Hello everybody and welcome to U.S. farm report.
This week U.S. farm report presents more
highlights from our recent field trip than to the
northeastern part of the nation. We will not only
meet some outstanding NFL farmers but we'll visit
a county fair in Vermont. The scenes you watching
were filmed on the farm of an NFL member near
Carrollton Pennsylvania. Here is a farming
investment of well over a million dollars where 12
full time workers are employed in the production
of potatoes and boilers.
Trucks are hauling soil out of a tremendous potato
storage area. Originally this storage facility was
12 feet high from floor to beans. Now an
additional five feet of space will be added for
better air circulation. Which will improve the
keeping quality of the chipping potatoes grown on
this farm. And stored here. A three storey broiler
house with a capacity for sixty six thousand
boilers is directly above the potato storage
facility offering excellent insulation. Soil is
hard to a nearby pond. To be used in the repairing
of a leak.
A huge investment in equipment is necessary and
this type of farming operation. Seven potato
harvesters 18 trucks three combines 14 tractors.
Two potato planters four cultivators three large
grain drills and the list goes on and on.
Forever.
This farmer rotates oats and potatoes every two
years. Once in a while planning a strip of sod to
prevent erosion. These old and potato fields
whined around the Pennsylvania hills. Some of the
fields are a mile and a half to two miles long.
This land produces four to five hundred bushels of
potatoes to the acre.
Eight hundred ten acres of this land. Planted in
potatoes 700 acres are producing grain. This
farmer grows 450000 boilers per year. He's a proud
man proud of his family of six children five girls
and one boy. His youngest daughter is 14 and at
home the rest of his children are married with
families of their own. His son is farming with him.
In spite of an overcast day the beauty of these
hills will be long remembered by the U.S. Farm
Report crew
Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa
whoa
whoa
whoa.
Roger Kay Hart. Is a Vermont dairy farmer and an
enthusiastic supporter of an effort. Roger is a
victim of urban expansion having moved to Vermont
only recently from the state of New Jersey. His
cattle herd numbers one hundred and he asked 50
head of younger stock. Roger grows hay and corn on
his place. But buys a lot of grain from NFL grain
farmers in the Midwest. Here's a man whose love
for farming seems to be expressed in his every
sentence. Here too is a man who knows and preaches
the NFL philosophy of collective bargaining. And
who knows and understands the importance of the
saving of the family farms of America. He is proud
of his farming heritage. And hopeful that his sons
will stay on the farm. Roger Capehart a proud man
and a most hospitable host. But let's listen. As
Roger takes us on a short tour of his farm. David
is my second oldest son just went up on a tractor
menorahs better and he is one of a team of five
that won the judging championship on cattle in the
state of Vermont and we'll be going to Kansas City
Missouri in October to participate in a nationwide
judging. My son was president of the FFA chapter
down in New Jersey and passed and now he's a
member if I stay up here and they are the group
that is going on the judges. Well the Marne Bill
is a barn. It was constructed in 1938. It was
built entirely from lumber cut off this farm. It
is one of the larger barns in the state right now.
It has two hundred and fourteen tie stalls in it
then just blow it. Here is an older building with
a kind of a steeple on it and it is all well over
100 years old. As for the farm itself it is one of
the biggest ones in Vermont. It is eight hundred
and thirty seven acres that we own here. Down in
the fields I have one hundred and five acres of
corn which is coming along very well even though
we've had extremely dry year very dry the ground
here is peace on the on the bottom side was over
four hundred and fifty acres and the boundary line
goes all the way down along the corn down there to
order correct disorder correct is the ridge in a
long layer of trees what you see. And that goes
into Lake Champlain. It's a very big correct. I
call it a river. I don't see where they can call
it a crickets. One hundred and fifty foot wide and
quite deep and now on past that you go over into
the town of Addison. That's the next kind of slope
up there you see and then blow that lays Lake
Champlain down in the valley there again and all
the mountain range you see over there is three and
four ridges high and some of those mountains are
better than 70 miles away and you still can see
them NFL member Harold Smith with the help of his
two sons produces a variety of crops on his
acreage in Salem County New Jersey. The Smith
operation gives great support to the claim that
the state of New Jersey is indeed the Garden State
among all the states in the nation. Yes the Garden
State this is not a 40 acre field of tomatoes. The
seven to 17 varieties were developed by Campbell
Soup Company which is the real good varieties
yield pretty good
and we contracted at the river can house runners.
And was bought out by Brokeback back a subsidiary
of Curtis burns.
They make ketchup and juice. These two measures
average year would run about 20 times bigger. But
some years earlier like last year we had a lot of
rain. We had 18 inches of rain during peak and
deep season or during July just before peak in the
season. Within and within two weeks in which
ruined a lot of the crops we only got about 10
times last year. That some years turned out good.
We get an average about 20 22. Dan Aykroyd made it
are hand harvested by hand and they are trying to
develop a variety. They can pick with machine
hasn't been too well developed so far and for this
part of the country because of our seasons and the
ground situation that if I get a good broad it
might be possible to develop it so that I can pick
the harvester I grow about two hundred and thirty
eager to potatoes myself on the average and
have dealers license that I do buy from other
neighbors around when I need them to keep my crew.
There's a two back in house here. I have a greater
and larger the automatic bagger bags 5 to enter
Cornish post is a portion or maybe a part of what
type I have in this bar with
have some light out in the field yet and not on
another farm except for mom maybe five hours late
in the end. This is a power. Pick one of my field
of beans that I have picked probably part of my
agree so far but these are later ones that are
just in bloom and now. I usually like to get them
off sooner than this because for the made us come
on. But the weather was wet early so I didn't get
them all planted. These are always machine picked.
We have our own harvester and pick the reason but
we work in 50 to 100 acres. Some years we got more
of it this year I've only got 50 acres and a speck
of the old. I'm sorry I wasn't here day sooner. We
just cut it up yesterday. We picked Pecos off in
the month of July. We started to 1st July and take
up the first of August. Well this is my son Roger.
Here with the Pecos it. Began helps me all the
time here on the farm we run to being bigger. I
have another son Jared that. Does a weld and
repair work here in the shop and. Rebuilds all
equipment to obtain a harvester. We dig him load
him on the back bodies with and we bring them up
here in a shed and run them off on the conveyor.
Here in the dirt drops out on our knees and goes
out with a barn cleaner on minority brighter and.
We spread it back in the field again and then the
dangers go up to the greater and then are washed
and we pick up the calls and. Run them man over
into the bag and machine here and. They're. Bagged
and five 10 or 20 or 50 pound bags whichever they
call for. We have a tremendous investment and
equipment that takes to operate this many acres of
probably a hundred and fifty eight hundred seventy
five thousand dollars if you're gonna replace it
with all new equipment. Day's prices. Which. Is an
awful lot of upkeep on it. Take a harvester for
instance we spend about fifteen hundred dollars a
year just for a replacement change and part thanks
to the fix it up every year. Same with all the
equipment that the
interest and taxes were high and. Which makes it
hard to make ends meet. These prices or what we're
doing getting for I think they did NF NFL. What we
need to try to get a better price for products
because we've been
we can't keep on operating and losing money every
year. I'm working on a principle.
I feel as if a. Rabbi would stick together and
cooperate. We should. It would be a big help to us
to get a. Fair price. Not that we want to. Get.
Rich quick and it's not that we just have to get a
fair price to be able to stay in business.
You just haven't been to a county fair until you
attend one in New England. Our crew caught in the
sights and sounds of such an event in Addison
County Vermont. Harrison County feel they.
Look.
A. Little different
from.
Oh look look look look look look.
Look look
look.
Okay.
We got get down.
Don't know whether ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow
ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow. We're going to be
recycling.
Oh.
Well. Well. Well. Well well well long doesn't look
too good. I'm not quite.
Sure why not. I work in the right conditions on
the ground. I get a bit before.
Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra
ra.
That.
As the fun continued on the carnival midway our
cameraman welcome the opportunity to leave the
swings and spam solidly on Mother Earth again to
record a film of this young man in a quieter area
adjacent to the artisan County Fairgrounds. We
visited with many NFL members from the area among
them Irving McKinstry of Colchester Vermont
voting. Which county do you come from Sheridan
County Vermont. Between Franklin and Madison.
County. Are you in the dairy business. Yes I am in
the dairy business. Many cows are milking. I'm
looking seventeen at the present time and. Plan to
stay on a small scale family type scale where we
can. Get a little more time to ourselves and not
get ourselves tied down to. Many farm. Laborers
where we have to hire expensive health and so on
when you must pay wages. Yeah so many farmers have
believed the old propaganda at least that's what I
think it is that the only way to make it is to get
bigger and bigger and bigger. And this really
isn't the way at all as long as there is no price
it. Oh yes this is the way I feel and they tell
you to get bigger and go deeper in debt which is
very senseless. And when it comes from a professor
you kind of wonder on their status. What they're
thinking about you know that's very. Very
unrealistic way why should you stay in debt. Never
have to work to get out. This is more inflation
right. It's very sad to think that as a Christian
nation that we are pulling away from that more and
more and being dictated by just a minority. Irving
you grew up on a farm. And you told me that you
decided you try to make it in the urban area
selling what you lasted at that about a year and
came back to farming. Why did you come back. Well
how I I know that if a very good way to raise my
family is healthy. Yes you get the feel of the
other Christian life and when you're working with
the land and animals and so on and I don't think
you've got that much independence today but. I do
believe that it can get better and now that the
NFL has. Got farmers together that we can and I
know that we can. Work together and get a price
that we do deserve for our labors. Well I would
presume that you agree with most of the
agricultural capable minds who contend that the
saving of agriculture is through the saving of the
family type farm. Yes that the family type farm is
going. Yes going out will just make a burden on
city life and put more people in the city making
it much more polluting and ground it right. It
just compounds the the urban crisis. Yes. And it's
taking the land away and putting it into the hands
of just the field. Right. And this is the biggest
problem that America is facing today. This is Dan
Stevens of Massachusetts. Dan was preceded in
interviews by Bill Scott vocational ag teacher at
the high school in Virginia Vermont who said
farming is pure economics. He said the farmer must
have a price. We also visited with Ed Urich
Vermont State Commissioner of Agriculture Ed comes
from the worlds field Vermont
then what part of Massachusetts do you come from
central Massachusetts Worcester County. And that's
how far away from Madison County Vermont about 180
to 200 miles. Well you've come a long way to
attend the time to celebrate right on here right.
You'd come down every year. No this is our first
trip up. What kind of farming predominates in your
part of Massachusetts. Mostly dairy. Are you a
dairy farmer affect how a bigger herd you milk.
Milk a hundred cows. I only placements. Good
replacement program. What about your feed you. You
grow at all or do you have to buy some grain. Oh
we raise all our roughage and buy all our grain.
Now in 1969 you were voted the farmer of the year
for your state which is indeed an honor. How does
that competition work. Dan. I like to think of the
efficiency of the farm and crop production and not
production and the amount of milk produced command
and. Things of this nature. And is this a
competition through all of the New England states.
That's right. But there's just one winner for each
state I see. There is no final governor a final
and where one person might be chosen. The New
England farmer. Know what kind of production. Are
you getting out of your herd at this time. Well we
have about a fifteen thousand pound per day
average and uh five hundred pounds of benefit from
it. But.
What about your NFL affiliation Dan. When did you
June. Well I was a charter member there in
Worcester colony about three and a half four years
ago. What first caught your attention the NFL. Do
you remember. Well first I heard of NF is the uh
milk holding action and uh I figured it was time
that. Farmers got paid for their efficiency. I
mean we've been getting efficient for years but we
didn't seem to be getting any further ahead. So
that seemed like a good idea since your county in
Massachusetts has been chartered. Dan what do you
feel has been NFL accomplishments on behalf of the
Dairy Farmers of your state. Well I think in the
place of milk the. Competition has not been mostly
indirect by raising the price of Kraft to milk in
the Wisconsin area. I automatically raise the
price here in the east but then the beef business
we've had a real direct advantage where we're
shipping under contract through NFL and I've seen
a three to four cent price increase immediately
when we that are shipping NFL
I hope you've enjoyed these film highlights from
our recent field trip into the northeastern
section of the United States. U.S. farm reported
seeing each week at the same time on this same
station until we meet again. So long everybody.
Out here. At.
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