Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PAGE TWO THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1963 DAIRY FARMERS FACE RUIN IF PRICE WAR CONTINUES June is Dairy Month. And Dairy Month, 1963, finds the 74 dairy farmers of Newberry i County, as well as dairy farmers throughout the state, teetering on the brink of disaster. Dairy farming, as any kind of farming in this age of automa tion, requires tremendous invest ment. Most dairy farmers have found it necessary to buy ex pensive equipment to replace a lost labor supply—and pur chase of this equipment has placed many deep in debt. It is reasonable to assume that no dairy farmer was get ting rich in the business. Com petition is too great. It is thus reasonable to assume that a cut in his income of 15 percent or more could easily lead to bank ruptcy in a short period of time.. Are price controls the answer? The word “control” is an ob noxious one., especially when applied to a government’s con trol over any phase of Indivi dual enterprise. Control can mean keeping prices down as well as keeping them up. Regu lation by government over pri vate business is something that South Carolinians have resisted to a great extent. On the other hand, if con trols are not used, then what happens? The dairy farmer is in a bad situation. His product is not one which can be stored away to sell when prices get bet ter. It is, therefore, hard for him to bargain, because bar gaining would mean Grade A milk being fed to the hogs. The plight of the dairy farm er, and other information about • I • “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.** Proverbs 22:6 There is no more important training ground than the family home; no responsibility greater than the obligation of properly bringing a child to adult-hood. Has it ever occurred to you that a child is bom entirely with out prejudice? Prejudice is some thing that develops early, it is true—and it is equally true that adults have great influence upon children in this regard. The child begins to form ideas and opinions based upon what parents say and do, and upon the actions of adult friends, neighbors and relatives. Raise your children without prejudice. Teach him to under stand that others who are “differ ent” are not necessarily “bad” or “wrong.” Teach him respect for the rights of others. Guide him in the search for faith and truth in the church of your choice. Read your BIBLE daily and GO TO CHURCH SUNDAY Are South Carolina Milk Prices Fair To Consumer? Until the recent milk price war, the normal price of milk in most retail stores was 53 cents per half-gallon. Those responsible for cutting the retail price of milk claimed that milk prices were too high. The basis for such a claim is not justified when comparing the South Carolina milk prices w r ith those of other nearby states. A U. S. Department of Agriculture report issued in May of this year gives the following retail prices per half-gallon of milk for these states. They are as follows: Maryland, 51 cents; Virginia, 50 to 54 cents; North Carolina, 54-55 cents; Georgia, 55-57 cents; West Virginia, 60-62 cents; Flor ida, 53-57 cents; Louisiana, 52-55 cents. From this report it would seem that the stable milk prices prior to the beginning of the price war in April are not only in line with those of other states, but actually lower than in most of these states. In view of the undesirable ef fects that could be caused by a continued milk price war, it be hooves everyone involved to ans wer these questions before wreck ing the valuable dairy industry in South Carolina. 1. What will happen to the dairy farmers in South Carolina if this milk price war continues? How many will continue in busi ness if milk prices paid to them drop 15 percent or more? 2. What effect will lost dairy farm income have on business in this state? Remember that dairy farmers spend a part of their in come with practically every busi ness in town. 3. Will milk prices to the con sumer stay down after the price war has ended, or will they likely go higher than they were before? 4. Will the people of South Car olina be assured of as good a sup ply of milk as they have now if milk should be imported from other areas ? milk prices and the milk price war, will be found in several stories on this page. Newberry County is rated as the third leading milk produc ing County in South Carolina. Most Newberry County Dairy products are sold to outside markets; most cash receipts are spent in Newberry County. The Manufacturers of "Newberry Maid” BUTTER are Happy to Salute Newberry’s Dairy Farmers We also handle, for the needs of our Dairy Farmers: DeLAVAL MILKERS COMPLETE LINE OF DAIRY SUPPLIES & CHEMICALS DISINFECTANTS CLAY BARN EQUIPMENT, STALLS, STANCHIONS, ETC. WASHING POWDERS INSECTICIDES We not only sell, but install and service DeLaval Milkers. Let us help you with our fine supply of dairy farm equipment and materials. Newberry Creamery Phone 276-4901 Newberry, S. C. THE DAIRY FARMER TELLS HIS STORY I am an average Newberry County dairy farmer. I am proud of the business I’m in. I produce Grade A milk under strict regu lations of the South Carolina Health Department and the New berry County Health Department where my milk is processed. Such sanitary requirements are neces sary so that both children and adults of all ages can be assured of wholesome milk of the very best quality for good health. This is as it should be. But it does cost money to meet all of these requirements. First, I must make certain my herd of 50 milking cows are in good health. They must be tested at least each year to make certain hone has any disease such as Bru cellosis that can cause undulant fever in humans or tuberculosis that can also be transmitted in milk. I must be extremely care ful not to buy cows that have any of these diseases or I may be quickly out of business. Next, I must provide a special milking barn with concrete floors adequate water supply, properly lighted and arranged according to Health Department regulations. I must have special equipment for handling the milk as it comes from the cows. All utensils must be sterilized before milk can touch them. My cows must be washed and brushed before each milking. Each person who works in my dairy must have a health certifi cate and must be trained to handle both the cows and the milk so there is no chance of contamina tion. In fact there are 93 different items on the Health Code that I am responsible for and for which I am inspected regularly in order to market my milk as Grade A milk. If I fail to pass inspection two times in a row I automati cally lose my right to send my milk to market. To my knowledge, no other food is produced under such strict requirements and regu lations. Either before my milk leaves the farm or when it reaches the plant, it must pass other tests for bacteria count, flavor and quality. One little slip or careless mistake for only one day will cause a loss of all my milk for one or possibly two days. Too many “turn downs” at the plant can also mean I have lost my market for milk. They tell me that the average dairy farmer has an investment of $1500 per cow. Well, I’m aver- i age so I guess that means I have I around $75,000 invested in my • herd of 50 cows, land, buildings and other equipment to operate my dairy farm. This sounds like quite a business, doesn’t it? Now let me tell you about my income last year. I sold a total of 400,000 pounds of milk for which I received 51% cents per gallon, or a total of $23,640. My actual cost of production, including seed and plants, fertilizer and lime, feed, fuel and oil, machinery and repairs, interest, electricity, in surance, taxes and miscellaneous expenses came to 45 cents per gal lon or actual cost of $20,840. Let’s see, that left me with a profit margin of 6% cents per gallon or a total of $2,800 for my own labor and my interest on this pretty big investment. That means I work ed seven days a week and received nothing on my investment or I could figure that I received a little less than 4% on my investment and nothing for my labor. I won der if my banker would think this dairy farm operation of mine a sound business? But no matter, I have been pretty satisfied with this arrange ment for the past several years. By trimming costs here and there and by living close I have been able to make a living for my fam ily. I could even be a little opto- mistic if things would just stay that way. But a black cloud hangs over the dairy industry in this state. In April some stores in South Caro lina began selling milk at a price lower than they were buying for. The plant I sold to wrote to tell me they would have to meet this competition and that if they did my milk price would be cut about 70 cents per hundred or about six cents per gallon. You can imagine this caused me near panic when I thought of the small margin of profit I was already getting. I immediately tried to find out if our South Carolina Dairy Com mission couldn’t do something a- bout the matter. They wore sup posed to have the power to set our producer prices, I thought. But no, the way the law is written they couldn’t do anything until I act ually received a price cut for my milk. So on Aprill 11th, most all pro ducers in South Carolina took a price cut. Soon after the Dairy Commission held its public hear ing. Most of the dairy farmers in the state showed up. After hear ing testimony from all sides, the Commission ruled that effective May 1st producer prices would be set at their level as of April 1st and that no stores could sell milk Cost of Milk Greater or Less Than Other Foods? Producers Threatened With Financial Ruin public health. To meet these spec ifications, the dairy farmer has fixed and definite investment costs, not only in original invest ment but maintenance, as dictated by public health sanitarians. Imposition of sanitary require ments upon producers of Grade A milk is never static. In very recent years, the changes in dairy farm investments have been tremen dously accelerated by competition from industrial labor wages. The changes have forced heavy in vestments in labor-saving devices on dairy farm operations. Some of these costly invest ments are in such items as cold wall milk tanks; pipeline trans portation of milk from cow to cold wall tanks; automatic clear.-up and sanitizing systems; automatic feeding devices; new, automatic and expensive feed production, processing, harvesting and storage facilities, and even the construct ion of modem labor-saving milk ing barns. The writer recently interviewed a dairy farmer at Bowman, who took ui in his farm pick-up truck to show us his new “Cadillac”. As we rode through the farm, he fa cetiously remarked “Now this is the newest thing out in Cadillacs. It’s air-conditioned, has power steering, radio, heater, power brakes, push button window and radio antenna control, etc.” we finally found it in the silage field. What was it? A new diesel trac tor with land tiller. Cost ?—the same as the above described Cad illac—but without the accessories on his tractor. Why did he buy it? He had to or get out of business. Labor costs forced him into this labor-saving device—one of many! He was in competition with the State of South Carolina’s Indus trial development program. No one is opposed to that development but it has its inevitable effect up on farm production costs—by drawing labor away from farms at hour and wage rates the dairy farmer cannot meet. The price he received for milk had to pay the bill or he was out of business. He was a little be wildered, although he was enthus iastic about our state’s surge for ward in industrial development. It was difficult for him to under stand where the farmer stood in the labor market. One thing did seem crystal clear—he could not ■pay competitive wages with a 15 or 20 percent cut in his income. This man, and al! other produc ers like him, cannot stand a 15 to 20 percent redaction in the price he receives for milk, maintain the quality milk that government a- gencies require and the consumer expects, pay his debts, educate his children and enjoy any degree of security. The plight of the Grade A milk producer in South Carolina is in just that much jeopardy. It is that simple and that tragic. Milk prices as well as prices for practically everything else have increased in recent years. But which has increased most? A report from Clemson College gives the following comparison. Since 1941 the retail price of milk has increased from 14 cents per quart to 26 cents per quart or an increase of 86% in this per iod. Now look at the percentage in creases of other food items, which include: Flour, 132% ; Corn flakes, 8 oz. 144%j ; white bread, 95%; Ground below cost. We’re out of the woods I thought. When I received my check for April it was almost $200 short. I quickly realized that all the pro fit had been taken out of my bus iness for that month. But with the Dairy Commission ruling in effect things will get better, I thought. But quickly I was proved wrong. Some stores petitioned the courts for injunctions against the dairy commission and were grant ed permission to go back to sell ing milk at cut-rate prices. This they are still doing. So far my price is supposedly the same but I know if my distributor doesn’t sell most, of my milk as Class I milk, the price I receive will sure ly be lower. Unless the courts can halt this milk price war, all seems lost for me and other producers like me. This I know is a complex sit uation. The housewife wants to buy milk as cheaply as possible. At the same time I am certain she wants the best quality milk for her family. We dairy produc ers are ready, willing and able to do just that. We are already in business and want to stay. But I and all the other 73 producers in Newberry County can’t take a 15% cut in our milk prices and stay in business. I don’t know w’hat we’ll do. We won’t be able to sell out in this kind of situation when nobody else can go into this business. The only thing we can do at the moment is try to hold down our spending and hope. Hope that the people of South Carolina will realize the dairy bus iness is a valuable industry to our county and state; hope that those who buy milk will not demand milk at cut-rate prices; and hope that the Courts will decide that milk prices can be regulated by the South Carolina Dairy Com mission so that we can stay in business. It seems to me that this is a matter of great importance to everyone including dairy farmers, business people and everyone who buys or sells milk. I pray that a solution to the problem can be reached before it is too late—for me and many other dairy farmers of Newberry and other counties in South Carolina. (By C. G. Cushman, Retired leader of Dairy Extension Work at Clemson College. He is win ner of the DeLaval Award, high est honor conferred by Ameri can Dairy Science Association, and first Southerner to win this coveted award.) Nine hundred fifty-four private enterprise Grade A milk produ cers in South Carolina, with a capitalization of $50,000 to $350,- OOOeach, are threatened with fin ancial ruin—all because of the price war now in progress since its inauguration by the “loss leader” fight initiated by certain chain and independent food stores. This unfortunate chain of events has recently cost these Grade A daidy farmers upwards of $11,- 000 daily. These milk producers cannot stand a 15 to 20 percent reduction in the price they receive for their product which has been imposed upon them since April 1st by the present unrealistic price structure created by food stores for pur poses of draw ng customers from their competitors. The tragic thing is that milk, a daily neces sity, is the most popular item for their “loss leader” price advantage attack. No producers of food for hu mans are more thoroughly and strictly regulated by governmen tal agencies than the producers of Grade A milk. Each producer is regularly inspected by state, coun ty, city and government inspect ors. Even the plants to which they sell have strict sanitary specifica tions which they must meet. The S. C. State Department of Health and the United States Milk Ordinance and Code require that a Grade A dairyman live up to 93 definite items of inspection if he is to maintain his permit to sell Grade A milk—this, plus oth er city health codes. All of these 93 items of inspect ion are intended to protect the steak, 214%; chuck roast, 153%; bacon, 118%; chicken, 68%; eggs, doz., 51%; apples, 256%; oranges, 165%; green beans, 136%; pota toes, 117.7%; sweet potatoes, 322%; coffee, 292%; peanut but ter, 214%/ oleomargarine, 87%; and sugar, 131%. Only two food items in this listing, eggs and chickens, have shown less price increase during this period than has milk. The Secretary of Agriculture recently issued a statement which in effect shows that dairy farm incomes in this country are too low. Dairy farmers on the aver age are receiving less than $1.00 per hour net income. Surely the small margin of pro fit enjoyed by our dairy farmers prior to April 1st of this year is not such that would warrant any decrease in milk prices at the re tail level. Day In, Day Out: Red Cross Serves In Various Ways The Red Cross is an organiza tion founded on belief in the prin ciple of voluntary assistance to our neighbors. It is an organiza tion that serves all the people and is supported entirely by their^vol untary contributions. The major part of the Red Cross job is accomplished by two million volunteers who serve in every capacity from top leader ship to community service pro grams. In times of dramatic disasters, such as Hurricane Carla, Red Cross is much in the news. Day- to-day service programs such as First Aid and Water Safety courses, a farm pond safety pro gram and home care of sick and injured are not so exciting, yet these activities are part of the many services provided by Red Cross. Here are brief facts on some major Red Cross Service pro grams: Disaster Services. Hurricane Carla, which struck the northern Gulf Coast in September 1961, found Red Cross chapters in Texas and Louisiana prepared and the national organization swiftly mobilizing supplies and personnel for the affected area. At the height of the storm, volun teer and career staff shel tered and fed more than 300,000 evacuees. Eight hundred volun teer nurses and scores of volun teer doctors and other medical personnel were provided to pro tect the health of the shelter population. Following an emergency period the American Red Cross meets the disaster-caused needs of in dividuals and families who have inadequate resources to get back on their feet unassisted. After Carla, some 18,500 families ap plied to the Red Cross for post disaster assistance in the repair or rebuilding of their homes, re placement of household furnish ings and providing occupational tools and equipment. The rehabili tation program consumes about 85 cents of every dollar expended for disaster relief by the organiza tion. All American Red Cross dis aster assistance is an outright gift of the American people. Services to the Armed Forces and Veterans. Serving members of the armed forces and their families is the largest single job of the Red Cross. It requires about 35 percent of each annual budget and some 55 percent of all staff and volunteer time. Problems both great and small brought to Red Cross field staff members at military installations and hospi tals here and abroad and to Home Service workers in Red Cross chapters. Some 2,000 messages a day are exchanged between field staff and chapters in assisting servicemen and their families. The Red Cross also continues to give service to veterans and their families and to the dependents of deceased veterans. This is accom plished through counseling and guidance and through assistance in applying for government bene fits and in assembling evidence to support veterans’ claims. The Blood Program. In addition to collecting and distributing to doctors and hospitals some 2,500,- 000 pints of whole blood annually, the Red Cross also makes avail able blood plasma fractions of known therapeutic value proc essed from out-dated blood. By formal agreement with govern ment, the American Red Cross has been designated the coordi nating agency for the coUection of blood in time of national emer gency. Under nuclear attack great quantities of blood would be needed for the injured. The net work of 55 Red Cross regional blood programs would be the backbone of an expanded effort that would dwarf even the great achievements of World War II, when 13 million pints of blood were collected for defense. First Aid and Water Safety. In 1960-61, as Red Cross First Aid approached its second half-cen tury of service to the American people, more than one million certificates were presented to in dividuals who completed one or more of the three courses of in struction. Nursing Services. More than 60,000 professional nurses are en rolled for voluntary community service through Red Cross chap ters. Red Cross nurses serve in almost every disaster operation. They also teach Red Cross home nursing and volunteer nurse’s aide classes, serve in blood donor cen ters, assist public health author ities with immunization programs, staff first aid stations at county and state fairs, and assist with school health programs. International Activities. During the past year our Red Cross con tinued to help victims of the May 1960 earthquakes in Chile and par ticipated in relief for disaster victims in Pakistan, Nicaragua, British Honduras, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Poland, India, Japan, and Korea and for Algerian refu gees in Tunisia and Morocco. Working with the League of Red Cross Societies, the American Red Cross helps to provide technical assistance to newly organized Red Cross societies in emerging coun tries through study visits, provi sion of technical publications and material, and participation in in ternational Red Cross confer ences. Youth in Red Cross. More than 20 million children, youth, and college students participate in Red Cross service. Many of these boys and girls and young men and women work side by side with adult volunteers, serving in disaster operations, in military, veterans, and civilian hospitals, and in the Blood Program. Mem bers also create comfort, recrea tion, and good will articles for hospital patients, disaster victims, and young people in other coun tries. They plan many of their service projects through school and chapter councils. All of their programs support the purposes of American education.