Introducing Michigan Farm Bureau'sNewest Service to Member Program

What IS

The Family Saver?Most major brands available at discounts up to60%!

The Family Saver "Quik Quote" System is aservice that was designed to help save youhundreds of dollars on major purchases thatyou may make in the coming years.

We can be your purchasing agency byeliminating much of the middleman's highmark-up and pass these savings on to you. Nopressure to buy, only our help in saving youmoney.

How can wedo this?

AppliancesFreezersDishwashersWashers and dryersRefrigeratorsRangesSmall appliancesMicrowave ovens

Electronic EquipmentStereosScannersTelevisions

MiscellaneousFurnitureCarpetingBox springs and mattresses

Photography equipmentLawn and garden equipmentPower toolsLampsFireplacesWood furnacesLuggageWatchesMusical equipmentLawn furniture

Sporting GoodsArchery equipmentHunting equipmentPool and game tablesRods and reels

Very simple. We order merchandise directfrom the factory or distributor and ship itdirectly to you or to a warehouse near whereyou live. We do not have the high cost of in-ventory, or large warehouse and showrooms,sales commissions, etc. As your purchasingagent to help you save money, we also havesome retailers who are interested in increasingtheir volume and thus giving them larger buy-ing discounts by brokering their productthrough our great purchasing power.

What does it cost?This NEW member service, costing only $25 forthe first year and $15 thereafter annually, allowsyou to get unlimited pricing information via a tollfree number. This program compares favorablywith ones costing up to $795 annually. For detailson this new member service refer to the Serviceto Member Program brochure included with yourdues notice or contact your county Farm Bureausecretary.

All merchandise is brand new and carries full factorywarranties with nationwide local service.

-----------------------------Michigan Farm Bureau Buyer's Service Enrollment Form

Please complete and mail along with your check ormoney order to:

Michigan Farm BureauMember Service DepartmentP.O. Box 30960Lansing, MI48909

Date

Membership Number

Farm Bureau Membership Name(as shown on membership card)

Address

City

State and Zip

Telephone No.

Amount Enclosed

Michigan farm /'fewe RURAL LlVI/'fO (155/'f 0016.1161): Michigan Farm News Rural Living Is published monthly. on the first day. by the Michigan farm Bu.reau Information and Public Relations Division. Publication and editorial offices at 7:37:3West Saginaw Highway. Lansing. Mich. 48909. Post Office Box :30960;telephone. Lansing 517-:32.3-7000. Extension 508. 5UBSCRIFTIO" PRIC~: $ 1.50 per year to members. Included In annual dues. $:3.00 per year non.membersIn Michigan. $5.00 per year non-members out of state. Publication No. .345040. Established Jan. 1.3. 192.3 as Michigan Farm News. name changed to MichiganFarm News Rural Living Dec. 1. 198 I. Third-class postage paid at Lansing. Michigan and at additional mailing offices. EDITORIAL: Connie Turbin. Editor; Mar.cia Dltchle, Associate Editor and Business Manager; Donna Wilber. Contributing Editor; Cathy J. Klrvan. Copy Editor. OfflC~R5: Michigan farm Bureau; Presl.dent. Elton R. Smith, Caledonia; Vice President. Jack Laurie, Cass City; Administrative Director. Robert Braden. Lansing; Treasurer and Chief financial Officer.Max D. Dean; Secretary, William S. Wilkinson. DIR~CTOR5: District I, Arthur Bailey. Schoolcraft; District 2. Lowell Eisenmann. Blissfield; District .3. JamesSayre, Belleville; District 4. Elton R. Smith. Caledonia; District 5, Albert Cook. Mason; District 6, Jack Laurie. Cass City; District 7. Robert Rider. Hart; District 6.Lyle LeCronler. freeland: District 9, Donald Nugent. frankfort: District 10. Margaret Kartes, West Branch: District II. Bernard Doll. Dafter. DIR~CTORS ATLARO~: Dave Conklin. Corunna; Michael Pridgeon. Montgomery: Robert Rottler. fremont. fARM BUR~AU WOM~": faye Adam. Snover. fARM BUR~AUYOU"O fARM~RS: Mark Smuts. Charlotte. POSTMASTER: In using form .3579. mall to: Michigan Farm News Rural Living. P.O. Box .30960. TJ7.3 West SaginawHighway. Lansing. Mich. 48909.

Economic, Environmental IssuesDominate Policy Considerations

14

Getting Their Act TogetherVolunteers in seven Michigan counties

are reporting and hosting a weeklyTV program for farmers and consumers

In this issue:

THE COVERModern structures ofAmway Grand Plaza reflectnew image for Rural Livingmagazine.Photo by Marcia Dltchle

JANUARY 1983VOL. 62 NO.1

County Newsletter - pages 18-19Farm Bureau Market Place - page 20Agrinomic Update - page 25Discussion Topic - page 26

22

COLUMNSRural Route - page 4

Country Ledger - page 5Legislative Review - page 6Front and Center - page 16

Letters to Rural Living - page 17

10

Delegates Build MFB Policyfor 1983 at Grand Rapids

Farm Bureau's 1983 policyintegrates founding principles withnew and changing farm businesses

FARM NEWS

A publicationalthe

MichiganFarm Bureau

No Rubber stampSessions at MFBAnnual Meeting

Members In action Im-pressive display forMf8 President Smith.

Standing at the podium dur-ing our resolutions session atthe recent annual meeting, Ithought: wouldn't it be great ifevery Farm Bureau membercould witness this action. In allmy years as president, I havenever seen such a fine displayof using our organization as theproblem-solving vehicle that itis!

With the farm economy in thecondition it is today, someobservers might have expectedour delegates to be so weigheddown with personal concernsthat it would be difficult forthem to operate positively andconstructively. This was defi-nitely not the case and it wasanother illustration (which I'veseen so many times in the past)of "when the going gets tough- the tough get going."

It was, indeed, a "tough"delegate body that wrestled withthe position statements ad-dressing the challenges we face.They were not a "rubber stamp"group of delegates. It was evi-dent they had done their home-work. They were aggressive, ar-ticulate, questioning, well-disciplined, well-informed andobviously worthy of beingselected' by their counties forthe important role of adoptingpolicy for the state's largest,most influential farm organiza-tion.

4

The lively discussion and de-bate during the resolutions ses-sion was one of the most con-structive it's ever been mypleasure to witness. There weremore amendments than usualand many divisions of theHouse. This was indicative, Ibelieve, that the delegates werethinking ahead to the executionof the policies they were adop-ting - and they wanted them tobe "right" for them, their indus-try, their state and their nation.

The lively discussion anddebate during the resolu-tions session was one ofthe most constructive it'sever been my pleasure towitness.

Wehad some difficult deci-sions to make during this ses-sion - on political action, thefarm program and the dairyprogram. I was proud of theway they faced up and tookpositions on these issues withno hedging and very definitedirection. This took courageand dedication and while wemay have had many calls for di-vision of the House, I am confi-dent we did not go home a di-vided house.

To handle such a "tough"delegate body, we had an equal-

ly tough state Policy Develop-ment Committee. How fortunatethis organization is to havesuch high-quality leaders thatwill contribute their time, ef-forts and creative thinking tosolving problems!

The result of this problem-solving session is a solid policybase from which Farm Bureauwill operate this year. I'm notonly very comfortable with thatpolley base - I'm proud of it -and of the people whodeveloped it.

We proved, through the poli-cies we adopted at the annualmeeting, that our organizationlives, grows and changes, asdoes the industry it represents.It must do so. You, the mem-bers, live, grow and change andthe organization must reflectyou.

The next step is executing thepolicies we've developed andI'm very confident that YOUwillmake it happen.

Elton R. Smith,PresldentMichigan Farm Bureau

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

COUNTRY LEDGER

Comfort Zones vs. ChallengeBy Donna Wilber

We've known each other for along time, dear readers -maybe not by name or face, butwe've been a part of the sameteam. I started out checkingyour name on the membershiprolls against the mailing list ofthe Michigan Farm News tomake sure you were well-inform-ed about your organization andI grew up to be the editor ofyour Farm Bureau publication.

In terms of growth, if notyears, I was still a baby when Istepped up and introduced my-self to Challenge and said, "Iknow I'm going to have to leavemy comfort zone to wrestle withyou, but Farm Bureau sent meinto this arena and I mean towin." Farm Bureau has beenpushing me out of my comfortzone ever since.

I can really relate to thosecounty FB newsletter editors wehad at our state annual meetingthis year. Weshoved them outof their comfortable zones onthe delegate floor sidelines intothe tense atmosphere of a newsroom charged with the pressureof beating deadlines and drag-ging words out of tired bodies

• and souls whether or not theywere ready to be born.

Weshoved them out of thecomfortable zones of using can-ned releases into the backstagedrama of news conferenceswhere it took courage to com-pete with aggressive news re-porters and camera people toask questions and get a goodphoto shot.

Never again will these countynewsletter editors be satisfiedto stay home and use the"second-hand" news releasessent to them by the state office.And that's the way it should be.Once people stretch and grow,they can never be satisfied withwhat they had, what they were,

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

before it happened to them -before they made it happen.

I've been very comfortablehere in this zone, sharing mybackstage views, my personaland professional concerns andhopes, sharing some laughsand a few tears with you, andI'll still be around to do that oc-casionally. But comfort is adanger signal and it's time tostep up to Challenge again andbecome uncomfortable.

It was you, by your example,who taught me to do that. And,wherever that pursuit of dis-comfort takes me, you'll betraveling on the same ship withthe same course. At each land-mark, we'll ask, "How we dothat? Can we do it again?" Andthe answer will always be, "Yes,we can," - and we will.

Uow'd YouDo That?

By Connie Turbin

I met an interesting man atthe annual meeting this year.He didn't shake my hand. Hedoesn't even know my name,but we definitely met becausehe reached out to me during hispresentation and renewed thesense of wonderment and ex-citement of going after achallenge.

Lewis Timberlake was justone of the tremendous speakersat the Michigan Farm Bureauannual meeting, but I was most

impressed with his genuine in-terest and obvious delight inthe "stuff" that winners aremade of. "How'd you do that?"he asks the winners in sports,business, education and inorganizations like Farm Bureau.He is in awe of the abilities ofthe individual and it shows.

That question got me startedTuesday night and when I look-ed around at all of the winnersgathered in Grand Rapids forthe MFBannual meeting, thequestion kept recurring. How'dyou do that?

There were, of course, thewinners who received plaquesand plaudits for their accom-plishments in FB programs, butthere were also winners at everytable in the delegate session.Every person at the MFBannualwas a winner. They are winnersbecause they aren't satisfiedwith the status quo - for them-selves or for their organization.

In Farm Bureau, it's thesechallengers who "make it hap-pen." Challenge yourself andyou can make it happen.Whether it's membership goalfor your county FB or a new roleas county FB president or com-mittee chairperson.

Let's be honest and admitthat there's another questionwinners ask themselves: "Why'dI do that?"

Why did I say yes to this lea-dership position? Why did I addvolunteer work in Farm Bureauto an already busy life? Forthese people the answer isbecause easy won't get it. Theysee a job to be done and theydo it. They recognize a challengeand they step right up and in-

(continued on page 33)

5

L E G I S L A T I V E R E V I E W

Tax Increases Passed for Road Maintenance

Transportation "User Tax" - Even though the need for revenue to finance state and local road repairs has been a legislative issue for several months, it was given up as a dead issue during this session.

Suddenly, due to the leader­ship of a few legislators, it was revived, rewritten and passed by the Michigan House. It then ran into some obstacles in the Senate but was finally passed at the last moment. Briefly, the legislation would:

•Increase the fuel tax 2t per gallon based on a formula copied from the Ohio plan.

•Increase auto licenses 15% (this was cut from 30%).

• Change the license fee method on cars sold after Oc­tober 1983. The fee would be 4 /10% of the value for the first year and be reduced 10% per year for the next two years and remain at that figure thereafter.

• Increase commercial vehicle licenses 30% (cut from propos­ed 45%).

• Maintain the 90-10 alloca­tion approved by the voters in 1978. (90% for road purposes, 10% for comprehensive transportation, which has been about 8.3%.)

• Require that 90% of the monies go for highway mainte­nance.

• Continue the diesel tax discount.

• Leave the fees on farm trucks and wagons the same as they were.

Extension of the sales tax to auto and appliance repairs and other services was removed from the bill. At one time it also included sales tax on farm machinery but Farm Bureau

was successful in getting this provision removed early in com­mittee consideration.

Final passage of the legisla­tion and signing by the gover­nor was dependent on what happened to the federal high­way legislation being con­sidered in Congress. Part of Michigan's share of any new federal revenues will be needed to make the comprehensive transportation of the Michigan road revenue package work.

School Transporation -Farm Bureau has had several inquiries on whether a school board is required to provide transportation. The Michigan Court of Appeals for the second time in recent months has ruled that a school board can discon­tinue transportation because of lack of funds.

One of the cases involved the Alpena schools where the voters had turned down a tax millage. The Circuit Court ruled that the state has a constitutional duty to provide transportation. In re­versing the local court, the Court of Appeals pointed to lan­guage in the constitution that states: "The Legislature may provide for the transportation.''

The court further said that the Legislature has the power but not the duty to provide for free transportation. The court also ruled that present law does not require schools to provide transportation services.

So far no one has decided to take any of the cases to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Unemployment Compensa­tion - This has been a serious economic and political issue fqr months. The Legislature finally faced this controversial issue during the last days of the "lame duck'' session. Michigan

employers owe the federal government over $2.2 billion. Without reforms this would be $4 billion by 1986 at 10% in­terest.

The Senate passed S.B. 892 which was modified in the House. The House version was rejected by the Senate and as Rural Living goes to press, the bills are still in a conference committee. Briefly the major provisions are:

•Increase the present $6,000 taxable wage base to $8,000 in 1983, $8,500 in 1984, $9,000 in 1985 and $9,500 in 1986.

•Double the present tax rate for the account reserve (ABC) from .25% to .5% and increase the maximum tax rate from 2% to 3%.

•Phase out the present limiter of .5% by raising it to 1% in 1983, l»/2% in 1984, 2% in 1985 with total elimination in 1986.

•Charge extended benefit costs to the individual em­ployers' experience account in­stead of the present general ac­count.

•Disallow present federal (FUTA) offset tax credits. It would not apply to any em­ployers with a "negative bal­ance." A "negative balance'' employer is one whose em­ployees take out more than is put in. "Positive balance"' employers put more in the fund than is taken out. Agricultural employers are about 50-50 be­tween positive and negative.

•Create a new "solvency tax" against negative balance em­ployers to be paid whenever in­terest must be paid to the fed­eral government on borrowed funds. The new tax starts at .5% in 1983 and rises to 2% in 1985 and thereafter.

RURAL LIVIHG, JAHUARY 1983

• Freeze unemployment bene­fits to present maximum ($197) through 1986. Hew maximums would be determined in 1987.

• Cut weekly benefits from the present 70% of "after tax earn­ings" to 65%. In 1987 it would return to 70%.

• Increase the present 18 qualifying weeks to 20 weeks.

• Increase the present 20 times the minimum wage to qualify ($65) to 30 times ($100).

• Provide an alternative qualifer at 20 times the state average weekly wage regardless of the duration of employment.

Several other provisions were offered but were defeated, in­cluding the waiting week, "co-pay" which would require em­ployees to contribute to the unemployment fund at .5% of their wage, "sunsetting" the legislation, etc.

While the debt must be paid employer costs will rise in Mich­igan.

Farmers are liable to the unemployment tax if their pay­roll is $20,000 or more in cash wages in any calendar quarter of the current or preceding year or if they employ 10 or more people for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks during the cur­rent or preceding year. The weeks need not be consecutive and the workers need not all be working at the same time.

Natural Gas Price Freeze -Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to deal with rapidly rising natural gas prices. Prices for the fuel are increasing despite excess supplies and shrinking de­mands.

In the Senate, two bills have been introduced to address this concern. S. 3069 proposes a

Farm Bureau Welcomes Cooperation With New Governor

A happy governor-elect, James Blanchard, posed with MFB Senior Legislative Counsel Robert E. Smith at a recent reception for Blanchard held at MSU's Kellogg Center.

Democrat James Blanchard will be inaugurated as Michi­gan's new governor on Jan. 1, 1983, and for the first time since 1936 the Democrats will have control of the state's three legislative branches - the House of Representatives, the Senate and the governor's of­fice.

Blanchard will have an esti­mated 175 to 180 appoint­ments to make, including most department heads, numerous boards, commissions and his personal staff.

He will also be faced with a

very serious state financial sit­uation. In spite of major cuts for education, welfare and other state responsibilities, it is estimated that the 1983 budget is out of balance by at least $500 million. Outgoing Budget Director Gerald Miller has told the new governor and legisla­tive leaders that he believes tax increases will be necessary.

The new governor has said he will welcome Farm Bureau's in­put in his efforts to work with all segments of Michigan's economy to promote jobs.

freeze on gas prices for two years to give Congress time to work on a long-term solution. S. 3070 would void "take-or-pay" clauses negotiated in producer-pipeline contracts when sup­plies are short. Both bills are expected to be offered as

amendments to the Senate energy and water appropria­tions bill.

In the House, 30 co-sponsors in the northeast-Midwest coali­tion have introduced H.R. 7373. The bill would require pipeline companies to provide the lowest priced gas available.

(continued on page 32)

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Delegates Build MFB Policy for 1983 at Grand Rapids

Tarm Bureau's 1983 policy in­tegrates the founding principles with the new and changing world in which farmers now conduct their businesses.

10 RURAL LIVMG, JAPIUARY 1983

Discussion and debate by dele­gates exemplified dedication to policy building.

The annual meeting of the Michigan farm Bureau and af­filiate companies draws over 1,000 farmers to Grand Rapids each year for the organization's major policy making event, elections, volunteer recognition and discussions. At the 63rd annual meeting, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, that number included over 500 voting delegates from county Farm Bureaus statewide.

Farm Bureau members have been meeting at Qrand Rapids for 10 years, with a brief hiatus

in 1979 and 1980 while the former Pantlind Hotel and con­vention center underwent major changes. Reopened in 1981,the Farm Bureau convention return­ed to the new Amway Qrand Plaza Hotel and adjoining con­vention center, which now of­fers larger, improved facilities.

True to the vision of its plan­ners, the Qrand Plaza is a world class hotel, but that vision was built on the existing foundation of the venerable, old buildings that served the Farm Bureau conventioneers for many years. The renovated and expanded facilities restored the original beauty and dignity of the old, complemented by the new arch­itecture, glass skylights, elevated walkways and spacious meeting rooms.

In this atmosphere of glass, steel and concrete, leaders of Michigan's largest general farm organization reflected upon the foundations of their own organi­zation.

They recognized that the structure of Farm Bureau must integrate the founding princi­ples of the past with the new and changing world in which farmers now conduct their business. In their role as leaders, they accepted the challenge to plan with vision for Michigan's agricultural indus­try.

Cooperatives Meet

The four-day session opened Tuesday, Nov. 30 with the an­nual meetings of Farm Bureau Services, Inc., and Farmers Pe­troleum Cooperative, Inc.

In his address to the coopera­tives' leaders and members, President Elton R. Smith said that there has never been a time when farm operators need to be as aware of changes tak­

ing place in the farm marketing structure as today.

"The cooperative is an organi­zational tool to deal with this changing structure/ ' he said. "How well that tool works de­pends upon the user. Users of cooperatives have a challenge. They need to make their coop­erative as competitive as possi­ble.''

Cooperatives are expected to be innovators with ideas to find new markets and new uses for Michi­gan grown products.

Strong leadership, manage­ment and farmer support for co­ops will be needed to meet that challenge, and Smith added, in good times or bad, cooperatives are expected to be leaders.

"They are expected to be in­novators with ideas to find new markets and new uses for Michi­gan grown products and meth­ods to lower marketing costs and increase yields,'' he said. "In practice, as well as in theory, cooperatives are an ex­tension of the farm itself. They are an integral part of the total farming enterprise that allows farmers to extend themselves into the marketplace so that they can compete more effec­tively."

The theme of cooperative marketing was also emphasized during the annual meeting of the Michigan Agricultural Coop­erative Marketing Association, where members discussed chal­lenges to the state's marketing and bargaining law (P.A. 344).

Smith told MACMA members that the Michigan Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of the act and, in related processor action to

RURAL LIVIHG, JAIWARY 1983 11

oppose P.A. 344, severalamendments to the act havebeen proposed.

"We will need to protect thebasic concept of the act as ameans of price discovery forraw product," he said. "As agrowers' association, we mustwork closely with the leadershipof processing cooperatives toassure that P.A. 344 will benefitall growers."

Smith listed enactment of na-tional farm bargaining legisla-tion as another priority forMACMAmembers in the yearahead.

"I believe it is imperative thatfruit and vegetable producer in-terests work to create recogni-tion of the need for nationalbargaining legislation," he said."We must convince the adminis-tration and congressional lead-ers that such legislation is im-portant to the survival ofspecialty crop growers."

Commodity Sessions AddressMarketing Orders. Bankruptcy

Farm policy and programsmust be set by the USDA,tak-ing into account the realities ofthe marketplace - not by Officeof Management and Budget bu-reaucrats, Congressman DonAlbosta told members attendingthe Wednesday morning com-modity session.

Albosta specifically addressedthe future use of marketingorders administered by theUSDA.He said there was nomove in Congress or in theHouse Agriculture Committee,of which he is a member, to ap-prove new legislation relating tomarketing orders.

Concern for the future ofmarketing orders became anissue this year when the OMBintervened to deny the requestof the nation's cherry growersfor a 20% crop set-aside. ForMichigan growers, the OMB ac-tion meant the loss of millionsof dollars.

12

Commenting on the U.S. farmeconomy, Albosta said, "theU.S.must make better use ofexport credit and find morecreative solutions such asbartering surplus grain andmilk for strategic materials,minerals and oil to enhance ournational security.

DONALD ALBOST A

"We have the opportunitythrough our farm groups,through our representatives inCongress and through the USDAto put together an effectivefarm program that will onceagain return prosperity toAmerican agriculture," he said.

Carol A. Shamka, supervisorof the Michigan Department ofAgriculture's Industry AuditSection, also addressed thecommodity session. She review-ed amendments to the MichiganGrain Dealers Act which offersfarmers a basic protection mech-anism against bankruptcies.Requirements under law man-date minimum net assets forgrain dealers at $20,000, state-ment of ownership, insurance

or bonding of the business al;}dapproval of forms used by thedealer to assure conformitywith the provisions of the act.

A significant addition to theact, Shamka said, is the require-ment that financial statementsfor the grain dealer must beprepared by certified public ac-countants or accredited accoun-tants. This requirement is con-sidered to be instrumental inpromoting uniformity and reli-ability and allows early detec-tion of a financially troubleddealer.

She advised farmers to be-come aware of the requirementsunder the law relating to theuser of scale tickets and pricelater agreements to obtain thefullest protections.

Delegates SeekCreative Solutions

Addressing Farm Bureau dele-gates at the 1982 MFB Presi-dent's Luncheon Wednesday af-ternoon, Elton Smith challengedall members to work together tofind creative solutions to theeconomic problems facing farmbusiness people today.

"While we may be unhappywith prices and income ... wehave the opportunity to attemptto improve ourselves ... I hon-estly believe that there is ananswer to the problems whichface agriculture, the economyof this nation and the world,"he said.

Pointing to the legislative, in-formation and public relationssuccesses of the organization,Smith said that still more canbe done and he emphasizedthat the work of Farm Bureau inthe year ahead will revolvearound broader involvement ofmembers.

"To successfully achievethose policies which weadopt ... we need the assistanceof every member," he said.

Smith warned that unlessfarmers identify solutions to thecritical economic problems fac-ing agriculture, and make a

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 1983

Young MFB Members "onoredcommitment to successful im-plementation of those farmer-adopted policies, the "curecould be worse than theillness." Farmers cannot affordto sit back and allow politiciansand bureaucrats to "solve"agriculture's problems to thesatisfaction of government, hetold the delegates.

Smith closed his address byreminding members that thesuccesses of Farm Bureau donot happen by themselves.

"The power to achieve thesegoals comes from you," he said."You make it happen."

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

Talented, dedicated Farm Bu-reau members arrived by thecarload at the MFBannualmeeting, but one young womanreturned home this year with a1983 Chevrolet S-10 pick-uptruck and the title of theMichigan Farm Bureau's YoungFarmer Discussion Meet winner.

Laurie Isley of Lenawee Coun-ty, who will represent MFBinnational Discussion Meet com-petition at Dallas this month,was just one of the many win-ners recognized at the annualmeeting at Grand Rapids.

Also selected to represent thestate at the AFBF convention inDallas were Gary & Marta Car-michael of Osceola County. Theyoung dairy couple will com-pete with young farmers fromaround the country for the titleof AFBF's Distinguished YoungFarm Couple.

Laurie Isley, Christine Wizner andMarta & Gary Carmichael wereaward winners at the state annual.

For Christine Wizner of Clin-ton County, her role as 1983Outstanding Young FarmWoman will take her to Wash-ington, D.C., in April where shewill be among the spokesper-sons for agriculture during theMFBWashington LegislativeSeminar.

Membership AchievementsHonored During Annual

For their outstanding achieve-ments in the 1982 membershipdrive, campaign managers from

13 counties were inducted intothe prestigious "Fabulous Fif-teen."

Those honored at the CountyPresidents' and Campaign Man-agers' Banquet were Jack Hon-kala, Iron Range; Arlie Schep-perley and Don Davis, Clare;Vern Rasmussen, Emmet; BobKartes, Ogemaw; Keith Ram-thun, Muskegon; ClarenceDavis, Benzie; Terry Baker, St.Joseph; Jim Vantine, Oakland;Jan Stoner and Paul File, Cass;Berrien County; Alvin Gaertner,Monroe; Lester Langeland, Ot-tawa; and David Dieck, Genesee.

Also honored were countypresidents who earned a Presi-dent's Golden Award Trophy.Criteria for this award includesa 5% gain over the previousyear's membership quota andachieving target membership,an increase in regular members.

Golden Trophy award winnerswere Eugene Fleming, Otsego;Betty Anne Anderson, Mecosta;Clifford Poehlman, Cass; andDonald Sisung, Clinton.

The 1982 Target Award win-ning counties were Chippewa,Clare, Kalkaska, Otsego, Che-boygan, Gladwin, Manistee,Mecosta, Ogemaw, Barry, Cass,Oceana, Allegan, Clinton,Huron, Ottawa and Sanilac.

Excellence in CountyPrograms Starred

Forty-three county Farm Bu-reau presidents took the spot-light when they were called onstage during the annual awardsprogram to accept gold starsfor outstanding programachievements.

Two presidents, Robert Hes-selink of Chippewa County andHarold Werderman of MacombCounty, accepted honors fortheir county Farm Bureaus as

(continued on page 33)

1.3

Economic, Environmental IssuesDuring the two and a half

days of MFBpolicy sessions,Farm Bureau delegates from thestate's county organizationsreviewed, debated, amendedand added to the 127 policyresolutions presented by thestate Policy Development Com-mittee.

The 512 farmer delegatesrecognized the need to workwith the new governor and thenearly 60 new members of theMichigan Legislature to makethem aware of the importanceof agriculture and the need forexpansion of the industry inMichigan.

They called for continuationof work on recommendationswhich resulted from the Gover-nor's Conference on Agriculturein 1981. Those recommenda-tions included increased porkproduction, a modern meatpacking plant, a soybean pro-

14

cessing plant, development ofanhydrous ammonia manufac-turing facilities and attractinginvestors for a hard cheese pro-cessing plant in the state.

The delegates adopted strongpolicy opposing any legislationwhich would interfere with ordisrupt accepted animal careand management practices.They also opposed attempts togive animals legal or constitu-tional rights. Delegates urgedland grant colleges and theUSDAto continue research anddevelopment programs whichwill enable farmers to improvethe care and management oflivestock and poultry.

On national and internationalissues, the Farm Bureau dele-gates adopted recommenda-tions dealing with the national

farm program, agricultural ex-ports and imports, agriculturalcredit and federal marketingorders. These recommendationshave been forwarded to theAmerican Farm Bureau Federa-tion for consideration by votingdelegates at the national an-nual meeting in Dallas thismonth.

The following state resolu-tions address crucial economicand agricultural issues facingMichigan residents and busi-nesses in the year ahead:

Agricultural Development inMichigan

The 1981 Governor's Confer-ence on Agriculture helped tofocus attention on the agricul-tural industry as an importantand vital part of Michigan'stotal economy. We recommendthat the work started at the

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

Qo

~ II

!k

Dominate Policy Considerations1981 conference be continued,including a periodic review andassessment of our industry.

The 1981 conference empha-sized several specific areas forthe expansion of agricultureand food processing in Michi-gan. Potential areas suggestedinclude increased pork produc-tion, a modern meat packingplant, a soybean processingplant, development of anhy-drous ammonia manufacturingfacilities and attraction of ahard cheese processing plant.Wewholeheartedly supportthese specific areas and othersthat will provide for economicgrowth in Michigan.

Animal CareFamily farming and the way

farm animals are raised haschanged significantly in the last20 years. These changes resultfrom the need to meet con-sumer demands, to respond tochanging economic conditions

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

and improve animal health. Noone has greater concern for thecare of farm animals than thefarmer who raises them.

New research and devel-opment programs enablefarmers to improve thecare and management oflivestock and poultry.

We urge Farm Bureau mem-bers to respond knowledgeablyto misleading information onanimal care. Members shouldcontinue to tell the successstory of modern animal agricul-ture in the schools and to theconsuming public, and utilizepositive public relations tech-niques for mass media use.

We recommend that the Mich-igan Department of Agriculture

maintain a high priority in itsbudget for animal health pro-grams not only for the good ofagriculture, but also for theconsuming public.

Weurge our land grant col-leges and USDAto continue andinitiate new research and devel-opment programs which willenable farmers to improve thecare and management of live-stock and poultry.

We oppose any legislationwhich would interfere with ordisrupt accepted care and man-agement practices. A system forsafeguarding the proper care ofanimals now exists and if prop-erly enforced will provide thenecessary protection animalsneed.

Weoppose any attem pts togive animals legal or constitu-tional rights. Wefurther oppose

(continued on page 27)

15

FRONT 8l. CENTER

nunger is no longer a problem that exists only in distant. foreign countries: it's aproblem in Michigan. It's happening just down the road, across the street, in rural areas aswell as in the cities, In response to the governor's recognition that an emergency does exist inthe state as a result of its depressed economy, the Michigan Farm Bureau has agreed to par-ticipate in an industry-wide program to bring food to those who need it most. Farmers,agricultural organizations and commodity groups, retailers, processors and packers, andagribusiness will be involved in the effort.

Donations of agricultural products and financial contributions will be used to bringMichigan-grown products to soup kitchens and agencies that distribute food to the needy.Passage of H.B. 4122, which protects retailers, processors and packers from liability for dona-tion of food in good condition to those in need, gives a boost to the effort.

County Farm Bureaus are being contacted regarding farmer participation in the program.Robert Braden, MFBadministrative director, and Larry Ewing, director of the MFBInformationand Public Relations Division, have been designated as "farmer coordinators" for the program.

Membership kick-off meetings are underway throughout the state as FB leadersprepare for a goal getting membership campaign in 1983. These information and trainingmeetings for county FB campaign leaders will be continuing through mid-January. Be sure toattend! A successful membership campaign depends on the involvement of every member.Statewide membership goal for 1983 is 78,924 member families.

Take the first step by renewing your FB membership for 1983. The membership yearends Dec. 31, 1982. Don't forget that eligibility for some FB member services and programswill end Jan. 31, 1983 for those who have not renewed their membership.

Japan has pledged to present a new package of trade concessions early next monthin reply to U.S. demands for the liberalization of Japanese markets. U.S. trade representativestold Japan that a failure to respond swiftly and positively to proposals for opening Japan'smarkets almost certainly would result in new U.S. trade barriers.

AFBFPresident Robert Delano has returned from the 88-nation General Agreementon Tariffs and Trade (GATT)conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where he served as anagricultural advisor to U.S. trade representative William Brock. Delano said the U.S.should meetthe increasing emphasis of foreign subsidies stealing our farm markets by confrontation andretaliation. He suggested counter-subsidies utilizing U.S.carryover stocks to recover marketmargins lost to subsidized European producers.

The Federal Land Bank of St. Paul's new interest rate will be 11.75% effective Jan. 1,1983 for all farm loans. This is welcome news to member borrowers, who have been experi-encing low commodity prices and higher rates for money to keep their farms operating.

Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc. has sold the Breckenridge Service Center tothe Breckenridge-Wheeler Cooperative, Inc., one of FPC'smember cooperatives. The co-op willcontinue to serve customers in Gratiot County (excluding the northwest corner) and south ofM-20 in Midland County (excluding the city of Midland). FPCrecently acquired a petroleum bulkplant in Mt. Pleasant to more efficiently serve customers located north of M-20 in MidlandCounty, in the northwest corner of Gratiot County and in the city of Midland.

I'IFBdelegates unanimously nominated Elton Smith to his 18th term as I'IFBpresident.He was re-elected to the post during the re-organizational meeting of the 16-member board ofdirectors in Grand Rapids, following the close of the MFB annual meeting. Also re-elected to theMFB board's executive committee were John Laurie, vice president; and Donald Nugent, thirdmember.

Re-elected to their positions as district directors were Lowell Eisenmann, Blissfield; LyleLeCronier, Freeland; Margaret Kartes, West Branch; Elton Smith, Caledonia; and John Laurie,Cass City.

Incumbent at large directors Robert Rottier of Fremont and David Conklin of Corunna werealso re-elected. New board members are Faye Adam, Snover, representative for Farm BureauWomen, and Mark Smuts, Charlotte, Young Farmer represent~tive.

16 RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

LET T E R S TO R U R ALL I V I N G

Cballenging FutureThe staff of the Ypsilanti Farm

Bureau Association would like toexpress our support and willing-ness to help in any way we canduring the Farm Bureau Ser-vices, Inc. reorganizationaltransition. We know how impor-tant a vote of confidence can be.Webelieve in your organizationand we believe in what FarmBureau Services stands for.

Perhaps the good news is that. this is probably the most inter-esting and challenging time forcooperatives. If we generate en-thusiasm and support, we'll allbe here to continue to servefarmers. If not, then coopera-tive organizations may becomea thing of the past. Only timewill give us the answers to thequestions that keep us allawake at night. Only time willtell us if we should have sleptinstead of paced.

We have appreciated the sup-port of Farm Bureau Services inthe past and are ready to dem-onstrate our support to younow, so get your trucks pointedtoward Ypsilanti.Angelo L. PecoraGeneral ManagerYpsilanti Farm Bureau Assn.

Farmers of tbe WeekThe farmer of the Week program, co-

sponsored by farm Bureau InsuranceGroup and the Michigan farm RadioNetwork, honors Michigan farmers fortheir contributions to the communityand the agriculture Industry. fivefarmers were honored In November1982:

Nov. 1 - Herman Openlander, 68,raises 150 acres of cash crops nearGrand Ledge. He Is active In theWacousta United Methodist Church andserved on the church board, Is assessorof Watertown Township and Is a mem-ber of the Wacousta Masonic Lodge andthe Clinton County FB.

Nov. 8 - John Elsenga, 42, farms 500acres and milks 120 cows In partner-

(editor's Note: This letter Is oneof many received by FBS Presi-dent elton Smith, expressingconfidence In the success of thecooperative's reorganization, an-nounced Oct. 4, 1982.)

That's tbe Spirit."Reaching for a Dream," an

article in the December issue, isexcellent! Unfortunately not allof us are 100% all of the timewhen it comes to using safepractices. Craig Burns shows usthat those who wish to remainin agriculture can overcomephysical handicaps.

Craig's spirit to overcome andadapt is what our workshop onMarch 22 and 23 is all about.Join us at the MSUAg Engineer-ing Farmers' Week workshop forfarmers/ growers with physicalhandicaps. This article is veryvaluable to our agriculturalsafety program goals, concernswith positive attitude, and en-couragement toward continuingin Michigan's agriculture as aprimary occupation, even if youhave to adapt. I hope yourreaders agree with me.

Howard J. DossAg Engineering, MSU

ship with his brother, David, nearMarlon. He Is active In the HighlandChristian Reformed Church; Is anOsceola County fB member and pastdiscussion leader of his community ac-tion group; Is a past board member ofthe Highland Township Association,formed to benefit local farmers par-ticipating In 011 lease sign-up; and Is amember of DHIA, MMPA and MABC.

Nov. 15 - Laverne Eldred, 50, andhis family operate a .32Q-acre dairy farmand milk 65 cows near Blanchard. He Ison the Mecosta County 4-H Council andthe local ASCS committee; is a countyfB member and served six years on theboard, Including two years as president;is a member of the local UnitedMethodist Church; and has served eightyears as a township trustee.

(editor's Note: For further Infor-mation about the workshop forfarmers with physical handi-caps, contact Howard Doss atthe Ag Engineering Dept., MSU,east Lansing, Mich. 48824; orphone 517-353-3737.)

I really enjoyed the article inthe December Rural Living onCraig Burns, a young amputee.It was a very heartwarmingstory, demonstrating the cour-age and determination oftoday's young farmers.

The article also brings to ourattention a question that hasonly recently begun to be ad-dressed. The question that con-cerns me and many other farm-ers is: If rescue personnel hadreached Craig in time to savehis arm, would they have hadthe knowledge, skill and equip-ment to respond in a farm acci-dent situation without causingfurther injury?

The Kent County Young Farm-ers, with the assistance of theDavenport College EMSunit, ad-dressed this question last Aprilwhen they sponsored an Ag Ac-cident Rescue Seminar at alocal high school. It was an all-

(continued on page 29)

Nov. 22 - frank LipinskI, 48, farms400 acres and milks 45 cows near Buck-ley. He Is on the MMPA board, has beenlocal MMPA president for 1.3years, wasKingsley Co-op president for nine years,Is a 1.3-year member of the townshipboard of review and serves on the ADAboard. He Is on the Michigan DairymanMarket Program Temporary Committee,Is a past president of the Dairy Councilof Michigan and earned the 198.3 Dairy-man of the Year award from MSU.

Nov. 29 - Gary Spicer, .32, a cashcrop farmer from Hanover, farms 600acres with his father, Ray. He Is on thecounty ASCS committee, serves on theJackson County fB executive commit-tee and was co-chairperson of the 1982fB membership drive. He has also beenactive in 4-H activities.

'~';(umR;'AUL~L1~V~IN;'O~,-J-;:A;;N;'U:;A;;R;'Y;-:;19~8;.3~----L---------------1------ --117

([ount!!JltwsltttttThrough My Kitchen Window

Some Thoughts for the Farm Bureau New YearBy Eunice Dancer, Editor

Jackson County NewsletterToday as I look through my kitch-

en window, it is snowing. A freshsnow does so much to add beauty. Itis too bad we cannot have a freshsnow to make our world fresh andfree from hunger and strife.

As we start this New Year weshould ask ourselves, how can I bet-ter serve my fellow man? May Imake one suggestion? Get more ac-tive in Farm Bureau. First join (weare given this choice each year asFarm Bureau is strictly voluntary)and then participate in Farm Bureauactivities. You can serve all agricul-ture by being aware of the currentproblems and by being ready to dis-cuss them. Maybe we cannot comeup with any concrete answers or so-lutions, but by discussing them theycan become more clear.

Sometimes we think we are toobusy or too small to do anything,

but we aren't. No one is too busy notto try to better one's position. Byworking with others through FarmBureau, a lot can be accomplished.You know it takes little drops of

water to make a mighty ocean.As you can gather from the above,

I am hoping you will renew yourmembership in Farm Bureau. Thismonth we are all interested inmembership and hope that we canreach our goal. If your neighbor isnot a member, why not ask him tojoin. Membership applications areavailable at the county office.

I hope you all had an enjoyableholiday season. We did at theDancers. It got a little hectic attimes but we are so thankful that welive in the United States where wecan celebrate the birthday of ourLord. Now I only hope I can feel thatthankful when I start figuring outand paying our income tax andSocial Security. I'm afraid I'll com-plain a little about Uncle Sam'shand in my billfold. Maybe weought to pay our income tax onChristmas when we are full of thespirit to give.

Counties Selected for New IOperation Grassroots' ProjectGratiot, Jackson and Kent County

Farm Bureaus have been chosen byMichigan Farm Bureau to tryout anew concept of grassroots involve-ment. It has been named "OperationGrassroots: Farm Bureau's Profile forTownship Action."

In recent years, participation inCommunity Action Groups has drop-ped drastically. Since as a grass rootsorganization Farm Bureau needs in-put from local farmer members, astudy was made on how to gain in-volvement at the grass roots level."Operation Grassroots" is the resultof this study.

"Operation Grassroots" will con-centrate at the township level,which is the basic unit of govern-ment in rural Michigan. The conceptof "Operation Grassroots" will havethe director representing a townshipconduct meetings in the localtownship. The director will invitelocal farmer members to a localmeeting.

The objectives of these meetingswill be to: surface farmers' needs -economic, social, legislative andlocal; surface and develop leader-ship, increase members' knowledgeof service programs; provide educa-tional opportunities for all mem-bers; use Farm Bureau as a tool toachieve members' needs; and ex-pand opportunities for member in-volvement through Farm Bureau.

When the director for your town-ship calls you and invites you to an"Operation Grassroots" meeting, besure to attend and help surface localproblems and ideas, and discusssolutions and ways in which theFarm Bureau organization can helpor be helped. As a member it is notonly your privilege but your duty tobe a contributing member.

These meetings will not only be achallenge but should prove in-teresting and educational. Whatfarmer doesn't enjoy talking withanother farmer about crops, prices,

weather, etc. This will be a great op-portunity to do this. So when youget your invitation, say YES!

If you are interested in attendingthe meeting held in your townshipeither contact your director or coun-ty secretary.

Branch FB PresidentHeads Soybean Committee

Gary Albright, Branch CountyFarm Bureau president, has beenelected chairperson of the MichiganSoybean Committee.

The committee is responsible forallocating soybean check-off fundsto research projects and marketdevelopment.

Have a greatNew Year!

Award Winning Young Farmers Display Talents at State Annual

Gladwin County Member Receives Life MembershipRapids. Paul & Laura Lange ofBeaverton, who were earlier hon-ored at the Gladwin County annualmeeting with a life membership,were also recognized by the stateorganization for being a FarmBureau family for nearly 66 years.

The Langes were among the spe-cial guests at the Michigan Farm Bu-reau annual banquet on Dec. 2, andagain at a District 8 breakfast thenext morning where Paul was pre-sented with a gold pen.

He joined Farm Bureau in 1917 inChampaign, Illinois. He moved toMt. Pleasant in 1939, then back to Il-linois in 1951. He and Laura movedto Gladwin County in 1961 where hehas remained actively involved inFarm Bureau.

dence that the building plan is work-ing is the 1,200 acres of tillable landand the 500 head of Holstein cattle.The expansion program worked outby this year's Distinguished YoungFarmer now also includes a newpartner, Gary's younger brother.Carmichael says that a managementplan and constant farm operationanalysis and evaluation is absolute-ly necessary.

Bill McPhee of Huron County wasthe first runner-up in the Distinguish-ed Young Farmer contest. Otherfinalists were Kurt Fisher of GratiotCounty and Brian Benedict of EatonCounty.

Paul Lange accepts a lifetime membershipin the Gladwin County Farm Bureau fromFritz Kliewoneit, county president.

"Very Important Pioneer" was thedesignation given to a GladwinCounty Farm Bureau couple duringthe MFB annual meeting in Grand

Harvest Time for Membersl)ipJanuary 1 - March 1

Renew your membership in thenation's largest farm organi-zation and continue to reapthe benefits.

For more informationcontact your countyFarm Bureau secretary.

farm, the Wizners turned it into afruit and vegetable operation. Theyhave opened a farm market and of-fer Pick-Your-Own service to theircustomers as well.

Other final ists in the OutstandingYoung Farm Woman contest wereDeAnn Sattelberg, Tuscola County;Maria Sandow, Midland County; Re-becca Somers, Saginaw County; PatTirrell, Eaton County; and LaurieIsley who was chosen as first runner-up.

Expansion of a family farm opera-tion was the blueprint for Gary Car-michael when he went into partner-ship with his father in 1975. Evi-

The competition in the MFBYoung Farmer contests held duringthe state annual meeting, Nov.30-Dec. 3 in Grand Rapids, was stiffthis year, with judges having tomake hard choices to declare a win-ner. When the results were in, LaurieIsley of Lenawee County was thewinner of the Discussion Meet,Christine Wizner of Cl inton Countywas MFB's 1983 Outstanding YoungFarm Woman and Gary & Marta Car-michael of Osceola County won theDistinguished Young Farmer title.

Discussion Meet competition wasespecially exciting this year becauseof one of the prizes - use of thetruck that "took America by storm,"the Chevy S-10 pick-up. In additionto the truck provided by the Chevro-let Division of General Motors, Isleywill represent MFB at the nationalDiscussion Meet held during theAFBF annual meeting in Dallas thismonth. Last year's state DiscussionMeet winner, John Young of St. ClairCounty, was a finalist in the nationalcompetition.

Isley said she participated in thisyear's Discussion Meet determinedto take the statewide title, havingbeen runner-up in 1981, and prepara-tion was the key to her success. Isleystarted four notebooks, one for eachof the announced topics, and col-lected articles, prepared openingand closing statements and kept alist of facts and statistics.

She and her husband, James, livenear Palmyra. They farm 200 acresof cash crops. Isley is a teacher ofvocational agriculture and is FFAadvisor at Blissfield High School.

First runner-up in the contest wasPaul lefts of Mecosta County. Otherfinalists were Neal Sanford of Jack-son County and Dale Kettler of Sag-inaw County.

Christine Wizner of Laingsburghas come a long way to become the1982 Outstanding Young FarmWoman titleholder. Both Wiznerand her husband, George, were rais-ed in Saginaw. The couple dreamed:>f a future in farming and in 1976,they purchased their farm in ClintonCounty.

Formerly a cash crop and beef

. FARM BUREAU MARKET PLACE

CLASSIFIED AD POLICYMembers pay 10ft per word for non-commerlcal ads and 15ft per

word for ads which promote a commercial business other than ag-riculture. All other advertisers pay 20ft per word for one insertionand 15ft per word for two or more consecutive insertions.

The deadline for advertisements is the first Monday of themonth preceding publication and the publisher has the rightto reject any advertising copy submitted. All ads must be pre.paid and may be pre-paid up to one year In advance. Please In-dicate if you are a Farm Bureau member. It Is the responsibility ofthe advertiser to re-insert the ad on a month-by-month or year-by-year basis.

Send ads to Rural Living. P.o. Box 30960. Lansing. Mlcb.0\8909. ~o ads will be taken over the phone.

FARM EQUIPMENT

Por Salel VlICd Storage Taak •• 6000to 20.000 gallon capacity. Vertical orhorizontal. Phone 616-798-1805.

(8-6t-15p-ts)

Por Salet 197" lateraatloaal Tractor966. 20.8-.34 tires: 2.400 hours. cab.heater. 100 hp diesel. Very good condi-tion. Call 517-764-4.38.3. (11-.3t-20p)

_aatedl New Idea single and narrowrow corn pickers. New Holland forageharvesters and Ford tractors. H.C.t.C..Inc. We pay cash. 517-523-280.:5.

(7-12t-22p-ts)

1979 JD 18"00 tractor. 1975 JD4400D combine. 4-row L1l11ston culti-vator. JD .3-16 plow. Call .31.:5-662-66.:56.

(I-17p-ts)

Parrowlng Stans - All steel $154 ..32.Includes feeder-waterer. top rail. rumprail. Weighs 1961bs. Free literature. StarrNational. 219 Main. Colchester. IL62.:526. .:509-776-.3446. (1-24p-ts)

FARM EQUIPMENT

"E"'CYCLOrEDIA or A"ERICArIrAil" TIlACTOas:' Covers tractorsfrom 1800s to 1979 • .352 large pages.1.500 photos. $28.95. "150 Yr.ARS OfINTr.RNATIONAL HARVr.5TOR:' coversall tractors and equipment. 2.000photos, 416 pages. $28.95. SPtCIALI80th above hard leatherette books.$49.95 postpaid. Diamond Farm BookPublishers. Dept. MFN. Box 5.:57, Alex-andria Bay. NY 1.:5607. Phone 613-475-1771. (l-5.3f-ts)

LIVESTOCK.anted nolsteln nelfer. - will pur-chase any quantity good quality. well-bred. fresh or springing heifers. B/W orRI W. registered or grade. 517-423-58.31.

(l2-2t-22p)

Dieterle Corrledales "give shear plea-sure." Four bred ewes. choice of nock..:513-429-7874. (l-2t-12p)

LIVESTOCK

"liking Sbortbora.t Young bulls.yearlings and calves for sale. Write orvisit Stanley M. Powell and Family, In-gleside Farm. Route 2• .3248 Powell Hwy ..Ionia. Mich. 48846. (1()'6t-12p)

Dairy Cow Leaslag SerYlce - Increaseproms of your dairy herd by leasing ad-ditional good quality. young Holsteincows. Reserve early to assure availabili-ty.517-42.:5-58.:51. (l2-2t-24p)

Top qaallty poultry at reasonableprices. Chicks for eggs. meat or novelty.Also Guineas, Goslings. Ducks. Turkeys.Picture brochure 50~. Country Hatchery.Wewoka. Oklahoma 74884. (1-6t-24p-ts)

Corned ale sbeep breeding stock . .:51.3-429-7874. (H2t-5p)

free catalog. wbolesale prices. Reds.Cornish Cross. Barred Rocks. WhiteRocks. Sexllnks. Leghorns. Turkeys.Ducks. Reich Poultry Farms. RD1. Marlet.ta. Pennsylvania 17547. (1-6t.21 p-ts)

flock of registered Suffolk ewes.Bred to lamb In January-February . .35ewes. 1 buck. 10 ewe lambs. Good pro-duction. young - M5U and Heitz breed-Ing.517-655-2995. (l.27p)

Purebred nampsblre boar •• ByronWaddell. Charlotte. 517-54.:5..:5415.

(I-7p)

Baalam. - I" breeds. Black 5l1kles.White SlIkles. Golden Sebrlghts. SliverSebrlghts. Cochlns. Cornish. Araucanasand others. Also standard and rare breedchickens. Free catalog. Grain BeltHatchery. Box 125-6. Windsor. Missouri65.360. (1-6t-32p-ts)

DOGSSbeltle rup. ("Inlture Collie). All col-ors. Ardyth Schroeder. 7080 BlllmyerHwy.• Tecumseh. Mich. 49286. 517-423-.:5069. (12- 2t-15p)

MISCELLA"EOUS

Save f"OOt Cookware. elltra beavy419 piece staInless steel sold through In-home demonstration at $595. Now avail-able direct only $189.9~. Only 100 setsfrom bankruptcy. Order now to avoiddisappointment. 100% refund If return-~ed within 10 days unused In original con-dition. Send check. money order. VIsa Q,T

Mastercard number and expIration date.-'Yankee Trader. 4600 Stein Road. Ann Ar.bor. Mich. 48105. $1 for brochure .....

(12-6t-65p-ts)

Book Salel Uardcover •• fl.OO eacblOver 400 titles: fiction. western.mystery. Chlldren's series books and ....classics. Two 2().cent stamps for list.Olenn Smith, Box 151.3. Akron. Ohio44:s<>9. () 2-2t-28p-ts) ~

.anted: rlre. police aad medical ..patcbes. Any business. co-op or service.Can purchase. Mike Starr, tMT-A. P.O.Box 101. Hadley. Mich. 48440. (1-22p)

Little calico or glagb.m clotbbouse. cover U•• ue bolle •• Boutlque~size. $7 p.p.: regular size. $8 p.p. Yourchoice color. Send check or money orderto Sue A. Teichman. 1.:57) S. Aiken Road.Owosso. Mich. 48867. (1-.31p)

Pure maple .yrup and syrup maker'ssupplies. Dodd's Sugar Shack, Niles.616-68.3-.328.:5evenings. () 12t-13p-ts)"

$10.000 pos.lble posltlyely la twoweeks or 1e8S1Remarkable but factuallDetails $1.00 plus seH-addressed.stamped envelope. KNOW Publications. -4

) 460 Patterson Road. Midland. Mich.48640. (1-26p~

Name _ FOR IIOMEMAKERS ---------------~Address _

Run the following ad in the Issue(s):

Ofarm Bureau member. oNon-member

!'tutsll Quart e.cb pecan halves. pecanpieces. walnuts. Three-quart sampler.$14.95 postpaldlll Canecreek Farm. Box2727-MF. Cookeville. TN 38501.

(2-12t-20p-ts)

NISCELLA"EOVSWby Ole Wltbout a WII11 Two legal"will forms" and easy Instructions. Only••... Order Todayl Ouaranteedl TY-Company. Box 752-MF. Pryor. OK 74361.

() -6t-22p-ts)

"Conquer narmful Aager 100•• , .... Win love, health. power. securl.ty. Vernon Howard 800klet. $2. NtWLlFt.80x 684.AO. Boulder CIty. Nevada8900~. (9-6t-20p-ts)

REAL ESTATE

Selllag A P.na? Wanted: Dairy - Beef -Hog - Cash Crop - Horse - Poultry - Or- t'chards and Berry farms In Tuscola. Bay.Huron, Sanilac. Lapeer. From $100.000to $1.000.000. can be stocked and""equIpped. 5«. write. call United FarmAgency - National Brokers. ) 764 1"1.24.Caro. Mich. 4872.3. Phone 517-673-6888."

(1()'5t-45p-ts)

Tbree bedroom modular m.aufac-tared In 1979 by Active nome •• usedas summer residence. r,,,cellent condl- ~tlon. Must be sold and moved to settleestate. Price $21 •.300 Includes set up on 4

your foundation. For particulars: Penta.1.:595 WIlliams Road. Petoskey. Mich.49770. (11-6t-.38p~

Words lnsertJons TotaIDue _

lOCH free tblng •• wortb baadreds ofdollar •• simply by asking. Directory$.:5.00. Dry cleans clothing for only IOCper garment: amazing new product$2.~ each package • .:5Just $5.00. Howto live longer. book $4.00. Order from:ZIQ. 80x 651 (MF8.J). Maplewood. NJ07040. (l-42p-ts)

Por Sale - lave.tment and Incomepropertyl .30 acres - blueberry farm Inexcellent producing condltlon_ Home-packing shed - Irrigation equipment and <-pond - farm machInery. Phone 616-92"-0229. Ma~son's Blueberry Farm.6540 W. 92nd St.• Fremont. Mich. 49412. 'i

(l-2t'21p)

~

RURAL LlVINO. JANUARY 198.31

Eaton County YoungFarmer Selected inDiscovery '83 Drawing

On Thursday, classes will runthroughout the day. The dinnerspeaker that evening will be Dr.Barrie Richardson, a motiva-tional speaker from Hope Col-lege, on "The Magic of theMind." A general assemblyfollowing the dinner programwill include an introduction tocomputerized management anda computer show will give par-ticipants an opportunity forhands-on experiences.

Friday will be "computer day"at the seminar, with adjourn-ment set for 1 p.m.

A brochure with completeclass schedules, course descrip-tions, instructors, speakers,costs and registration formswill be available soon. For thisinformation, write Discovery'83. Michigan Farm Bureau, P.O.Box 30960, Lansing, Mich.48909.

be held in conjunctionwith Discovery '83.The class schedule willinclude beginning,intermediate and ..advanced marketing; ~~interpersonal relationships I~,. 0in farm partnerships; manage-ment of taxes, debt, stress,time and personal finances;preparing for retirement; han-dling conflict constructively;and motivational management.

According to Discovery '83chairperson Larry R. Ewing, di-rector of MFB's Information l!tPublic Relations Division, al-though the seminar is pattern-ed after last year's successfulDiscovery '82, many new in-structors and classes have beenadded to the agenda.

"We expect many of the Dis-covery '82 participants to signup for Discovery '83," he said."We've used their evaluations tostrengthen some areas and add-ed new classes based on theirsuggestions. It will be a blue-ribbon learning experience forrepeaters as well asfirst-timers."

MFB commodity advisorycommittee members will begintheir sessions at 10:30 a.m. onWed., March 9, with Discovery'83 officially kicked off at anoon luncheon. "Markets - dothey affect management?" willbe the topic of the first speaker,Dr. Charles VanEaton, HillsdaleCollege economist. Manage-ment classes start at 3:30 p.m.that afternoon and continue to9 p.m. with a break for dinner.

BRIAN BENEDICT

Scheduled for Flint's HyattRegency, the seminar will offerBenedict and other participantsa broad choice of classes withtop-notch instructors. Thestatewide commodity confer-ence and a computer show will

Brian Benedict, a cash cropfarmer and maple syrup pro-ducer from Vermontville inEaton County, will have the op-portunity to hone his already-sharp farm management skillsat Discovery '83.

Benedict, who was one of thefour finalists in this year's"Distinguished Young Farmer"contest, stopped by the Discov-ery '83 exhibit at the MFB an-nual meeting and filled out a re-quest for details on the seminar.A drawing from the requestslips at the close of the annualmeeting won Benedict a freeday at the March 9-11 "Manage-ment/ Business/ Personal Skill-Building Seminar for FarmFamilies."

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3 21

Farm Bureau Volunteer Communicators

Getting Their Act Together

By Mike Rogers

"Stand by," the floor directoryells. There's a flurry of lastsecond activity in the televisionstudio as cameramen positiontheir equipment and techni-cians adjust microphones andvideotape recorders. The direc-tor sweeps his arm in a wide arcand ends up pointing at thehostess of the TV program.

"Good morning," says MarthaThuemmel, "and welcome toanother edition of "Farm andGarden."

For Thuemmel, a big city TVstudio is quite a change fromthe milking parlor of her dairyfarm in Port Austin. How shemoved from milk to micro-phones is the story ofa unique communi-cations project recent-ly developed by FarmBureau and WNEM-Channel 5 televisionin Saginaw.

BackgroundAlthough WNEM

broadcasts to one ofthe most populatedtelevision markets inthe country (serving,through broadcast andcable, over 1,300,000homes), the stationalso serves one of

22

Michigan's richest farmingareas - the Saginaw Valley andThumb.

WNEM,like all television sta-tions in the United States, is re-quired to provide a portion oftheir broadcast time for "publicservice." This public servicetime should, ideally, reflect thetype of population in the televi-sion station's viewing area. Fora number of years WNEMhascommitted a block of time eachweek to a program designed toserve its many farm viewers.

Most recently, the WNEM-TVfarm show was coordinated byRon Beech, director of the Mid-land County Cooperative Exten-sion Service. However, last sum-mer Beech informed WNEMthathe could no longer produce theprogram.

That's where Farm Bureaucame in. In September, WNEMprogram director Terry Dolancontacted Michigan Farm Bu-reau. Would Farm Bureau be in-terested in taking over the pro-duction and coordination of theWNEMfarm show? After a seriesof meetings between MFB per-sonnel and county Farm Bureaupresidents from the WNEMview-

ing area, MFBwas ableto give Dolan a resound-ing answer to the ques-tion - yes!

Martha Thuemmel, "Farmand Garden" hostess,prepares for the camerasto roll on the FB weeklyprogram on WNEM-TV.

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 1983

LIOIlTS! CAMERA!

!'lIke Rogers sbares bost responsibilities wltb Martha Tbuemmel on tbeearly morning "Farm and Garden" sbow.

now to Organize a TV ShowSeven county farm Bureaus

agreed to take on the respon-sibility of organizing and coor-dinating a regular farm showfor WNEM.The Midland, Bay,Huron, Tuscola, Gratiot, Sanilacand Saginaw County farm Bu-reaus each appointed one ormore farm Bureau members toserve on a Channel 5 TV coor-dinating committee.

Committee members areMaria Sandow of Midland,Reuben Pruetz of Bay City, Mar-vin Kociba of Harbor Beach,Mark & Rachel Schiefer ofVassar, Rhonda fisher QfBreckenridge, Betty Shaver ofWheeler, Geraldine Smith ofSnover and Bonnie Vasold ofSaginaw.

The first task facing the com-mittee was: Who should hostthe show? After consulting withWNEMand MfB staff, the com-mittee interviewed interestedfarmers in order to find a per-son to co-host the show alongwith Mike Rogers, manager ofMfB's Broadcast Services De-partment. The person theyselected was Martha ThuemmeJ,a farm wife from Huron County.

The next Job for the commit-tee was deciding how to struc-ture the show and what kinds of

ACTION!Farm Bureau oo-tbe-Alr

The first "farm and Garden"show went on the air Oct. 26and featured a report by MariaSandow from the pumpkin farmof Clay & Linda Maxwell near

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 1983

information it should contain.WNEMoffered the use of a cam-eraman twice a month to video-tape" on the scene" storiesfrom around the region, so thecommittee decided to schedulea segment of the show to reportstories and events from the par-ticipating counties. Other por-tions of the program were setaside for farm news, home andgarden advice, the week'sweather forecast, upcomingevents and an in-studio inter-view.

Beaverton. Other programssince then have included visitsto a sugar beet farm, the PigeonCo-op, an apple farm, a Christ-mas tree operation, a turkeyfarm, and a boat being loadedwith soybeans at the MichiganElevator Exchange terminal inSaginaw.

Guests who have appeared onthe show include Harold Wood,

The nine members of the co-ordinating committee were ask-ed to serve as "county corre-spondents," responsible for sur-facing stories from their coun-ties. They arranged interviewtimes, worked with the WNEMcameraman to produce thestories and actually appeared"on-the-air" doing the inter-views.

finally, the committee dis-cussed a number of possibleprogram titles. They decided on"farm and Garden," to reflectthe dual purpose of the pro-gram: communicating with bothconsumers and farmers.

vice president of Michigan MilkProducers; John Knoerr, chair-person of the MfB Sugar Com-modity Advisory Committee;and Gary Albright, chairpersonof the Michigan Soybean Com-mittee.

23

Volunteer and Viewer Ratings: Excellent"I was very nervous about do-

ing the first couple of shows,"Thuemmel remembers. "But,it's been a real growth oppor-tunity for me."

The show now airs everyWednesday morning from 6a.m. to 6:25 a.m.

Checking the Ratings

"We are committed to publicservice programming and weare pleased with the 'Farm andGarden' show," says JohnHaupricht, production managerfor WNEM-TV. "It works out realwell using the county FarmBureau volunteers as 'reporters'out in the country, and we thinkthe show is a good communica-tions vehicle."

"The reaction to the show hasbeen real good in MidlandCounty," according to MariaSandow. "Our members feel theshow is a good public relationstool for telling city viewersabout farming." Sandow alsoenjoys serving as a TV reporter."It has given me more oppor-tunities than I ever dreamed forlearning more about other peo-ple and Farm Bureau."

"The people I've talked tothink the show is painting agood image of farmers andfarm people," says ReubenPruetz. "They wonder where weget the talentI"

"It's very informative and in-teresting," says Rachel Schiefer."I'm especially interested in thedifferent types of farming thatare shown on the program."

24

"The program has been verysuccessful and well received inHuron County," says MarvinKociba. "I'm very enthusiasticabout all the potential it has forbringing the farm-message toour urban neighbors. Wefarmers are only about 21/2 per-cent of the total populationnow, and if we want to informthe other 971/2 percent, we haveto tell the story ourselves."

The show has given memore opportunity than Iever dreamed for learn-ing more about otherpeople and Farm Bureau.

"I think the show is an ex-cellent opportunity, personally,for a new challenge, while atthe same time actively pro-moting agriculture," saysGeraldine Smith. "The showgives us an opportunity tobecome more knowledgeableabout other kinds of com-modities and the problems in-volved in raising them. Also,the program informs consumersabout what's involved in farm-ing, what farmers are like andwhere food comes from."

Other Farm BureauTelevision Efforts

The "Farm and Garden" showis not the first Farm Bureau ef-fort in the world of television.Deni Hooper of the NorthwestFarm Bureau has produced aregular farm show for WPBN-TVin Traverse City since 1968.

That show is coordinated by aregional Farm Bureau advisorypanel and airs every Wednesdaymorning at 6:15 a.m.

Cable television has also beenfertile ground for Farm Bureaubroadcast efforts. The InghamCounty Young Farmer Commit-tee has produced the "CountryCornucopia" program on theContinental Cablevision systemin Lansing and the WashtenawCounty Women's Committee hasproduced the "Fabulous FoodMachine" program on the AnnArbor cablevision system forseveral years.

Growing and Learning

Farm Bureau is often admiredas a growth organization thatoffers opportunities for itsmembers to improve personallyand professionally. The "Farmand Garden" project certainlylives up to that expectation.

The growth in Martha Thuem-mel from a nervous beginner toa poised TV hostess ... thegrowth of the county corre-spondents as they learned theintricacies of on-location TV in-terviews ... the growth in thesophistication and profes-sionalism of the "Farm andGarden" show ... and thegrowth of the Farm Bureau im-age in the eyes of the WNEM-TVviewing audience, all prove thata group of talented, committedFarm Bureau volunteers can"make it happenl"

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 1983

AGRINOMIC UPDATE

Mandatory Acreage ReductionAnalyzed for Market Impact

Proposals to require a man-datory 25% reduction in acre-age in 1983 have gained in-creased attention as economicconditions have deteriorated ingrains. This policy approachwas analyzed for the 1983-84and 1984-85 crop years assum-ing a 25% reduction for eachyear from the base acreages forcorn and wheat. Since soybeansdo not have a base, acreagewas cut 25% from the 72.3million acres planted in 1982.

Quite obviously, productionand stocks were cut for allcrops, usage declined andprices rose, but the degree ofch~nge varied considerably bycrop.

Corn prices, supplies and usewere quite responsive to theacreage reduction. Carryoversupplies declined from 3.3 bil-lion bushels at the end of the1982-83 crop year to 2.1 billionbushels at the end of the1983-84 crop and 1.3 billionbushels at the end of the1984-85 crop year.

Farmer-held reserve stocksdeclined from 2.2 billionbushels to 400 million bushelsand CCCinventories declinedfrom 450 million bushels to 150million bushels. Prices rosefrom an average of $2.44 perbushel in 1982-83 to $3.00 perbushel in 1983-84 and $3.39per bushel in 1984-85.

Corn usage also dropped,from 7.4 billion bushels in1982-83 to 6.8 billion bushelsby 1984-85. About two-thirds ofthis decline came in domesticfeed use and one-third came inexports. This decline in usagewould likely continue into

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

1985-86 as livestock producersin the U,S.and in major feed-grain importing countries ad-just to higher feed prices.

With usage falling the onlyoption open for 1985-86 would

be continuation of at least a20% corn acreage reduction. Ifyields are higher or use lowerthan expected, an acreage re- .duction of 25% or 30% may beneeded in future years.

The 25% mandatory acreagereduction in wheat would give

(continued on page 28)

25

DISCUSSION TOPIC

strip MiningThe Discussion Topic isused by Community Ac-tion Groups for monthlypolicy discussions.

If you recall growing up in ahousehold warmed with coal,then it is likely that Michigancoal was burned in your homeat one time or another. Coalmining was once a thriving in-dustry in Michigan. In fact,back in 1906, there were 37mines operating in our state,turning out around 2 milliontons of coal each year. It washigh quality, soft coal whichprovided one-sixth of all coalthen used by our state forresidential heating, electricalgeneration and industrial use.

Coal mining continued at adeclining rate of production un-

tit 1952, when the last deepmine then operating at St.Charles closed.

An open pit mine operatedbriefly at Williamston in 1974and 1975, but since then therehas been no commercial pro-duction of coal in our state.

Michigan coal was firstdiscovered in Jackson Countyin 1835. Workmen found asmall seam,while digging afoundation for a grist mill andsubsequent discoveries led todevelopment of several shallowunderground mines, plus a fewsurface operations. From 1840~ntil the end of the century,this sort of mining developedslowly in a number of lowerpeninsula counties, includingCalhoun, Eaton, Ingham,Genesee, Shiawassee, Bay,Saginaw and Tuscola.

Production was heaviest from1890 to about 1915, according

to statewide records that werekept from 1860 until the SwanCreek Mine in St. Charles closedin 1952. A total of more than46 million tons were producedfrom 160 mines. The averagelife of these mines was six toeight years, after which theywould be blasted shut andoperations moved to a newlocation. These mines werelocated 100 to 300 feet under-ground; the average depth was110 feet. -

Today, interest centersaround surface mining - re-moval'of all earth materials ly-ing above coal so that fuel canbe taken out of the pit by theuse of surface operating trucksand loaders.

The shallow depth of Michi-gan's coal seams makes surfacemining a reasonable possibility.Our coal deposits were laiddown in a geological structureknown as the Michigan CoalBasin about 280 million yearsago.

In some places, the over-burden of soil and rock is onlya few feet thick, but in others,it's 800 feet or more. The coalseams also vary, ranging fromonly a few inches thick up to

(continued on page :34)

Animal welfare concerns con-tinue to be a key polley Issue fordelegates.

(continued from page 15)any regulatory actions thatwould restrict the farmers abili-ty to produce poultry and live-stock at an economically feasi-ble level.

Michigan Farm Bureau shouldcontinue to communicate andprovide leadership with statelivestock, poultry and othergroups to discuss and coor-dinate action on this issue.

The first edition of" AHumane Education CurriculumGuide: People and Animals,"developed by a division of theHumane Society of the UnitedStates for pre-school and ele-mentary school children, is nowbeing distributed on a nationalbasis. Additionally, it has beenintroduced in at least one ofMichigan's rural counties. Theguide was prepared by Indi-viduals with IftUe or no agricul-tural background, discouragesthe consumption of meat andthe use of other animal prod-ucts or by-products andequates animals directly withhumans.

Policies. • •Farm Bureau should work on

all levels to prevent the use ofthis guide, in its present form,in our school systems. Membersshould be encouraged to takean active role in their localschools, humane societies andother community organizations.Members should continue to de-velop programs that wfll exposeconsumers to production prac-tices and create positivepublicity for their industry.

Water Rights

Agriculture is highly depen-dent on water. Michigan is wellknown for its abundant waterresources. However, the de-mands for water and the rightsto it, are an increasing area ofconflict both in and out ofcourt.

Because the demand for waterfrom the three largest sectorsof Michigan's economy - indus-try, agriculture, tourism - isexpected to increase in the1980s and because settlementof disputes via court action isslow, expensive, tedious anduncertain, we will support en-abling legislation that would:

-Identify critical water man-agement areas on a watershedbasis.

-Implement a water-use per-mit program for surface andgroundwater on a critical waterarea basis.

- Allow establishment of mini-mum in-stream flow standardsand/or maximum groundwaterwithdrawal rates to protect thenatural resources of the statefrom pollution, impairment anddestruction.

-Clarify that commercial agri-cultural irrigation for food andfiber production is in the publicinterest and is a reasonable useof water.

•Allow interbasin transfer ofirrigation water and modify theseverance rule by permitting ir-

rlgatlon water on land which isImmediately contiguous and ad-Jacent to lands which touchlakes, streams or other water-courses so long as such land isheld in the ownership of a sin-gle individual or other legal per-son and Is held for the purposeof agricultural production offood and fiber.

-Clarify that the riparianrights doctrine is applicable togroundwater.

Michigan Farm Bureau shouldaggressively communicate thegrowing need for enabling legis-lation to implement these rec-ommendations.

The demands for waterand the rights to it arean increasing area ofconflict both in and outof court.

Drain Code Revision

Michigan farmland is enhanc-ed by an adequate and well-managed drainage system.Nearly 12 mfllion acres of Michi-gan farmland require drainageto produce food, feed and fiber.

Wesupport the amendmentsrecommended by the MichiganDepartment of Agriculture DrainCode Task Force, which wouldretain authority for administra-tion of the Drain Code in theDepartment of Agriculture. Therecommended revisions in theDrain Code which would benefitagriculture include but are notlimited to the following:

-Provide access to the minori-ty of landowners in petitioningfor a drain.

- Require uniform construc-tion standards to minimize neg-ative public opinion aspects of

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3 27

(continued from page 27)drain construction and mainte-nance.

- Encourage a program bylocal governmental units tomanage storm water comingfrom urban areas in a mannercompatible with overall water-shed needs.

- Provide for the establish-ment of a fund for annual main-tenance work on each new drainconstructed or in existence asof a specified date. The fundwould be established by an an-nual assessment of landowners

Policies. • •benefiting from the drain withprovision for exempting a land-owner from the assessment ifhe voluntarily maintains thatportion of a drain on his proper-ty.

The Drain Code should belimited to drainageissues and not includeother issues such aswater rights or irrigation.

Drainage laws in other nearbystates provide for routine main-tenance which benefits agricul-

ture specifically and the com-munity in general.

We believe that all revisionsto the Drain Code should belimited to drainage issues andnot include other issues such aswater rights, irrigation or anyother water issues.

Coal strip MiningCoal deposits are located in

at least 24 counties in the Cen-tral and Thumb Regions ofMichigan. Exploration for coalin Michigan will depend on sev-eral factors including depth andthickness of the deposit, quali-ty, economics and energy

(continued on page 30)

Acreage Reduction Analysis(continued from page 25)only a modest price responsewith prices averaging $3.87 in1982-83, $4.14 in 1983-84 and$4:24 in 1984-85. Stocks de-cline only modestly from 1.45billion bushels at the end of the1982-83 marketing year to 1.2billion bushels at the end of the1984-85 marketing year.

Domestic use would weakensome due to less livestock feed-ing and exports would declineabout 150 million bushels fromthe 1981-82 record year of1.773 billion bushels.

The 25% cut in soybean acre-age would leave soybean stocksabout unchanged at the 350million bushel level. Soybeanand soybean product usage isfairly responsive to pricechanges and the productionreduction is offset by lower use.Prices are pulled higher by thesmaller production andstrength in corn prices with

28

soybeans averaging $5.61 perbushel in 1982-83, $7.36 in1983-84 and $7.75 in 1984-85.

The only crop that would ben-efit from the 25% mandatoryset-aside in terms of sharplylowering carryover stocks wouldbe corn. This is due mostly tothe huge crops of 1981 and1982. If our estimates of theuse reduction due to highercorn prices are too low, thenstocks would decline less thanour estimates show.

Both corn and soybeans havesignificantly stronger marketprices with the acreage reduc-tion, the soybean prices duemostly to the lower corn sup-plies.

The impact of the mandatoryacreage cut is limited for threereasons.

- Yields on the acres actuallyplanted are higher because thepoorest land is left idle and theremaining acreage is farmedmore intensively.

-The programs already an-nounced by USDAwill providefor about a 10-15% acreagereduction from normal plant-ings.

-The acreage cut does notstrengthen U.S. or world de-mand for U.S. products.

Except for corn, our problemshave been caused more by poordemand and the use of reserveprograms to support pricesrather than production. To theextent that the 25% acreagecut strengthens prices, usage isreduced and markets are lost,requiring larger acreage cutsand more government involve-ment in succeeding years.

This analysis does not dealwith the questions of enforcingacreage controls; the capitaliza-tion of higher commodity pricesinto farmland prices; the prob-lem of young farmer entry intocrops where allotments are ineffect; and the proposed, butnot yet finalized, payment-in-kind program (PIK).

The analysis does illustratethe problem with farm policieswhich have encouraged stock-piling in an effort to bolsterprices in the face of declininginflation and reduced domesticand export usage.

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3

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(continued from page 17)day seminar with class in themorning and demonstration inthe afternoon. The seminar cov-ered everything from extrica-tion from farm machinery tohazardous atmospheres.

Wewere excited to have suchan overwhelming response fromrescue personnel. Over 200 per-sons attended, representing 41EMTunits. They came from asfar south as Hastings and as farnorth as Traverse City. I believethis demonstrates the genuineinterest that rescuers have inimproving their effectiveness inany emergency rescue situation- including the special condi-tions of a farm accident.

There is a continued interestin our area for a program ofthis type. In fact, the KentCounty Sheriff's Departmenthas requested another seminarthis coming spring. I also re-ceived several requests for in-formation about the seminarsat the state annual meeting.

This is an excellent projectfor Young farmer Committees.The need and the interest forthis type of program is there -all that is needed is for the farmcommunity to initiate the plan-ning and support.Craig Schweitzer, ChairpersonYoung farmer CommitteeKent County farm Bureau

Letters toKural Living

(Editor's Note: Assistance forcounty FBs interested in spon-soring an Ag Accident RescueSeminar is available from RonGaskill, MFB Public Affairs Divi-sion, P.O. Box .30960, Lansing,Mich. 48909; or phone 517-.32.3-7000, ext. 559.)

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Ulghway FinanceWe are concerned over the

rapid deterioration of Mich-igan's highway system includ-ing state, county, and localroads and bridges.

Studies show that over one-third of all bridges are defi-cient. Many heavily traveledroads are deficient or obsolete.

County Road Commissionshave severely curtailed opera-tions. Most counties lack fundsto match available federalallocations and have eliminatedroad improvements using town-ship matching funds. Mostcounties are unable to repairroad surfaces, replace worn out

(continued from page 28)needs. Much of the coal de-posits lay under highly produc-tive farmland which is undercontract to P.A. 116. The deci-sion of whether to terminate aP.A. 116 contract must be con-sidered on an individual case-by-case basis.

We recommend that coal stripmining not take place on landunder contract to P.A. 116 un-less all of the following are met:

-Coal as an energy source iscritically needed.

- Research on Michigan farm-land is completed to determineif the original productivity canbe restored.

-Technology is upgraded tospeed up the reclamation offarmland to its original produc-tivity.

Agricultural ImpactStatement

Whenever a proposed projectin an agricultural area requiresan Environmental Impact State-ment, we recommend that anEconomic Impact Statementand an Agricultural ImpactStatement also be required.

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equipment, maintain snow andice control, gravel roads andother routine functions. Onlyone third of normal resurfacing,resealing and equipment re-placement is being done.

This has resulted from a com-bination of skyrocketing con-struction costs and decliningrevenues.

Declining revenues resultfrom more people sharing ridesor van-pooling, smaller andmore fuel efficient cars, lessdriving, and lighter cars.

One study showed that theaverage person paid $5 per yearless in gas taxes than five yearsago.

Michigan's road revenue sys-tem is based on "user taxes."Each person pays his share ac-cording to his "use" of the roadsystem.

Agriculture, tourism and in-dustry are dependent on a goodroad system. An MSUtranspor-tation study showed that grainproduction will increasethroughout Michigan until theyear 2000. This means an evengreater dependence upon ourhighway system.

With the numerous railroadabandonments, agriculturebecomes more dependent onroads for the delivery of foodand fiber to market and for pro-duction inputs coming to thefarm.

Wesupport:e"User Taxes" for revenue for

road purposes. Wemust notrevert to the property tax,special assessments or moneyfrom the General fund as ameans of building and main-taining state roads.

eAny increase in fuel taxesshould be flexible and recognizeincreasing costs but shouldhave a ceiling.

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198:3

elncreasing the presentweight fee for passenger cars15%. Increasing commercialvehicle fees 30%.

eMaintain the present"90-10" allocation of funds tocomply with the constitutionalprovision approved by thevoters in 1978.

eMaintain the present costrelationship of farm licensesand registrations. Any newrevenue package should con-tain an expiration date.

Michigan is not alone in thisroad dilemma. More than 29states have increased theirtaxes for transportation duringthe last two years, and at leastsix more now have increasesunder consideration.

There are needs for newprocessing plants forlivestock, fruit andvegetables, soybeans andcheese, all of whichwould create jobs.

Workers' CompensationHistorically, Workers' Com-

pensation insurance costs havebeen a major contributor toMichigan's unfavorable busi-ness climate. Wecommend thegovernor and the Legislaturefor the reforms enacted in 1980and 1981.

While it is necessary to obtainexperience with the recently re-formed system, there is a seri-ous problem that affects manyself-employed and others whocontract for services with self-employed contractors. for ex-ample, many woodlot ownersand self-employed wood pro-ducers find that buyers refuseto purchase their products. Thisis due to unclear definitionsand unusual interpretations ofthe Workers' Compensation law

resulting in possible liability.farmers and others also facesuch liability when contractingwith other self-employed per-sons.

Westrongly support legisla-tion to change Workers' Com-pensation laws to clarify theunusual interpretations thatresult in the passing through ofWorkers' Compensation liabilityto a purchaser of goods and/ orservices from private firms orindividuals who do not provideWorkers' Compensation insur-ance coverage for theiremployees or themselves.

Unemployment CompensationMichigan's debt to the federal

government for this program isover $2.2 billion.

The federal penalty and pay-ment begins in January 1983which will place an additionalpenalty tax on employers of$18 per employee payable bythe end of January 1983. Thiscould rise to $162 per year by1991. The interest on the debtis now over $80 million andcould increase to nearly $200million by fiscal 1985. Com-pared with other major states,Michigan has the highest aver-age weekly benefits,' federaldebt, tax rate on taxablepayroll, etc.

It is obvious that this prob-lem must be solved to prevent afurther decline in Michigan'sbusiness image. Newjob creat-ing businesses cannot be at-tracted to our state and befaced with this employer debtburden.

This is as important to agri-culture as to any other segmentof the economy. There areneeds for new processing plantsfor livestock, fruit and vege-tables, soybeans and cheese, allof which would create jobs.

There are several reforms thatshould be considered including;

:31

RURAL LIVING. JANUARY 198.3

felony while serving in electedpublic office, the individualshould be removed from officeand be denied any benefitswhich were earned by virtue ofthe office held at the time thefelony was committed.

The unemployment rate inMichigan is projected to beabove the national average forthe next few years. Job retrain-ing programs will be necessaryto help many of the unemploy-ed find new employment. Wesupport legislation that wouldinitiate a job retraining pro-gram to encourage agricultureand industy to hire the unem-ployed and initiate "on-the-job"training. Webelieve such a jobretraining program should in-clude a learner permit provisionthat allows persons 18 years oldand over to obtain a learnerpermit and work for an employerat less than the state minimumwage, for a period that is suffi-cient enough to provide effec-tive on-the-job retraining. Werecognize that such a programcould be abused and that suchlegislation needs to protectboth employers and employees.

Legislative Review(continued from page 7)

GATTConference - Com-menting on the 88-nation GATTconference in Geneva, AFBFPresident Robert Delano saidthe U.S.should meet the in-creasing emphasis of foreignsubsidies by confrontation andretaliation.

He suggested counter-subsi-dies utilizing U.S.carryoverstocks to recover market mar-gins lost to subsidized Euro-pean producers. Delano said heexpects full support of thiscourse of action from the pres-ident and Congress.

Job Retraining

reinstitute the waiting week,freeze present maximum bene-fits, increase qualifying weeksfrom 18 to 20, increase taxrates, increase wage base,employee contributions, debtinterest paid by state, specialsolvency tax on "negative bal~ance" employers, etc.

Any solution will require agood faith cooperative effort onthe part of employer groups,labor organizations and the ex-ecutive, legislative and judicialbranches of state government.

Michigan agriculture hasmuch at stake as farmers mustcompete in the U.S. and worldmarkets. Therefore, we continueto believe that coverage re-quired for agriculture continueto be the same as provided bythe Federal Unemployment Act.

Wefurther believe that sinceunder federal law full timestudents are not eligible toreceive unemployment benefits,their wages should not be in-cluded in the federal base.

Wewill work to assist in thesolution to this most importantproblem. One thing is clear,Michigan must become com-petitive with other states.

Legislative ReformMichigan is one of only six

states with a full-tim~ Legisla-ture. The Legislature conducts alegislative session throughoutthe year. Wesupport a limitedlegislative session not to ex-ceed six months.

The pay scale of elected of-ficials should be commensuratewith the duties and respon-sibilities of the office. Sufficientpay to attract a high quality in-dividual who is interested inproperly representing the dis-trict is important. The salarylevel of legislators in states ofsimilar size and make-up shouldalso be considered.

Werecommend that if anelected official is convicted of a

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let me play dolls while my"brother" learned to hit a homerun.

When he taught me to takemy "at bats" aggressively, I wasa slow learner. He kept holler-ing at me to step Into that ball.I didn't know what he was talk-ing about until he showed me.When he swung the bat, I sawthat he stepped forward to meetthe ball and that increased thepower of the swing. You're notstatic anymore; you're steppingright into it and taking hold ofthe power you've got and thenboom, it's a homer!

Meeting a challenge is onething, but to walk up to it andsay, "How do you do? My nameis Jane Brown. Let's see whatwe can get done here ... ,"that's stepping into the ball;and the big attitudinal dif-ference between winners andlosers and the "go-alongers."It's the same for an organiza-tion and fB people have got tobe congratulated for steppinginto a challenge.

You are an impressive groupbecause you refuse to remain astatic organization. Whether it'sdeveloping policy for your farmorganization or involvement inyour own rural communities,you are ready to act dynamical-ly.

If you're one of those winnersin Farm Bureau, I don't have toremind you about the rush ofadrenalin or the sense of ac-complishment when you cansay to yourself, "Wow! Lookwhat I did ... Can I do thatagain?" You're off on anotherchallenge and stepping into lifewith all your positive power.You know that you can never goback to become a "go alonger,"because winning is tops.

Country Ledger(continued from page 5)

troduce themselves to it. Theyhave positive power for win-ning .

When I was 10 years old, I wasyour basic tomboy, which waskind of nice for my dad since hedidn't have a son. Nice for me,too, otherwise I might havemissed some important lessonsabout winning. He might have

Members Honored

(continued from page 13)five star winners in the competi-tion for the title of "Top Countyfarm Bureau" in 1982.

Chippewa's gold stars werefor local affairs, policy develop-ment, policy execution, com-modity activities and informa-tion. Chippewa also earned sil-ver stars for women's activitiesand the member to memberprogram.

Macomb County earned goldstars for community actiongroups, information, local af-fairs, policy development andpolicy execution.

AgriPac 'Booster'Awards Presented

At the 1982 AgriPac Break-fast, leaders in MfB's politicalaction activities were presentedwith plaques designating themas AgriPac "Boosters of theYear."

Presentations were made toNeal Sanford, Jackson CountyFB president; Karen Weidmayer,chairperson, Washtenaw CountyFB Women's Committee; BettyLaurie, chairperson, District 6FB Women; Olenn Preston, 1982chairperson, MfB Young farmerCommittee; and to Vivian Lott,1982 chairperson, MFBWomen's Committee.

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 198.3 .3.3

Discussion Topic: Strip Mining(continued from page 26)seven feet or more. The entirebasin is tilted as well, slopingdownward towards the center ofthe lower peninsula, but lyingcloser on the surface on itssouthern and eastern portions.

About one-third of the totalbasin lies within 50 to 100 feetof the surface, and it is thiscoal that is now the target ofsurface mining. State officialspredict surface mining couldbegin on private land insouthern Michigan at any time.

Coal companies are now in-vestigating Michigan and someare betting that they can makea reasonable profit surface min-ing our state's reserves of fuel.

Despite handling problems,environmental restraints, landrestoration requirements andother controls that will costproducers heavily, it will still becheaper for electrical generat-ing plants to buy and use coalthan to use oil and natural gas.

Also, the future supply ofdomestic coal is a much saferbet for America against a cutoffof foreign oil supplies. Conse-quently, there appears to be noquestion that Michigan coal willbe surface mined and enteredinto the U.S.energy market. Themajor questions remaining are:Where will this mining takeplace? How extensive would itbe? What impacts will be allow-ed on Michigan's land surface,air and water resources?

Surface mining in Michiganhas such a bad reputation thatany suggestion of the methodbrings mental pictures of bar-ren craters, upending erodedslopes of worthless land,polluted streams and angryneighbors. Such history, whilenot part of our state, has,however, provided us with astrong awareness of the poten-tial dangers to land, air andwater we face through surface

.34

mining. Because of this,substantial controls over sur-face mining of coal in the statehave recently been enacted andsigned into law.

Lands to be surface mined inMichigan will have to be return-ed to their original quality orbetter. To accomplish this, thehuge shovels used to removethe overburden will stockpileseparately the valuable surfacesoils, the subsurface sands,shales, gravels and sandstones,remove the coal, and then re-place all the surface materialsin their respective order.

Groundwater supplies willhave to be protected from con-tamination. Surface contourswill be restored to originalshape, or will be improved uponif possible. Roadways to andfrom the mine sites will be con-trolled for dust and environ-mental impact. A variety ofother controls will be imposed,all aimed at preventing the sortof land destruction that hasgiven surface mining such abad image.

Even though this healthy ap-proach will be expensive, sur-face mining in Michigan is ex-pected to have a bright future.More than 250 million tons ofthe fuel, all high qualitybituminous, are within easyreach of moderate and efficientsurface mining equipment. Thatamount is worth $10 million attoday's non-shipped price andworth considerably more deliv-ered.

Delivery is one of the primereasons Michigan coal is now apromising enterprise. All coalused in Michigan today must beimported either from Appa-lachia or western states andthat adds sharply to the per toncost. In 1980, for example,Michigan used 31 million tonsof coal, all imported, and thedelivery cost per ton wasaround $60 to $80.

However, state officials ex-pect mining here will be on asmaller scale, with a typicalmine probably limited to asquare mile or less. Thatamount of land is believed to beenough to occupy a mid-sizecompany's operation for 10 to15 years producing 100,000tons of coal per year. Conse-quently, this is seen as long-range, heavy investment min-ing, with annual productiongeared to relative local needand a national pricing struc-ture.

If the price of oil and naturalgas continue to rise, coal couldbecome more attractive, bothfor standard uses and as thebase for conversion to gas andother forms of more concen-trated energy. In such a case,surface mining in Michigancould be hastened and increas-ed. If oil and gas pricesstabilize, produ~tion of Michi-gan coal will probably alsostabilize at a more moderatelevel.

(Editor's Note: This DiscussionTopic is based on an article byJon Roetheie and Jim Parrishwhich appeared in the Septem-ber-October 1982 issue of theMichigan Naturai ResourcesMagazine.)

Questions for Discussion-In your opinion, is Michigan

coal critically needed as anenergy source?

-In your opinion, would theloss of farm production for thefew years required for miningand reclamation to full produc-tivity be a small price to pay forthe amount recovered in stripmining?

RURAL LIVING, JANUARY 1983

May 1983 be yourbest year yet.

From the editorial staff of Rural Livi.ngmagazine.

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