Milford chronicle., 1957-02-15
Feder0l-St0te Hearing On
M;Jk Has Been
Closed
CONTINUED from first pagel

] tCOntlnueO from nrsI pager
pool during the hearing has been
/ the Interstate Milk Producers Co
/ operative, which handles nearly
/ 100000 pounds of milk annual
ly for it's members, who form a
majority of milk producers in the
Philadelphia area.
The market pool proposal orig
inally was made by l. Elkin Nath-
ans, a New York milk broker, who
has complained that receiving sta
tions he handles in the buffer area
near New York are unable to buy
milk without paying a premium to
meet the Philadelphia price. The
Mutual Federation of Independent
CoOperatives, Inc, of Syracuse,
New York, which indicated in testi-
mOny that it wanted some excess
New York milk put into the Phila-
delphia pool, also asked for a mar
ket pool. These outside proponents
were joined, in the hearing, by
Sealtest Supplee Division National
Dairy Products Corporation and
Foremost Diaries, Inc, two large
Philadelphia milk dealers who also
engage extensively in manufactur-
ing.
The New York market area now
operates under Federal Order 27
with a market pool, while Phila-
delphia is regulated by Order 81
with handler pool.
Testimony was given by experts
from Pennsylvania State UNIVERSE
ty, several Philadelphia dealers,
both large and small, and Inter
States contention that to change
to a market pool in the Philadel-
phia milkshed would lower the
price to producers while possibly
raising the price TO consumers and
would result in an unstable market.
In the forty-siX days that the
hearing ran intermittently between
June II, 1856, and February 2,
1857, ten lawyers interviewed and
cross-examined several dozen wit
nesses. A total of more than 1O,-
600 pages of testimony was placed
in the record.
Interested parties have been CIV
en- until April 6, because of the
voluminous records, to file briefs
based on testimony presented at
the hearing. Federal and State
detail and make tentative prOpo-
sails for amending the marketing
orders. Witnesses at the hearing
have requested that the Federal
and State authorities issue orders
containing similar prices, terms
and conditions in order to avoid
conflict and confusion.
The Federal recommendations
will be submitted to all interested
parties, who, in turn, will be given
a definite period in which to study
and submit further briefs in oppo-
sition to, or in support of, the
Recommended Decision. Following
these Briefs of Exceptions, Govern
ment representatives then will
study them and issue final
amended order. A date will be set
for a referendum or vote of pro-
ducers on this final order. Unoffi-
cial estimates were that this could
not be completed before July 1. The
L IlSyiNdIld MIN OOllCIOl SO1l-
mission customarily submits a
Tentative order at short PrevieW
Hearing, where verbal arguments
are presented in opposition to, or
in support of. the Tentative Order.
No referendum is required for the
issuance of orders by the Pennsyl-
vania Milk Control Commission
since its authority is mandatory.
Producers NAV vote only on the
complete amended Federal order
as proposed and have no choice as
to the type of regulation in it. If
the required number of producers
voting approve the amended order,
it will become effective. Once the
Department of Agriculture has held
hearing and found that amend
ments are in order, it takes the po-
sition that producers may vote only
| on that order as amended and not