to the front. Holdthat position until the signal is understood.

FIG. 2-COME TO ME-Raise the arm ver-tically overhead. palm to the front. and rotatein large horizontal circles.

FIG. 6-SPEED IT UP-INCREASESPEEDP-Raise the hand to the shoulder.fist closed; thrust the fist upward to the fullextent of the arm and back to the shoulderrapidly several times.

FIG. 3-MOVE TOWARD ME-FOLLOWME-Point toward person(s). vehicle(s). orunit(s). beckon by holding the arm horizon-tally to the front. palm up. and motioningtoward the body.

FIG. 7-SLOW IT DOWN-DECREASESPEED-Extend the arm horizontallysideward. palm down. and wave armdownward 45 deg minimum several times.keeping the arm straight. Do not move armabove horizontal.

FIG. 4-MOVE-OUT-TAKE OFF-Facethe desired direction of movement; hold thearm extended to the rear; then swing itoverhead and forward in Ihe direclion ofdesired movemenl until it is horizontal. palmdown.

FIG. 8-START THE ENGINE-Simulatecranking of vehicles by moving arm in a cir-cular motion at waisl level.

These hand sig-nals are intendedto be used in agri-cultural opera-tions especiallywhen noise ordistance precludethe use of normalvoice communica-tion.

FIG. 9-STOP THE ENGINE-Draw righthand. palm down. across the neck in a "throatcutting" motion from left to right.

RURAL LIVING, AUGUST 1985.

FIG. IQ-LOWER EQUIPMENT-Makecircular motion with either hand pointing tothe ground.

FIG. Il-RAISE EQUIPMENT-Make cir-cular motion with either hand at head level.

9

1985 Young People's Citizenship Seminar

students Participatein Democratic Process

By Cathy J. Klrvan

When two political parties setup headquarters on the quietcampus of Olivet College inOlivet for one week in June, thesmall mid-Michigan college be-came a center of political de-bate and unparalleled citizen in-volvement.

During that week, June 24-28,over 99% of the "residents"voted in the primary electionand 97.9% of the "voters" casttheir ballots in the general elec-tion for state senator, staterepresentative, Michigan Su-preme Court justices, and coun-ty offices including sheriff,prosecuting attorney, clerk,treasurer, register of deeds anddrain commissioner.

These activities were part ofthe 22nd annual Young People'sCitizenship Seminar, sponsoredby Michigan Farm Bureau andcounty FBs throughout thestate. The 234 high schooljuniors and seniors attendingthe seminar also learned aboutpeople and governments inother countries, the Americanfree market system and theprivileges they enjoy as U.S.citizens.

10

"We had an outstandinggroup of students this year whocame with the idea that theywere going to accomplishsomething and better them-selves," said Mike Kovacic,chairperson of the seminarplanning committee and man-ager of the MFBYoung FarmerDepartment. "In the FederalistParty caucus on Tuesday after-noon you could hear a pin dropwhen somebody was speaking,and that takes a pretty uniquegroup of young people."

Kovacic said Farm Bureau'scitizenship seminar is alsounique because it combines ec-onomic and political lessonswith patriotism. "We believethat if you're going to studywhat it means to be an Ameri-can, a very important part ofthat is economics.

"We teach the young peoplethat one of the reasons thiscountry is great is because ofthe free enterprise economicsystem and explain that wewouldn't have a lot of the otherbenefits that we enjoy if itweren't for our economicsystem," he said.

Involvement ofStudents Excellent

Ron Gaskill, coordinator ofpolitical activities for theseminar and MFB's local affairsspecialist, agreed that thestudents at this year's seminarwere high caliber.

"In the past we've competedwith programs such as Boy'sState, Girl's State and 4-H Ex-ploration Days. Because we

One of the students' favoritespeakers was Robert Rowland ofEnterprise Square USA. De dis-cussed the importance of under-standing and preservingAmerica's heritage and freedoms.


.,.. ,.•.• I.The rale .of the juniar caunselars. Kathy Brawn .ofChebaygan Caunty. Nanette Wambaugh .ofMuskeganCaunty. Kalan Baughn .ofIngham Caunty and Jan Thelen .ofClintan Caunty. ranged fram cheerleader taparty .organizers. "This year's juniar caunselars were haaked up ta the entire canference better than I'veever seen." said seminar chairpersan Mike Kavacic. "We've had .one .or twa austanding juniar caunselarsbefare but this year we had faur."

Infarmal discussian graups pravided an appartunity ta discuss theissues raised by the guest speakers.

moved the seminar back a weekmany of the students had justattended one of those confer-ences and I think that con-tributed to their willingness toparticipate."

One student who got involvedright away was Meredith Wip-ping of Midland County. "Whenwe broke into parties the firstday it seemed like everyoneought to be faithful to the partyso I decided to get involved andended up being a Federalistprecinct delegate," she said. "1liked the idea of having a say inwhat was going on.

"Before I went to the seminarI thought it was going to be allserious lectures where nobodywould be able to relax but weended up learning a lot and hada lot of fun doing it. It was areal interesting experience."

Jeff Ebsch of MenomineeCounty also ran for an office. "1thought it would be a good ex-perience to run for state sen-ator," he said. "Even though Iwas defeated in the primaryelection I still felt it was a goodexperience."

In addition to the campaign-ing, Ebsch enjoyed the presen-tation by world traveler Dr.John Furbay. "He was really

funny and could relate to peo-ple well. His experiences aroundthe world were very interesting."

For Ethan Russell, a studentfrom Oakland County, there wasnever any question of involve-ment. "When I got there I wasdesignated an independent andI knew I wanted to join a partythat first day so that I could runfor an office and hopefully win,"he said.

Russell found a campaignmanager and some workers tohelp him run for prosecuting at-torney. "The first night I cameup with some slogans and wemade campaign posters. Weusedlots of pictures to catch thevoter's eye.

"The highlight of the weekwas the election but I also likedthe experience of getting out of

RURAL LIVING, AUGUST 1985 11

At political rallies, chants of "Pops are tops" and "Get ahead with aFed" echoed throughout the auditorium as students supported theirparty's candidates.

the area where you've beengrowing up all your life andmeeting new people."

Alcinda Sparks of LivingstonCounty ran for county treasurer"just to see what a campaignwas like." She highly recom-mends the seminar to others."There are many things youjust can't get in the classroom,"she said. "It's a learning ex-perience and it's something youreally don't get any place else."

Sparks said her favorite partof the seminar was the lastspeaker, Vic Verchereau, aformer state FFA officer whonow works for Agra Land. Hisspeech, "The Greatest AmericanHero," inspired her. "Mostlywhat I got out of it was the mo-tivation to really live life to thefullest."

Nanette Wambaugh of Musk-egon County, who was a stu-dent last year and a juniorcounselor this year, had asimilar feeling after her firstseminar. "Last year the seminarchanged just about everythingfor me," she said. "1 have awhole different outlook onthings now. I'll accept chal-lenges, go for it and won'tchicken out."

Counselors BenefitFrom Experience Also

Seminar chairperson MikeKovacic said it is not just thestudents who benefit from the

12

---

seminar. "The volunteers andstaff come out feeling just ascharged up and renewed andgood about themselves as thestudents," Kovacic said. "We ex-perience something too - wegrow, we learn, we see thespark and we feel like we ac-complished something."

He said the comment ofcounselor Andrew Ferdinand, anMFBregional representative,reflects the feeling of most: "1grew inside through helping thekids to grow. This was a goodway to develop my own skills in .motivating others."

Political activites coordinatorRon Gaskill aided students in theproper use of computer punchcard voting. They also learnedhow to cast their ballots on paperand voting machines.

'-

Students learned about the en-tire political process - fromregistering to vote to campaign-ing and running for political of-fice.

Sharon Kokx of NewaygoCounty, a member of the MFBWomen's Committee, has beena counselor six times. Why?

"You hear so much negativeabout the students now daysbut you go down there and seethe positive," she said. "1 thinkthe seminar is one of Farm Bu-reau's best programs and morepeople ought to have the ex-perience of participating as avolunteer counselor."

Seminar Ends With"Real Life' Lessons

Traditionally the conclusionof the seminar's political ac-tivities - the announcement ofthe winning candidates andpresentation of awards - hasincluded a well-known stategovernment official, but thisyear coordinator Ron Gaskill didsomething a little different.

"1 invited Wayne County Ex-ecutive William Lucas to pre-sent the awards because I thinkhe is the absolute best repre-sentative of a local governmentofficial in this state," Gaskillsaid. "1 have wanted to invitehim in the past however he


didn't have the name recogni-tion. But that has changedbecause of his switchingpolitical parties, meeting Presi-dent Reagan and rumored can-didacy for governor.

"I think Bill Lucas has atremendous amount of integrityand dignity. He's not the tradi-tional politician; he's more of astatesman. It's that credibilityand integrity that he shows as agovernment official that Ithought was very appropriate toshow to the students."

Wayne County Executive WilliamLucas shared his views on thecurrent political scene andpresented certificates to the win-ning candidates, includingNathan Bartow of Alpena County,who was elected state senator.

After the election results wereknown, the political party ban-ners pulled down and campaignposters snatched off the wallsas souvenirs, the students tookwith them more than the mem-ories of fun and fellowship. Forthe young men and women whowere part of the 1985 MFBYoung People's Citizenship Sem-inar, the challenge and rewardof fully participating in thepolitical process will be a partof their past, present and, mostof all, their future.


GENERAL ELECTION RESULTSOffice Federalist Party Populist Party

State William Raupp V'Nathan BartowSenator Hillsdale County Alpena County

State Bruce Punches V'Vincent LambRepresentative Kent County Genesee County

Prosecuting V'Ethan Russell Pam GeigerAttorney Oakland County Huron County

Sheriff V'Timothy Hahn Doug BestemanMecosta County Chippewa County

Clerk V'Sharon Histed Sara GradenBay County Washtenaw County

Treasurer Alcinda Sparks V'Dawn EstelleLivingston County Otsego County

Register V'Debbie Darling Jean Balconiof Deeds Clinton County Gladwin County

Drain V'Spencer McLachlan Michael KruleyCommissioner Oakland County Wexford County

Michigan V'Jim Craig Julie BehrenwaldSupreme Lenawee County Montcalm CountyCourt V'Wendy Hanson Mindy McKinleyJustices Livingston County Muskegon County

POLITICAL PARTY OFFICE UOLDERSOffice Federalist Party Populist Party

Chairperson V'Mike LeTourneau V'Jed WelderLivingston County Montcalm County

Precinct 1 V'Dan Boyer V'Rob AndersonDelegates Clare County Mecosta County

V'Mike Wenkel V'Sara CarterArenac County Oceana County

Precinct 2 V'Kim Harper V'Ann DalbecDelegates Clinton County losco County

V'Katherine Jackson V'Heidi FlemingIngham County Otsego County

Precinct :3 V'Mark Kelso V'Angela ReevesDelegates Otsego County Ionia County

V'Kassie Kennedy V'Elaine MerrillMonroe County Benzie County

Precinct 4 V'Meredith Wipping V'Sarah VogelDelegates Midland County Tuscola County

V'lndicates winner

1.3

1985 Farm Bill

Farm Bureau Strives forRational Dairy Policy

By Connie Turbin

Rather than complicated sup-port price formulas and pro-posals that would assess pro-ducers for the cost of Commodi-ty Credit Corporation purchasesby the government, the Ameri-can Farm Bureau Federationcontinues to support dairy pro-visions in the 1985 farm billthat would send a clear marketsignal to the nation's dairy pro-ducers when dairy supplies ex-ceed reasonable demand.

The dairy section of FB's 1985farm bill proposal provides forcontinuation of the dairy prod-ucts purchase program by theCCC;establishes the supportprice at 90% of the average all-milk price for the previous threeyears with adjustments madesemi-annually; provides for ad-justment in the support priceaccording to the amount of netgovernment purchases; andgrants the secretary of agricul-

14

ture discretionary authority toreduce the support price by notmore than .3% every six monthsif CCCpurchases exceed eightbillion pounds.

Assessment I DiversionProgram "as Direct Costto Dairy Producers

In a recent statement to thenews media, AFBFPresidentRobert Delano said: "Dairy pro-ducers should not be saddledwith assessment programswhich have failed to solve pastsurplus problems. Wemustavoid any proposal which failsto send a clear signal to pro-ducers. The previous dairydiversion program placed theburden of the cost on the pro-

ducer without passing any ofthe benefits on to the con-sumers."

AFBFdairy economist HollisHatfield acknowledges that na-tional milk production in 1984did drop .3%, but he says thatthe reduction cannot be attrib-uted entirely to the diversionprogram. During 1984, dairydiversion program participantswere responsible for a decline inmarketings of .3.2 billionpounds.

The reductions in milk mar-keting by nonparticipants near-ly equalled the diversion pro-gram with a reduction of 2.6billion pounds - without bene-fit of the producer diversionpayments. "This significantdrop in marketings by the non-participants is often over-looked," he says.


Through the 50ct per cwt. as-sessment program operating in1984-85, dairy farmers paid forabout 91% of the cost of diver-sion payments. Based on datathrough May 1985, $875.2 mil-lion was collected directly fromproducers. With just 20% of thenation's producers participatingin the diversion program, pay-ments of $10.00 per cwt. to-taled about $955 million.

Now some dairy and dairyprocessing interests are propos-ing a similar assessment/ diver-sion program for the 1985 farmbill to finance the cost of adiversion program plus the costof government purchases ofbutter, nonfat dry milk, andcheese in excess of five billionpounds of milk equivalent. In-itial costs to U.S. dairy farmerscould total $1.10 per cwt. ormore, Hatfield estimates.

"It is important that themembers of Congress under-stand that there is a dairylegislative proposal that willsolve the problem of oversupplywithout an assessment or diver-sion program," he says.

"Farm Bureau's proposal iseasily understandable. It tieslevels of support to previousprices and levels of governmentpurchases, and it sends a clearsignal to the dairy industry thatsupport prices will be adjustedif supply and demand are out ofbalance. The degree of theseadjustments is limited, how-ever, to avoid abrupt disloca-tions in the dairy industry."

The dairy provisions in FB'sfarm bill legislation are basedon current policy developed bydelegates at each level of thegrassroots organization. Thatpolicy states clear opposition toassessment/ diversion programsin the future. Delegates at the1985 AFBF annual meeting in


Hawaii adopted this policystatement:

"We favor a system where theprice support level would beautomatically adjusted accord-ing to the amount of net dairyproducts purchased by the fed-eral government and opposeany assessment of producers bythe federal government as apart of any future dairy legisla-tion .... "

lilt is important thatthe members of Con..gress understandthat there is a dairylegislative proposalthat will solve theproblem of over..supply without anassessment or diver..sion program."

Proposed Changes in Class IDifferential Pricing TreatDairy Farmers Inequitably

As written, the dairy provi-sions presented in the FB farmbill proposals (5. 908 and H.R.1965) do not specifically ad-dress the Class I fluid milk dif-ferential pricing structure.However, FB dairy economistsand leaders in the FB organiza-tion maintain that proposedchanges for determining theClass I fluid milk differentialwould discriminate against pro-ducers in certain areas of thecountry and increase the priceof fresh milk for most of the na-tion's consumers.

Basically, the fluid differenUalis the amount that is added tothe average price paid to pro-ducers for manufacturing grade

milk in the Minnesota-Wisconsin(M-W)marketing region. InBoston, for example, the JuneClass I price was determined at$11.62 (M-Wprice) plus $.3.00(Class I differential) for a totalof $14.62 per cwt.

The intent of the differentialand the marketing orders in the44 U.S. regions is to assure anadequate supply of quality milkto consumers.

However, in his analysis ofthe proposed increases in milkprice differential, AFBFecono-mist Hatfield notes that thevolume of milk delivered by pro-ducers to federal order marketsin 1984 was more than twicethe volume required for Class Ineeds. This excess of Class I re-quirements is a major contribu-tor to the nation's milk surplus.

The cost of this differentialprice has a direct effect on con-sumer prices for milk. The cur-rent differentials, in effect since1968, add 10ct to 27ct pergallon depending upon thefederal market order region. Ac-cording to figures prepared byHatfield, proposals to increasethe Class I fluid milk differentialwould increase consumer pricesan additional 1ctto 14ct in 35federal order markets.

He also asserts that the pro-posal discriminates against pro-ducers in certain areas of thecountry. An increase in the dif-ferential is proposed for 97% ofthe nation's producers and ig-nores .3%. What, asks Hatfield,is the justification for increas-ing the differential in theChicago marketing area, one ofthe nation's largest contribu-tors to the milk surplus, but noincrease for producers who shipto Salt Lake City, Utah, UpperMichigan and seven other feder-al order markets?

15

Federal Milk Marketing Orders - Fluid Differentials(for tbe East Nortb Central/ East Soutb Central Regions)

ProposedCurrent Proposed Cbangeln

fluid fluid Producer Class Ifederal Order Differential Differential Class I Price Use

$/cwt. $/cwt. $/cwt. percent

Upper Michigan 1.35 1.35 67Southern Michigan 1.60 1.75 .15 43E. Ohio - W. Pennsylvania 1.85 1.95 .10 52Ohio Valley 1.70 2.04 .34 52Indiana 1.53 2.00 .47 68Chicago 1.26 1.40 .14 19Central Illinois 1.39 1.61 .22 58Southern Illinois 1.53 1.92 .39 63Louisville - Lex. - Evans 1.70 2.11 .41 58

Tennessee Valley 2.10 2.77 .67 68Nashville 1.85 2.52 .67 89Paducah 1.70 2.39 .69 76Memphis 1.94 2.77 .83 67

NOTE: No change in fluid differential is proposed for federal market orders in Upper !'1ichigan,Western Colorado, Southwest Idaho-East Oregon, Great Basin, Lake Mead, Central Arizona, RioGrande Valley, Puget Sound, Oregon- Washington.

The accompanying chartshows the current and proposedfluid milk differential for theeast north central and eastsouth central federal marketorders.

Hatfield further labels the dif-ferential proposal as a way tooffset a drop in the supportprice. "One part of the farm billwould reduce the support priceas CCC purchases increased,"Hatfield says. "The differentialpart of the legislation wouldraise the Class I price to pro-ducers in 35 markets, increas-ing the incentive to producemore milk and would fix thosedifferentials until they werechanged legislatively."

16

I'IfB Dairy InformationPrograms Set tbeRecord Straigbt

Recently members of the MFBDairy Advisory Committee metin Lansing to review the pro-posals being offered in Con-gress by AFBF and other dairyinterests. The committee, com-posed of producers in Michigan'sdairy industry, ended their daylong deliberations and discus-sions by reaffirming their com-mitment to the FB dairy policy.

The advisory committee rec-ommended to the MFB board ofdirectors that an informationand education campaign be in-

itiated to familiarize dairyfarmers with the comparativeissues in proposed dairy legisla-tion. That recommendationprompted a series of multi-county dairy information meet-ings throughout the state inJuly.

The meetings provided dairyfarmers and FB leaders with theopportunity to question theorganization's legislative andeconomic staff experts regard-ing the various dairy proposalsfor the 1985 farm bill beingconsidered by Congress.


FRONT & CENTER

Tbe state policy development conference will be beld Aug. 20 at Long's Conven-tion Center in Lansing. The day-long conference will include a representative from the AFBFWashington office addressing probable national. issues, discussion of recommendations of theMFBWater Rights Task Force for new water rights policy and time for members to ask ques-tions about specific issues they would like to discuss. Contact your county secretary for moreinformation.

FB members can purcbase "Micbigan's Farm Best" frozen fruits and vegetablesduring MACMA'smember-to-member Summer Frozen Sale. Items offered include Wisconsincheese, Michigan meats and Florida concentrates and peanuts. Price and ordering informationis available from the FB secretary in participating counties. Order deadline is Aug. 7. Deliverieswill be made to participating county FB offices during the weeks of Aug. 19 and 26.

Atlanta, Georgia, one of tbe nation's most progressive cities, will bost tbe 67tbannual meeting of tbe American Farm Bureau Federation, Jan. 11-16, 1986. "These arecrucial times for farmers and it is important for Farm Bureau members to see their organiza-tion develop policies to meet the issues facing agriculture today," said Elton R. Smith, AFBFvice president and MFBpresident. In addition to observing and participating in the nationalpolicy setting procedure for their organization, members will hear world renowned speakers aswell as meet fellow members from across the country.

A trade show has been added to the convention this year. Suppliers of agricultural prod-ucts will be displaying materials and answering farmers' questions and the newest technologywill be available for farmers to view. Entertainment is also a part of the convention. The RoyClark show will headline the annual awards program and an old fashioned hoedown will providemusic, singing and dancing on Saturday evening, Jan. II.

Several tour alternatives will be available for MFBmembers. These include hotel and con-vention only for those who wish to provide their own transportation; an air, hotel and conven-tion package; a Caribbean cruise and a bus tour ~ith two days in Nashville which includes avisit to the Grand Ole Opry. Brochures with complete details will be available soon at county FBoffices and from the MFBInformation & Public Relations Division.

AgriPac endorsed Jud Knapper of Ricbland for tbe 13tb District Senate seat, basedon the unanimous recommendation of the candidate evaluation committees in Montcalm,Barry and Ionia counties. The committees interviewed all four candidates for the seat beforereaching their decision. The .3,800 FB members in the l.3th District were urged by AgriPac tosupport Knapper in the July 2.3special primary. The special general election to fill the vacancycaused by the death of Sen. Robert Welborn is scheduled for August 1.3.

An bistorical look at 30 years of progress in agriculture will bigbligbt tbe DryBean and Sugar Beet Field Day, Aug. 20 at the Saginaw Valley Research Farm. Field day ac-tivities include tours of five research sites, which begin at 1:.30p.m.. Research being conductedat the farm includes dry bean and sugar beet variety development, fertilizer trials, tillagestudies and soybean culture. The research farm is located one mile east of M-52 on Swan CreekRoad, between St. Charles and M-46. Details of the field day may be obtained by writing toDonald Christenson, Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences, MSU,East Lansing, Mich. 48824.

A neWly-created commission formed by Campbell Soup Co. and tbe Farm Labor Or-ganizing Committee (FLOC)bas received a critical review from MFB's agricultural laborspecialist, Ron Gaskill, who questions how growers will fare under resulting state and/ or na-tional legislation. The commission proposes to examine the migrant worker issue with the in-tent of developing a comprehensive migrant farm worker bill for consideration by thelegislatures in Michigan and Ohio, and possibly in the U.S.Congress.

"We can understand the interest of FLOCin migrant worker legislation, but we questionwhy Campbell is interested in an issue that is essentially between the growers and theworkers," Gaskill said. "If Campbell plans to pressure growers to be subject to negotiating withorganized workers, they should change their long-time position of refusing to negotiate growercontracts for tomatoes through organized farmers," he said. The agreement between Campbelland FLOCcalled for the commission to be formed by July 1, 1985. According to Gaskill, com-mission members are currently being recommended and elections are planned to be held inlate August or early September.


RURALRASCALS County Farm Bureaus Set Annual Meeting Dates

Minding Melissa: Saginaw Valleyregional representative BeckyJeppesen knew how to entertainthis young rascal. Proudly show-Ing off her Aunt Becky's horseFoxle, Is Melissa Mattson, /Jlh, ofStanton. Melissa and Becky werevisiting the Jeppesen family farmIn Montcalm County.

FARMETTEBy Andrea HofmeisterTuscola County

Bay County Farm Bureauopens the annual series ofcounty FB annual meetings onAug. 25. Although it is the onlyannual meeting scheduledbefore Sept. 1, the trend in re-cent years is for counties tohold their policymaking session

Alpena - Oct. 10Antrim - Oct. 9Arenac - Oct. 14Bay - Aug. 25Benzie - Oct. 7Berrien - Nov. 1Branch - Sept. 16Calhoun - Oct. 1Charlevoix - Oct. 2Clare - Oct. 24Clinton - Sept. 17Eaton - Oct. 5Emmet - Oct. 14Genesee - Oct. 8Gladwin - Oct. 1Gratiot - Sept. 6Hillsdale - Sept. 11Huron - Sept. 26Ingham - Oct. 5Isabella - Oct. 16Jackson - Sept. 26Kalamazoo - Oct. 8Kalkaska - Sept. 6

earlier in September and Oc-tober.

While not all counties haveset their annual meeting dates,those that have are listedbelow. Others will be publishedas they become available.

Kent - Sept. 24Lapeer - Oct. 3Lenawee - Sept. 19Livingston - Sept. 26Macomb - Oct. 10Mecosta - Oct. 7Midland - Oct. 1Missaukee - Oct. 1Monroe - Sept. 17Newaygo - Oct. 10Northwest Michigan - Oct. 9Oakland - Oct. 3Oceana - Oct. 21Ogemaw - Oct. 24Osceola - Oct. 15Ottawa - Oct. 10Saginaw - Oct. 3St. Clair - Sept. 24SL Joseph - Oct. 26Shiawassee - Oct. 12Washtenaw - Sept. 27Wayne - Oct. 8Wexford - Oct. 8

"Next time we had betterfinish the hoeing before wego on vacation."

18

Krause Takes 4th IIPit Spitll Championship

Rick "Pellet Gun" Krause of Bau Claire, Mich., blew by challengers In the12th Annual International Cherry Pit Spitting Contest, July 6, to cap-ture his fourth world championship. The competition Is sponsored byTree-Mendus Fruit Farm of Berrien County.


IEXTRA EFFDRTMAKES THE DIFFERENCE

By Janice Child

Farm Bureau Insurance Groupagents throughout the state arecommitted to the goals andideals of Michigan Farm Bureau,as demonstrated by their effortsin the recent membership cam-paign and during the remainderof the year.

Of the nearly 1.3,OOO.newmembers gained during the lastcampaign, FBIG agents recruit-ed approximately 75%. Theagents also worked with countyFarm Bureaus in retainingmembers.

"When we began working onthe membership campaign lastyear, Dutch Taylor, who was thechairperson for the drive, got usall together - agents and coun-ty Farm Bureau members -working to increase member-ship," said Jeff Mohney, FBIGagent in Kalamazoo County."We made a list of the memberswho hadn't paid their renewaldues yet and called them up.Then we drove out to theirfarms to pick up their checks.


"It was really a group effort toreach goal and it was a reallyneat experience. The agentsdeveloped a stronger relation-ship with the members of theboard and met many new peo-ple.

"We also went through all ofour Farm Bureau General autopolicies and recalculated themthrough Farm Bureau Mutual. Ifit would be to the insured'sfinancial advantage to becomea member, we'd present thatidea," Mohney said.

"Not only did we show ourclients that we wanted to savethem money, but we showedthem some of the other benefitsof membership: free road ser-vice, Family Saver Buyers' Ser-vice, the Sav-on-Cars programand some of the other benefitsof membership. Once they sawthese benefits, many became •members, and as the number ofmembers grows, so does thestrength of Michigan FarmBureau.

"Dutch Taylor, who diedearlier this year, was reallycommitted to the ideals ofMichigan Farm Bureau. Hemade working on the campaigna very rewarding experience,and I plan to volunteer to chairthe campaign this year,"Mohney said.

In Cheboygan County FBIGagent Fred Stempky empha-sized the benefits of belongingto a group like Michigan FarmBureau.

"People recognize that theywill be receiving auto insuranceat a more competitive price,"Stempky said. "Receiving acompetitive price for auto in-surance was the reason Michi-gan Farm Bureau membersformed the insurance affiliateback in the late 1940s. It's stilltrue, and it's still attractive.

"They were also interested inreceiving some of the otherbenefits of belonging to thegroup - the health program,the group purchasing privilegesand the benefits of belonging to(continued on page 28)

19

Young Farmers Sharpen CommunicationSkills in Discussion Meet Competition

By Marcia Dltchie

Recognizing the importanceof developing leaders in agricul-ture, delegates to the 1984Michigan Farm Bureau annualmeeting adopted a policy state-ment regarding Young Farmerleadership development, whichstated, in part, "Farm BureauYoung Farmers strive to be pro-ficient in all areas of Michiganagriculture. The Young Farmercontests encourage Farm Bu-reau Young Farmers to developleadership and strive for andset new goals for themselvesand their farming operation."

One of the key contests whichassists Young Farmers in meet-ing that challenge is the seriesof Discussion Meets that beginon the county and district levelthis month and peak with thenational contest held in con-junction with the AFBF annualmeeting.

"The Discussion Meets giveYoung Farmers the opportunityto build communication skillsand, therefore, to make themmore effective in conductingcounty programs," said DavidLott, chairperson of the stateYoung Farmer Committee. "Theyalso give them an opportunityto build leadership abilities andto learn more about the chal-lenges and rewards of the agri-cultural industry.

"The Discussion Meets pro-vide an opportunity to surfaceand develop new leaders notonly for the Young Farmer pro-gram and Farm Bureau, but

20

also for the communities whereYoung Farmers reside."

Lott's comments are echoedby David Conklin, an at-largemember of the MFBboard of di-rectors and a former DiscussionMeet contestant who also servedas chairperson of the stateYoung Farmer committee andon the AFBF Young Farmer andRancher Committee.

"Participating in the Discus-sion Meet helped me in develop-ing communication skills forthe various leadership positionsI've held," said Conklin, whorecommends participation inthe Discussion Meets for anyYoung Farmer.

"The way agriculture ischanging today, there is agreater emphasis being placedon communicating your needson your farm, as well as suc-cessfully communicating with

TOPICS FORDISCUSSION MEETS

• What is the future of anti-biotics, pesticides and re-lated chemicals for agricul-tural use?

• What will be the role of com-mercial lenders, the farmcredit system and govern-ment as sources of agricul-tural credit in the future?

• How can American farmersexpand our share of theworld market?

• With specialization as thenorm in agriculture, what canFarm Bureau do to help diver-sified American agriculturespeak as one voice?

your legislator or banker andthis is one contest which canhelp you develop and polishcommunication skills."

Some county FBs hold a coun-ty Discussion Meet prior to thedistrict meets, which beginlater this month. Each countycan send three representativesto the district contest. At thedistrict meets contestants viefor a chance to participate inthe state contest which will beheld on Dec. 11 during the MFBannual meeting in GrandRapids.

The state Young Farmer Com-mittee has made some changesin the format for the state con-test. It will now include six pre-liminaries rather than four. Fur-ther, the two winners from onepreliminary will not face eachother in semi-final meets.

The winner of the state con-test will again receive the use ofa Chevy S-10 pickup truck forone year and compete in the na-tional contest at the AFBF an-nual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia,next January.

The district Discussion Meetschedule is: District 1 - Sept.24, District 2 - Sept. 10, Dis-trict .) - Sept. 18, District 4 -Sept. 12, District 5 - Sept. 25,District 6 - Aug. 24, District 7- Sept. 11, District 8 - Aug.27, District 9 - Aug. 29 andDistrict 10 - Aug. 28. The datehas not yet been set for theDistrict 11 contest. Check withyour county FB secretary orYoung Farmer chairperson fordetails.


ISpeak Up' MeetingsDraw on Member Ideasand Recommendations

A pattern for growth and ser-vice to members in the Michi-gan Farm Bureau organizationis taking shape as members ofthe MFB Long Range PlanningCommittee, FB members andMFBdirectors contribute theirideas and recommendations toa five-year goal plan for theorganization.

As part of that planning proc-ess, Farm Bureau membersthroughout the state were in-vited to participate in a seriesof four "Speak Up" meetings,June 17-20 at Gaylord, GrandRapids, Jackson and Saginaw.Over 300 members attended,bringing with them their ideasand recommendations forstrengthening the MFBorgani-zation.

According to Mike Kovacic,chairperson of the MFBLongRange Planning Committee, the"Speak Ups" provided the com-mittee with feedback on thetrend projections that havebeen identified for Farm Bureauand drew on the creativity ofthe grassroots membership inthe planning process.

"The first step in the processinvolved research and fact find-ing by the members of the com-mittee," Kovacic said. "Basic-ally, we took a look at the or-ganization's past and present interms of membership; incomeand expense; physical plant;


organizational structure andleadership; programs and ac-tivities; and external data. Weused data from 1978 and 1984to make trend projections forthe Michigan Farm Bureau in1990."

Kovacic said it was stressedat each of the "Speak Up" meet-ings that the 58 projectionswere merely forecasts of trendsin the organization - not aplan for Farm Bureau in 1990."The role of those who partici-pated in the 'Speak Ups' was toreview the forecasts and thenindicate whether they felt thetrend was acceptable or shouldbe changed," he said. "Throug~their responses, we gained valu-able grassroots informationabout how FB members wanttheir organization to develop in-to the year 1990.

"We learned, for example,that members feel the Com-munity Action Group programis basic to Farm Bureau struc-ture and that efforts should bemade to increase involvementin the program."

Concern for increasing mem-ber involvement throughout theorganization was repeated inbrainstorming sessions con-ducted at each of the "SpeakUp" meetings, along withrecommendations for expand-

At the four "Speak Up" meetings,the top two ideas from each dis-cussion group were displayed onposter-size report sheets.

ing FB's influence in thelegislative process, increasingthe number of farmer members,providing new opportunities foryoung farmer involvement, andmore information and educa-tion programs for FB members.

In late July, members of theMFBboard received the reportof the Long Range PlanningCommittee and recommenda-tions from the FB membership.Their goal setting work willreflect this broad based inputto establish a plan of goals andobjectives for implementationthrough 1990.

According to Kovacic, themany hours of research anddiscussion that have gone intothe long range planning proc-ess since last December are justthe beginning of the real workof long range planning.

"There must be a continuingcommitment to program excel-lence and progressive leader-ship throughout the FB organi-zation in the years ahead tobring these goals for FarmBureau into reality."

21

Volunteers to Share lIow To'sof Presentations & Farm Tours

A farm visit Is quite an adventure for Ag In the Classroom kids wholearn from real farmers where food production begins.

By Marcia Dltchle

American agriculture haswritten an enviable successstory since the turn of the cen-tury, especially during the lastfour decades. While agriculturehas become more efficient andproductive, fewer people aredirectly involved in the produc-tion of food and fibre.

For many children today,their only knowledge of agricul-ture may come from stories toldto them by their grandparents.To help fill that void, theMichigan Farm Bureau Womeninitiated an on-going Agricul-ture in the Classroom projectover 10 years ago.

Next month two day-longworkshops will be held to targetadditional people who would

22

like to become active partici-pants in taking agriculture'sstory into Michigan's schools.

"We have consistently reached9,000 to 10,000 children inclassrooms and on farm tourseach year since the programbegan," said Faye Adam, chair-person of the MFBWomen'sCommittee. "We feel that we

have the potential to doublethat figure in helping childrenidentify with the source of theirfood and fibre."

Currently there are over 180volunteers throughout the stateworking with the Ag in theClassroom project. Workshopplanners are expecting to at-tract 80 people at each of thetwo workshops which will beheld in Lansing on Sept. 24 andin Gaylord on Sept. 25.

Each workshop will include a"how to" session which will ex-plai~ the methods for contact-ing schools, a step by stepprocess for organizing presenta-tions and working with stu-dents. ,

A highlight of each workshopwill be county volunteersdemonstrating the presenta~tions they have used in class-rooms and with on-farm toursfor school children.

"The teachers have been veryhappy with the presentations Ihave done," said Julie Schwab,a Bay County dairy farmer whohas worked with children in Pin-conning, Bay City and Standishschools.

"I have only been workingwith the project for a few years,but I enjoy working with chil-dren whether it's in the schoolsor in 4-H. I really do enjoy itand hopefully it will keep grow-ing." Julie will be one of thecounty volunteers sharing herpresentation at the Gaylordworkshop.

At the Lansing workshop,Anne Block will describe howshe and her husband, Mike, forma unique team in conductingfarm tours for school children.The Blocks, Saginaw Countydairy farmers, have hosted farmtours for more than 1,000school children from Detroit,Saginaw, Frankenmuth andReeseduring the last five years.

"I get the children excitedabout milking a cow, collectingeggs and the more hands-on ac-


RURAL LlVINO, AUOUST 1985

After visiting all the farmingexhibits, there is still a lot moreto experience at the 1985 Michi-gan State Fair.

The largest free concert seriesin the Midwest is being spon-sored by MCI, the long distancetelephone service company, andThe Detroit News. Such stars asWillie Nelson (Aug. 29 & .30),Kool and the Gang (Aug. 2.3),the Gatlin Brothers (Aug. 27),Wynton Marsalis (Aug. 26) andthe Thrasher Brothers (Sept. 1)are part of the line-up of freeentertainment at the fair.

A first for the fair this year isa national truck pull competi-tion, sanctioned by the NationalTruck Pullers Association, onAug . .30& .31.

Returning by popular demandis the Budweiser World Cham-pionship Rodeo (Aug. 26-28);the Elias Brother .3-Ring Circus(Aug. 27-.31) and discount ad-mission for Elias Brotherscustomers on Aug. 26; the USADemolition Derby (Aug. 24-25and Sept. 1-2); and Kroger Daywith free fireworks and reducedadmission with Kroger coupons(Aug. 27).

Hardee's Restaurants isreturning with its opening dayfree rides (Aug. 2.3)for Hardee'scustomers at the biggest mid-way in the state. The third an-nual Governor's Cup Run, spon-sored by the Detroit Free Pressand Speas Farm Apple Juice, isset for Aug. 25.


.The Best in Agricultureand EntertainmentPlanned for 1985Michigan state Fair

A $2 million multi-livestockfacility, expected to be readyfor use this year, will providespace for 218 permanent horsestalls and 128 portable horsestalls. This building, added tothe improvements made to theColiseum, horse arenas andother related facilities, makesthe Michigan fairgrounds thebest place to show horses eastof the Mississippi, according tofair organizers.

The" Amazing Acre" in the agbuilding will showcase theprime commodities produced inthe state. Demonstrations,recipes, samples and entertain-ment will be provided by Michi-gan commodity groups such asfruits, vegetables, meat, dairy,sugar, honey, maple productsand wines. A restaurant thatwill serve only Michigan prod-ucts is also planned.

A highlight of the agriculturalevents is the market livestockauction, Aug. 27, of prizewin-ning steer, market lambs andmarket hogs brought to the fairby youth exhibitors.

New this year is a carriagedriving competition on Aug . .30at the horse show. Included areclasses to judge the skills of thedriver and performance of thehorses, featuring a CavalcadeAmerica class in which exhibi-tors in period costumes willdrive restored antique car-riages.

Another featured ag event isthe auction of wool garmentsmade from the fleece of DetroitZoo animals, with 100% of theproceeds returned to the zoo forthe "Feed the Animals" fund.

More and better agriculturaland livestock exhibits alongwith big name entertainers andpopular spectator events prom-ise to make the 1985 MichiganState Fair, Aug. 2.3-Sept. 2, themost memorable in recenthistory.

This year the fair is featuringmore of what surveys haveshown attract people - thechance to see live farm animalsof every variety and the biggestand best of Michigan's farmproducts.

RURAL LIVING, AUGUST 1985 2.3

AGRINOMIC UPDATE

Growers Urged to Use PACA Trust provisions

Eight months ago a newamendment to the federalPerishable Agricultural Com-modities Act (PACA)went intoeffect, enabling producers(sellers) of perishable com-modities to make claims forpayment against a statutorytrust.

Since that time the regula-tions which require commission

merchants, dealers and brokersto maintain a floating trust ofassets as a source of paymentto any unpaid supplier, seIfer oragent have been used effective-ly by fruit and vegetable pro-ducers to obtain payment andto give them preferred creditorstatus when involved in a bank-ruptcy proceeding.

During the first six months ofoperation, about 6,800 trustprotection actions were filedwith the USDAaccording toJack Gardner, acting chief ofthe Fruit and Vegetable Divi-sion, Agricultural MarketingService, USDA.Approximately6,000 of those have been re-solved with $27 million re-ceived. The bankruptcy provi-

Perisbable Agricultural Commodities ActNotification of Intent to Preserve Trust Benefits

Single Transactions

Debtor's name and address: _

Name and address of unpaid seller, supplier, agent:

Commodity, date, price and type of transaction:

Date of creditor's receipt of notice that payment instrument has been dishonored (if applicable):

Date past due and amount paid: _

PACAFiling Offices Ueadquarters and Regional Brancb

24

USDAAgricultural Marketing ServiceFruit and Vegetable DivisionPACABranchWashington, D.C. 20250202-737-4118

USDAAgricultural Marketing ServiceFruit and Vegetable DivisionPACABranch330 Georgetown Square, Suite 103Wood Dale, Illinois 60191312-350-0850


21 piece set contains 6 6-point lA"drivesockets - 3111, 7132. V4, '/32, ~I1I, 11132. ~" 812-point~" drive sockets - ~, 711•• lh. 'Ill.%. 11111. 3A,13111, W' FLIP-DRIVE" ratchet.W' drive spinner. ~" drive 3" extension.~" drive spark plug socket W', 3-WayTool (6" extension and ~F x lAM adapter),blow-molded box

SALE $13.49 LIST $28.63LIMITED SUPPLY AT THIS LOW PRICE

$2.00

PRICEEACH TOTALOTY. ORDERNO.

Payment Sub Total

Check Ylsa 4% TaxMasterCard Freight= 'Z TOTALCard Number

Exp. Date

Signature

. Make Check Out To and Mall To:

The Chas. A. Strelinger Co.31855 Van Dyke, Warren, MI 48090

313-268-4100 Mon.-Fri. 8-5

- If you need to file, use theform provided, a copy of it orfile on a written form. Be sureto include all the informationrequested on the form.

Understand your selling chain,and know in advance wherethe filing responsibility lies.

The fact that the PACAtrustprovision is a workable solutionto slow pay/no pay problems inthe fruit and vegetable industryis evidenced by the claims al-ready filed and funds collected.For more detailed informationabout how the PACAtrust provi-sions apply in your individualcircumstances, call any PACAfiling office or branch. There aretwo listed on the bottom of thefiling form.

Agrinomic Update is preparedmonthly by MFB's CommodityActivities & Research Depart-ment.

• 1017 ... 17,3/,6 Lx 83/,6 W x 10" H

SALE . $47.69 LIST $71.60

• 1018 ... 18YaLx 10'/,6 W x 12%" HSALE $53.09 LIST $79.80

• 1022 ... 22YaL x 10'/,6 W X 12%" HSALE $58.29 LIST $87.60r:--------------Ship to:

CANTilEVERTOOL BOXES-Browr;l finish- Four trays, 2

with partitions

MADEIN USA

All-PURPOSETOOL BOXES

- Handy catchallfor home or car

- Lift-out tray- Brown finish'

20YaL x 8% W x 9314" H$25.95 LIST $43.30

21 PIECE SOCKET SET

• K-20 ...SALE

ORDER NO. 86.977

ered. The passing of owner-ship relative to "when" is akey element and should bespelled out in the sales agree-ment.

Observe filing requirements asoutlined in the PACA trust reg-ulations.-Written notice must be re-ceived by a PACA office within30 calendar days after the"past due" date.

- Written notice must also beprovided to the debtor (buyer).

Provide complete and accurateinformation as requested onthe filing notice.

-Included with this article is aform titled "Perishable Agri-cultural Commodities Act Noti-fication of Intent to PreserveTrust Benefits/Single Trans-actions."

- Review this form prior tomaking a sales agreement.

sion of the PACAamendmentwas also used to protect funds.

The fact that the opportunityexists for producers to file aclaim and that producers areusing the PACAtrust provisionsto assure prompt paymentshould eventually shorten thetime between shipment andpayment. The intent, of course,is that buyers will not want aPACAclaim filed against them.

The following is a checklist toserve as a reminder of what youneed to do in order to protectyour rights.

Familiarize yourself with therequirements for PACAtrusteligibility.-Contracts must call for max-imum 30 day payment.

-You must file an intent topreserve rights with the debtorand the USDAwithin 30 daysafter the contractual pay periodhas lapsed as each shipmentbecomes past due.

- Contracts calling for payment31 days or longer are notcovered under the PACAtrustprovision and are NOTELIGIBLEfor protection.

If you agree to prompt pay,you are agreeing to paymentin 10 days. If you agree topayment between 11 and 30days, you must:- Agree to the pay time in writingprior to the transaction.

-Be sure that each party hasa copy of the payment agree-ment.

- Include the terms of the pay-ment agreement on all docu-ments that pass between youand the buyer relative tothat transaction.

Clearly specify in the salesagreement terms for "receiptby buyer, " i.e., transfer ofownership.-The buyer must take posses-sion, control or ownership. Thisis part of the agreement at thetime of sale. The two most com-mon terms are FOB and deliv-


The Discussion Topic isused by Community Ac-tion Groups for monthlypolley discussions.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

In the last two decades Ameri-can agriculture has become anInternational business. Thevalue of U.S. ag exports grewfrom less than $8 billion an-nually In the late 1960s to morethan $.34billion In 198.3.

Exports represent as much as60% or more of the total mar-ket for some major commodi-ties, and many commoditygroups and marketing firms areheavily Involved In export salesand In development of foreignmarkets.

During the last decade foodImports have also increasedrapidly, from less than $5billion annually prior to 1970 toapproximately $19 billion now.Imports of farm and food sys-tem inputs are also increasing.

Thus U.S. and world marketsare becoming increasingly in-tegrated In direct consumptionImports, as well as In exportsand Imports that affect ag in-dustries. This increased Integra-tion has both advantages anddisadvantages.

On the positive side It has ledto unprecedented growth in agproduction which has Increasedfarm Income and employmentIn the food system. On the neg-ative side, this Increased In-tegration means that marketsfor U.S. farm products and in-puts are subject to political andeconomic changes around theworld over which we have nocontrol.

U.S. agriculture is dependenton foreign buyers, but foreignbuyers are also dependent uponU.S.supplies. The instabflityresulting from this Interdepen-dency complicates both produc-tion and marketing decisions Inthe short run and creates aneed to adapt domestic farmand food policies to conditionsIn international markets.

26

For the future, the questionposed is how these markets canbe developed and stabilized tobe consistent with U.S.produc-tion capacity and national in-terest, and to avoid the kinds ofshocks that arose in the early1970s.

International vsDomestic Policy

International policy as well asdomestic policy and the link be-tween the two will be crucial tothe future development of theAmerican farm and food system.

The policy framework is com-plex. It involves issues relatedto trade and the rules govern-ing international commerce aswell as aid, development ofpoor countries, food security,and the restructuring of worldindustrial systems. It is an areawhere opposing philosophiesoften collide concerning therole of free markets versus theneed for government interven-tion to establish trade arrange-.ments and develop rules of thegame concerning proceduresfor handling international trade.

International policy alsoclashes with domestic policyand the assumed sovereignright (or political necessity) ofmost governments to followpolicies that reflect solely theirdomestic interests, rather thanaccepting concessions that im-prove the functioning of inter-national markets and encour-age movement toward improvedworld economic welfare.

The United States needs anapproach that defines and im-plements the internationalaspects of a composite domes-tic International food and agpolicy. This is a major task thatwill require the input of many

groups and involve the mostdifficult of political processes.Central to this effort will bedealing both domestically andinternationally with policiesthat encourage orderly growthin international markets andgenerate market stability.

During the past decade fluc-tuating rates of growth in agtrade and wide price swingshave been the order of the day.This causes producers to facegreat uncertainty in makingproduction decisions, generatesmerchandising problems for agindustries, and affects consum-ers, especially those who arepoor. Longer term implicationsflow from the potential effecton investment in agricultureand growth in production, bothin industrial countries and poorones.

Trade BarriersMarket growth and greater

stability would result if signifi-cant reductions could beachieved in trade barriers main-tained by major importingcountries. While progress has'been made in reducing somerestrictions for ag products,others remain at previouslevels, and in some cases, pro-tectionism has increased.

The major problems continu-ing to face the United States arethose that result from the com-mon ag policy in the EuropeanEconomic Community (EEC)andthe import quotas and otherrestrictions in Japan. Theserestrictions are based ondomestic protection levels,which in turn reflect the prob-lems of the economic structurein their ag systems.

Japan, for example, has ap-proximately six million farmerswho farm a total of about six


million hectares of land. Thismeans that the average farmsize is 2.5 acres. While Euro-pean farms are somewhat lar-ger, there are still a largenumber of very small farmers.These farms can subsist onlywith relatively high price sup-ports.

The problem thus becomeslong term and can be overcomeonly through economic restruc-turing of these ag systems.

While both Japan and the EECmaintain high prices relative tothose in exporting countries, aparticularly difficult problemhas arisen as a result of the im-balances -in production createdby the EEC's policies. Majorsurpluses of dairy products,soft wheat and poultry haveresulted in the use of exportsubsidies to generate sales ofthese products in third worldmarkets, which in turn displacesales by the United States andother lower cost exportingcountries.

Assisting DevelopingCountries

Another dimension to be con-sidered is that ag trade policiesgeared toward assisting devel-opment in poor countries willcontinue to be important.

These less developed coun-tries are asking that their devel-opment interests be consideredand that policies be devised toserve this end. They argue thatsimply reducing trade barriersis not adequate -and that otheractions to improve their posi-tions in international marketsare needed.

Whether these countries'development can in the longrun be best served by policiesthat increase their foreign ex-change, such as preferencesand international commo~ityarrangements, is not clear.Nonetheless the U.S. objectiveof assisting development will


continue to be significant informulating a comprehensiveU.S. ag trade policy.

Expanding world food produc-tion will also continue to be animportant element of futureU.S. ag trade policy. Existingtrade constraints in many im-porting countries inhibit in-creases in food production inthe U.S. as well as in a numberof other countries with thepotent~al for greater produc-tion, some of them developingcountries. Beyond this the ques-tion of expanding production infood deficit poor countries con-tains a set of trade and aidpolicies of great complexity.

u.s. Food andAg Trade Policy

A final point - food and agtrade policies need to promoteefficient resource use and con-tribute to the economic well-being of U.S. agriculture. It isimportant that these policiesassure the continued strengthand stability of the U.S. foodsystem. Consumer interestsmust be protected through acontinuing and adequate supplyof food from domestic and in-ternational sources.

Formulating trade policy isobviously very complex, and in-volves a wide range of in-struments and strategies re-lated to reduction in trade bar-riers, food reserves, food aid,preference arrangements withless developed countries andcommodity agreements. A strat-egy which weighs the effect ofeach policy instrument is re-quired. Abrupt shifts in tradepolicy that create an unduecost on either consumers orproducers should be avoided.

Historically, U.S. objectives iginternational trade negotiationshave been relatively clear-cut,as has the leadership positionof the United States in interna-tional commercial matters. Nei-ther of these conditions now ap-

plies to the same degree as inthe past.

For the future, there is adefinite need to sort out U.S.policy objectives that affecttrade within the framework ofag trade, industrial trade andinternational monetary phe-nomenon. For example, the U.S.government is faced with im-mediate pressures to place re-strictions on automobile im-ports and to develop domesticsourcing requirements. Anotherapproach would be for govern-ment to provide leadership toreduce the technology gap andrestrain cost increases thatcreate the problems in these in-dustries.

At present the U.S. govern-ment needs to more preciselydefine issues and articulate ob-jectives in a broad range of in-ternational policy matters and,in particular, to relate domesticand international policy ac-tions. Also there apparently isnot a clear perception of the ex-tent to which the United Statescan continue to provide a lead-ership role and assert its wishesin international negotiations.

If we are to continue to be ef-fective in forming policy thatserves the national interest ofthe United States, these short-comings must be overcome.

Discussion Questions• Do you think current ag tradeconditions are fair or unfair tofarmers?

• Is U.S. agriculture doing all itcan to compete in worldmarkets?

.Should the U.S. assist indeveloping agriculture in poorcountries?

The discussion topic is basedon a report prepared by VernonL. Sorenson of Michigan StateUniversity as part of the Cooper-ative .Extension Service's "TheFarm and Food System in Tran-sition" project.

27

Name

Address

Your Florida vacation home is waiting for you at ...

Ag in the Classroom(continued from page 22)

tivities while Mike provides in-formation with statistics, suchas how much milk each cowgives," said Anne.

"We conduct the farm tours inMay and the teachers are so ex-cited that they will ask if theycan come back again the nextyear because of the positivereaction from the children andtheir parents."

Effectively communicatingwith children in the nurseryschool to seventh grade level isa natural for Anne, who is aformer school teacher. "1 thinkthat's why I can do it so easilybecause I know how to reachthe level of the children," shesaid. "The tours are a simpleway of letting children have funon the farm and yet portray apositive image of agriculture.

"Both Mike and I get so ex-cited after the children havebeen to the farm that we're on ahigh for the rest of day. Wejustlove to let the children knowhow great it is to be farmers,"said Anne.

"It's a real positive experiencefor the children and we havehad some go home after thetour and say, 'Mom, I'm gonnabe a farmer.'"

Janice Child is editor of FBIO'sCrossroads publication, amonthly magazine for insuranceagents.

"1 try to bring people into theFarm Bureau family," said FBIGagent Jack Alexander. "1 takethe time to explain the b~nefitsof membership, and probablythe main reason why peoplechoose to become members isthe service they will receive -both from me in terms of theirinsurance needs and from Mich-igan Farm Bureau."

Extra Effort(continued from page 19)

a strong, reliable, and informedorganization," Stempky said.

Bill Copi, an agent in MonroeCounty, believes in the organi-zation and finds presenting thebenefits of membership enjoy-able.

"1 concentrate on certainmember benefits: the memberlife insurance policy, theBuyers' Service, the grouphealth program and the acci-dental death and dismember-ment policy, and I present theFarm Bureau Mutual auto poli-cy, which is a very good pro-gram at a very fair price. Thebenefits are impressive andmake membership attractive tomany, many people."

In Berrien County, most of thepeople involved in farming arealready members, and newmembers, by-and-Iarge, are liv-ing in town. But agriculturalissues are important to most ofthe people, and membership inMichigan Farm Bureau is oneway to stay informed and be in-volved.

One of the goals of this newFarm Bureau was to influencelegislation that would improvethe welfare of the farmer.

By the end of the year, theMichigan State Farm Bureauhad more than 22,000 mem-bers, and was part of the newlyformed national Farm Bureauorganization.

It was a big step forwardwhen in 1922, the MichiganPotato Growers Exchange, theMichigan Milk Producers Associ-ation, the Michigan LivestockExchange, and the Michigan El-evator Exchange became af-filiated with the Michigan StateFarm Bureau.

Today Michigan Farm Bureaucontinues to grow. With a mem-bership of over 89,000, it con-tinues to develop policies at thegrassroots level which ultimate-ly influence the internationalbusiness of agriculture.

RL 8/85

Zip

Phone (-.-.J

State

City

ORANGE MANORMOBILE HOME PARK

-All adult, 40-plus environment -Recrea-tional clubhouses -Fishing lake with pier-Two swimming pools -16 shuffleboardcourts -Located just two miles south ofCypress Gardens

MASON SHOE MFG. CO., Dept F-6881251 First Ave.Chippewa Falls, WI 54774Ra.h gUint free catalog and .tarting kit to:

NAMEADDRESS

CITYSTATE

Please send me more information onOrange Manor Mobile Home Park.

Earn $10 to $20 per hourin your neighborhood

write orders for Mason ShoesPresent the Mason Shoe catalog to neighbors,relatives or friends. Let them thumb through the

pages, over 400 up-to-date shoe styles.Then take their order. Their deposit

-from $3.00 to $18.50 per pair-isyours to keep. That's right, you getpaid before the order is sent toMason. No investment ... ever.

Catalog and sales tools are free.(Get started, just send the

coupon below to Mason.)MASON SHOE MFG. CO.

1251 First Ave.Chippewa Falls, WI

54774

For more information call or write:

Orange Manor Mobile Home Park18 Kinsmen Drive

Winter Haven, FL 33880813-324-4968

Country Ledger(continued from page 5)

president, treasurer and secre-tary. The secretary would man-age the bureau and would bethe only salaried officer (at$2,500 a year). The other of-ficers would rule on policiesand have administrative controlover the secretary. They were toreceive $10 per day for attend-ing board meetings.

Membership dues would be$50 a year for county FarmBureaus. Individual farmerswould pay nominal dues of 50ftor $1.

28 RURAL LIVING, AUGUST 1985

Legislative Review Over four million acres are has helped many farmers by(continued from page 8) now enrolled in P.A. 116 with a providing information on

steady flow of new applications. finance, health, legal problems,a person, when able, to accept Where farmland is being sold, it tax questions, employment, re-another kind of job that is as is essential that the landowner training, etc.good as or better than the check with the DNRto learn Another very successful partprevious job. This one change proper procedures before com- of the program is the MSUEx-would save large amounts of pleting the sale. tension Service's emergencymoney and not harm anyone. Serious legal problems have management assistance teams.The current law is one reason resulted because of the failure The EMATexperts meet withwhy Michigan has trouble com- to use the proper procedure, farmers to work on financialpeting with other states. however, most problems can be management, livestock and

avoided by contacting the DNR crop management, stress prob-Taxation I Capital Gains - in advance of the sale. lems, tax problems and other

The House exempted agricul- "Tax Planning When Buying or areas of need. Farmers reportture from the 150% increase in Selling a Farm," publication that this program has proventhe capital gains tax as pro- #43, is available from your very valuable. For more infor-posed in the governor's tax county Extension office. This mation call the toll-free numberpackage. This exemption is im- publication was revised in 1984 or your local Extension office.portant to livestock producers, and can be very helpful in

especially dairy and hog farm- avoiding serious federal taxLansing legislative topics are

ers, and also when farmland is problems due to changing IRSreviewed by Robert E. Smith,

sold. regulations.senior legislative counsel.

FB testimony strongly op-posed the tax increase on capi- Part-Time Legislature -tal gains as well as the pro- Another petition drive has beenposed tax on all insurance pre- announced to require a part-miums. Communication with time Legislature and cut sa1-state representatives by FB aries nearly 60%, from $36,520members statewide had a sig- to $15,000. Expense allocationsnificant impact on securing this would also be cut. Over 300,000agricultural exemption. The ef- signatures are needed to put it

ftlACftlA IIfort to defeat the insurance on the ballot in 1986.premium tax lost by a very nar- Legislative sessions would berow margin. limited to four months with 15 Summer Frozen SaleAll the 12 tax bills go to the special session days for emer-Senate for consideration in the gencies. Provisions for the Featuring ...fall. governor calling special ses-

sions are included. Michigan fresh-frozen fruitsP.A. 116 - H.B. 4788 has This will be an issue for coun- and vegetables. meats.

been introduced to require P.A. ty FB policy development.SOUPS. and concentrates ...

116 refund checks to be made Wisconsin cheeses ...out to both the county trea- Farm Loan Increase - Gov. Florida concentrates Be nut~surer and the landowner if a Blanchard has signed H.B. 4690paid tax receipt was not attached (Rep. Dodak) into law increasing ... other quality productsto the refund form. In many the emergency loan programcases the refund has not been from the original $70 million to When onlY the bestused to pay the taxes due. Cur- $139 million. The loans are is good enough ..•rently, only a copy of the prop- handled by banks and PCAs.erty tax statement is required. This is only one part of the ... Farm Bureau membersH.B. 4789 is a similar bill program which includes a toll- order MACMA products!which would apply in the same free hotline to the MDA -manner to property tax rebates 1-800-346-FARM. The hotline

Order Deadlineon homesteads. The homesteadtax rebate is available to all

AUGUST I. 1985homeowners, farmers andrenters. To .llce Jroar order contlct

Jroar coantJr firm Barela.


30

State Fair(continued from page 23)

The annual contests that ratecontestants' skills in batontwirling, pie eating, hog calling,Christmas tree decorating, whit-tling, bubble gum blowing,sheep shearing and more aredaily events popular with bothparticipants and spectatorsalike. Of special note are theState Fair Body Building Cham- .pionships for men and women(Aug. 31) and the Queen ofQueens contest that crowns the1985 Miss Michigan State Fair(Aug. 28).

The best in county fair com-petitors are honored with aluncheon on County fair Home-maker Day (Aug. 28). Communi-ty arts exhibits display the bestin domestic arts, including bak-ing, canning, needlework andcrafts.

Civic and service groups willparticipate in programs andparades on their own specialdays. Shriners' Day is set forAug. 30 and Veterans' Day isAug. 31. Senior citizens are ad-mitted free until 3 p.m. on Aug.26 and service clubs are wel-comed on Aug. 27.

All this and more is includedin the $4 general admissionprice. Children 11 and underare free when accompanied byan adult.

Fairgoers who have not vis-ited the State Fair in recentyears will be pleasantly surpris-ed. More than $10 million of im-provements in buildings andlandscaping have revitalized thefairgrounds, resulting in the at-traction of more than half amillion people to last year's fair- a modern day recordl

For more information on anyof the Michigan State fairevents, call 313-368-1000.


FARM BUREAU MARKET PLACE

FARM EQUIPMENT MISCELLANEOUS REAL ESTATE NURSERY STOCK

Name

Address

OFarm Bureau member ONon-member

CLASSIFIED AD POLICY

Berry Plants - Raspberries, strawber-ries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries,others. free catalog. Maklelskl BerryNursery, 71:50 Platt Road, Dept. RL. Ypsi-lanti. Mich. 48197. Phone 31:5-4:54-:567:5.

(11-12t-22p)

------------------------

Run the following ad in the Issue(s):

- Farm Bureau members pay 25 cents per word for allclassified advertisements.

-All other advertisers pay 50 cents per word for one insertionand 45 cents per word for two or more consecutive insertionsof the same ad.

-All advertisements are subject to a IS-word minimumcharge. including member ads.

- Please indicate If you are a Farm Bureau member.-The deadline for ads is the first Monday of the monthpreceding publication.

-All ads must be pre-paid and may be pre-paid up to oneyear in advance.

-It is the responsibility of the advertiser to re-Insert the ad ona month-by-month or year-by-year basis.

-The publisher has the right to reject any advertising copysubmitted.

-No ads will be taken over the phone.

Fill out form below and mall to:Rural Living, P.o. Box 30960, Lansing, Mich. 48909

85 acres. tillable. Hog ranch. finishingset-up. Excellent buildings. 4-bedroomquality house. One mile south of Ar-mada. Owner. Phone :51:5-784-9476.

(8-20p)

REAL ESTATE

Shelt1e (mini-collie) pups. Shots andwormed. Ready for father's DaylBeautiesl Phone 517-423-3069.

(7-2t-13p)

Registered Australian ShepherdPups. Good workers and super familydogs. Blue merle and black and white.Zielland farms. Phone 517-874-4616.Port Austin. (8-2t-21 p)

DOGS

Adorablel Furry "Jingle bell snow-suits" fit cabbage patch dolls. $10.75p.p .. Sue Teichman. 1371 S. Aiken Road.Owosso. Mich. 48867. (8-18p)

Scholarships. thousands availableregardless of Income, grades or financialneed. We guarantee college and highschool students five sources they qualifyfor. Most completing our short question-naire receive over 20. Send $:5 for Infor-mative brochure and questionnaire (re-fundable). Nationwide Scholarship finders.Box 2257, Lynchburg, Virginia 24501.

(8-46p-ts)

Satellite Antenna Brokers l'Ieeded -no experience required. Buy direct fromdistributor. Bypass middleman. Whole-sale $499. Retail $1,195. Call day ornight: :503-636-0663 or write: Antenna,P.O. Box 15236. Colorado Springs. Col-orado 80935. (2-tfn-:53b-ts)

Part-time sales opportunity - MajorU.S. shoe manufacturer seeks sales peo-ple to handle an established line of over400 styles. No travel. No Investment.Earn extra money In your own local areaduring your spare time. Write for detailsto Vic Mason. Mason Shoe Company.Dept. K-927. 1251 first Avenue, Chip-pewa falls. WI 54774. (8-54p-ts)

Used railroad ties - Good to excellentcondition. Removed from recently clos-ed rail line. Phone 906-477-6273.

(8-15p)

(6-12t-18p)

Duroc Boars and Gilts sound anddurable. Delivery available. JimPrevlch. 8147 forrlster Road, Adrian.Mich. 49221. 517-265-4112.

Grain Dryers - Stormor Ezee-Dry. farmfans Automatic, Used Dryers. PTO andAutomatic. Hamilton Distributing Com-pany.616-751-5161. (6-12t-17p-ts)

WAI'ITED: 1'1.1. cornplcker and I'I.H.field equipment. Phone 517-52:5-280:5.evenings. (2-12t-10p-ts)

Performance tested Angus breedingstock and crossbred club calves. Rea-sonably priced. Delivery available. Bord-ner Angus farms, Sturgis. Mich. Call616-651-835:5. (7-6t-20p)

LIVESTOCK

Complete Line of l'Iew and Used Irri-gation Equipment - Also equipmentfor manure pumping and spreading bygun, tanker, or InJection. PlummerSupply. Inc .. 1-800-6:52-77:51.

( 1-12t-2:5p)

All steel buildings-factory - Mustsell certified one of a kind. by Sept. 15.24x25 was $4,2:59 need $2,94:5; 40x40was $7.090 only $4.477; 50xloo was$16.925 sacrifice $9.994. Call Bill616-698-7600. (8-:52p-ts)

Dieterle Corrledale sheep. give shearpleasure. Breeding stock. Blue ribbonfleeced flock. Spinning fleece's. phone:51:5-429-7874. (5-12t-15p)

Hog Equipment - Dei-Air heat ex-changers. Osborne feeders. K.G. John-son farrowing crates. Chore-Time feed-Ing. Mix-Mill systems. Hamilton Distri-buting Company, 616-751-5161.

(6-12t-17p-ts)

Milking Shorthorn: Young bulls. year-lings and calves for sale. Write or visitStanley M. Powell and family. Inglesidefarm. Route 2. :5248 Powell Hwy .. Ionia.Mich. 48846. (8-6t-tfn-27b)

FOR nOMEMAKERS

Fantastic salamI. hamburger or venl-son.Send $2 and SASE to: Recipe, Box61. Decatur. Mich. 49045. (8-15p)

1'I0rtheast Michigan - Beautiful ranchhome on 78 acres with spring fed pond.Onaway loam. B-slope. Excellent farm-land. I1Ox55 barn. Super termsl Mustseel Contact Real Estate One of LakeHuron. 517-:556-3494 or Jan Varga.517-766-8192. (8-33p-ts)

Words lnsertlons TotaIDue _

------------------------I RURAL LIVING. AUGUST 1985 31 I

It'sa good feeling to know you're doingyour best ... and it's a good feeling tohave Universal Life working for you.

Youput your life into your farm, givingyour best to make it a success. Youwant onlythe best ... and that includes the best lifeinsurance protection for you and your family.

Universal Life from Farm Bureau LifeInsurance Company of Michigan gives youthe best in many ways: low-cost lifeinsurance protection, a high rate of intereston your cash accumulations, and flexibilitythat lets you increase or decrease protectionas needed.

Youcan tailor your coverages - andyour payment plan - to change with yourneeds. You can even add lump sums of cashat any time to take advantage of the highinterest, or withdraw cash without payingpenalty fees.

Michigan Farm BureauRural Living MagazineP.O. Box 309607373 W. Saginaw Hwy.Lansing, Michigan 48909

The policy also offers tax-deferredinterest, a non-smoker's discount, aridoptions that let you add coverage on otherfamily members.

Come to us for the best policy for you -Universal Life. See your Farm BureauInsurance agent today.

Making your futurea little more predictable

FARM BUREAUINSURANCE

GROUefARM 1lRAU!N1UAl • fARM 8l1lI.AU If I • fARM IllRAU GI '-'IRA! • fB ANr(ID

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLansing. Michigan

Permit No. 37

Documents

WIN! - archive.lib.msu.edu · irresponsible cop out - a route they chose rather than making decisions based on the many hours of testimony on Farm Bill '85. Not only would mandatory