Banner Graphic, Volume 13, Number 101, Greencastle, Putnam County, 5 January 1983 — Page 6

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The Putnam County Banner-Graphic, January 5,1983

Patricia Franceschi holds her daughter, Devon, on the porch of the Drew Cash Store in Drew, Oregon. Patricia and her husband, Gus, bought the town about four years ago and are now trying to sell it for $36,000. The town is located on a winding road that links Canyonville to Trail, deep in the hills of Southern Oregon. (AP Laserphoto)

Small computers Financial management tool may be 'crucial' to farms during 1980 s

By Lynda Gorov (c) 1982 Chicago Sun-Times CHICAGO The use of small computers may emerge as a financial management tool as crucial to farmers in the 1980 s as the mechanization of crop production was earlier this century. But the ready adoption of the technology may be hindered by the belief that available com-puter-related assistance is inadequate, according to a recent survey of 535 producers, agricultural lenders and consultants in the United States and Canada. The survey, released at the National Agricultural Bankers Conference held here recently,

fs HENDRICKS COUNTY W FARM BUREAU CO-OP 207 Elizabeth St., Greencastle, Ind. 653-4102

CROP PRODUCTION INFORMATION We at the Farm Bureau Coop know how valuable information is to the good farm manager. With the flood of information today, it is hard to sort out which sources of information are worth your time and money. Your banker, broker, advisory service, professional magazines, should all be used as information sources. For crop production information you call on your fertilizer dealer. This is where we at your Coop feel that we have a competitive edge. Our recent computerization of our fertilizer program has put us at the crest of the crop production information wave. Information such as field-by-field customer farm histories, field maps, fertilizer in outs for maximum economic yield, crop budgeting, and more is available by pushing a few buttons. With our telephone hookup and other powerful computers our information capabilities are unlimited. We believe that the foundation of a good crop production program starts with information about the soil that the crop will be grown in. That’s why one of the first things our Fertilizer Manager, Gary Bymaster, will ask you for when he calls on you this winter, is your soil test data. If you do not have up-to-date soil tests we pull them for you free of charge. It is part of our commitment to bring to you the information you need to make you a better farm manager.

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indicated that only 3 percent of all farmers and ranchers now own computers. But 22 percent of the innovative producers defined in the study as more rapidly adopting to new technologies use computers on the farm. More than 60 percent of the innovative producers and nearly 20 percent of all farmers are expected to use computers to control finances over the next five years. With 370,000 commercial farmers and ranchers in the U.S. and Canada, the survey by Arthur Andersen & Co. and the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign’s Department of Agricultural Economics suggested about 60,000 computers will be acquired during

that period. Although the study did not estimate the potential number of farm clients or the dollar value of future billings, the magnitude of farm-related computers is expected to be great. Officials of Arthur Andersen and the university said some farmers indicated they would pay more than SIOO an hour for the proper training. “It’s unclear how far farmers are going to go, but it is clear they're interested,” said Thomas L. Frey, a professor of agricultural finance at the university. “They will pay for good expertise.” More than 90 percent of the respondents predicted ac-

counting. estate planning, marketing, financial analysis and computer services will become increasingly important to producers in the next five years Farmers and ranchers said they expect computers to play an important role in maintaining production records, monitoring receipts and expenditures, creating strategic planning and handling market information. Producers now depend regularly on management consultants for many of those services. according to more than 75 percent of the respondents. With farm income at its lowest level since the Depression. Norman Carlson, a

'Parity' in 'B2 lowest in 70 years of record-keeping

WASHINGTON iAPi - The government’s farm “parity" yardstick dropped in 1982 to the lowest level in more than 70 years of record-keeping, figures show. The latest statistics issued Thursday by the Agriculture Department showed com modity prices at the farm declined 1.6 percent in December.

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partner in the small business practice of Arthur Andersen’s Chicago office, called effective financial management “a critical skill for survival.” The importance of accurate record keeping also is growing because of the number of commercial farmers renting part or all of their land. As the average farm size increases, so does the number of landlords each producer reports to. While the survey indicated financial management methods are changing, day-to-day operations will remain in the family. The overwhelming majority said family members will continue to record financial transactions in the next five years.

That was enough, according to USDA records going back to 1910, to unofficially pushed the historic “parity" ratio to its lowest annual reading ever. The financial indicator has never sunk so low, not even in the depths of the Depression in the early 19305. The parity formula was designed half a century ago and incorporated into federal

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Land Bank buys farm

Farmers' protest fails to block sale

SPRINGFIELD, Colo. (AP) Angry fanners who tried to halt a farm foreclosure sale with an egg-throwing demonstration broken up by tear gas say they were protesting federal policies that hurt the agricultural industry. Two protesters remained behind bars today and a third escaped in handcuffs following the confrontation Tuesday on the courthouse steps, which drew farmers from as far away as Illinois and Missouri. The demonstrators were trying to prevent the Federal Land Bank of Wichita from buying a 320-acre wheat and milo farm in southeastern Colorado owned by Jerry Wright, a founder of the American Agriculture Movement. The bank, which owned the deed, purchased the farm for about $92,000, officials said. Alton Warren, president of the Federal Land Bank Association of Lamar, Colo., said Wright was three years behind in his payments. The American Agriculture Movement, which was founded in this southeast Colorado community five years ago and formed tractorcades to Washington to protest farm policies, organized Tuesday's protest, said Laurie Schroder of Campo, Colo., wife of another founder, Eugene Schroder. Baca County Sheriff Willard

law to help express farmers’ financial situation by relating prices they receive to expenses and other factors. The December price index also remained below yearearlier readings, where it has been in 16 of the last 17 months. Commodity prices generally have been depressed because of huge grain harvests the past two years, along with lagging

City bond sale to aid Harvester

HOCK ISLAND, 111. (AP) - A $6.9 million city bond sale to help the financially ailing International Harvester Co. will go ahead in a week to 10 days, City Manager J. Neil Neilsen said Monday. A motion to scrap the agreement never came up for a vote Monday, clearing the way for completion of the bond sale

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Goff said Doug Goodpaster, 31, and his father, Jim Goodpaster, 56, both of Vilas, Colo., were charged with assault on a police officer. Goff said one of the men was slightly injured and had been treated by a doctor. Neither was being allowed visitors because “we still feel under threat here,” Goff said. The third man arrested. Kinan Burk of Springfield, escaped by jumping out of a courthouse window while wearing handcuffs, Goff said. In an interview on ABC Television’s “Nightline” program, Wright admitted he owed the bank money. He said he was unable to make the payments because of federal farm policies over which he had no control including a grain embargo against the Soviet Union imposed by President Carter and lifted by President Reagan that forced grain prices downsl a bushel.

Sunshine by Saturday By The Associated Press The weather map for today showed a definte lack of weather systems through the middle part of the nation which is rather unusual for this time of year, the National Weather Service said. However, a low pressure system is expected to develop Thursday in the northern plains and move east, forecasters said. This means warmer air is likely to push into Indiana Thursday . During Friday a cold front trailing from the low should swing through the state and create a chance for showers. Then with sunshine expected to return Saturday, high temperatures should reach into the 40s.

exports and consumer demand for meat, poultry and dairy products. The price report said that lower prices for oranges, tomatoes, cattle, turkeys and eggs were mostly responsible for the December decline in the index. However, higher prices for corn, lettuce, hogs, soybeans and sorghum partially offset the gains for the

arrangement. Neilsen was scheduled to meet Tuesday with Harvester attorneys to set a date for the sale, which is intended to help finance the transfer of a production line from Louisville, Ky., to Rock Island. Under the terms of the agreement, the truck and farm equipment manufacturer would have 10 years to repay the principal and interest on the bonds to the city. Opposition to the loan centered on the problem of the collateral Harvester would put up to secure the bond sale,

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“That made the difference in my making the payments or not ... I feel my constitutional rights have been violated here,' Wright said, adding he would take his fight to the courts. Farmers began gathering more than an hour before the demonstration. Scores of tractors were parked on both sides of Main Street, many with banners protesting the sale. When County Treasurer Thelma Goodnight attempted to read public notice of the auction, the farmers began shouting "No sale! No sale!” Witnesses said deputies tried to leave the courthouse but were pushed back inside. Goff said he ordered the farmers to leave three times, but they refused. The arrests came after a scuffle broke out when some of the protesters tried to push their way inside the courthouse, Goff said. Deputies responded byfiring tear gas canisters at the crowd.

other commodities. Prices paid by farmers to meet expenses, meanwhile, declined 0.6 percent during the month but still averaged 3.3 percent more than a year ago. Weaker commodity prices have helped dampen consumer food prices, which are expected to rise 4.5 percent in 1982. the smallest annual increase in six years.

Neilsen said. The Chicago-based company, has conceded its survival is in, doubt and that it may ultimately have to declare; bankruptcy. If Harvester were to gd bankrupt and Rock Island did not have clear title to the collateral, Neilsen said last week, the city could be forced to pay off the bonds out of cor : porate funds. That W’ould amount to $970,000 a year, he said, and could require a 20 percent increase in property taxes.