FARMERS & CONSUMERS Tommy /rvin, Commissioner Georgia Deparfmenf of Agriculture Market Bulletin Vol. 71, No. 49 Wednesday, December 4, 1985 Bill Pi Turkey Popular Throughout Year During the holiday season, consumers seem to become more "turkey conscious." However, today's industry is in the hands of people who realize that to survive in the market place, they must make turkey a year- round meat. In an effort to accomplish this task, turkey has been further pro- |' cessed into new 4 I . products. While *\\ everyone is familiar with the bird baked at grandmother's house for Thanksgiv- ing and Christmas dinner, in recent years turkey has taken on new forms. It has been transformed from that faithful holiday bird which was produced nine months, placed in freezer and marketed the last three months of the year, to a variety of products. Our guest columnist this week is Bill Pilkenton, President, Georgia Turkey Association, Route 1, Box 109, Molena 30258. Turkey now can be purchased in the form of turkey ham, sausage, bologna, steaks, and roasts. Because of these new products, turkey is subsequently produced and enjoyed year round. Per capita consumption of turkey has increased at an annual rate of 10 percent in recent years. Presently, per capita consumption is an average of 12 pounds per person. Georgia currently produces 2.5 million turkeys a year and ranks 12th in national production. The fact that there is not a processing plant in Georgia has surpressed the expansion of turkey production in the state for years. The majority of turkeys raised in Georgia are produced by farmers of a dying breed independent producers. Over 90 percent of the turkeys grown- nationally are produc- ed by contract producers, similar to the broiler contract growers. Unlike contract growers, independent producers are responsible for all pro- (Continued on Page 10) Farm Front Ga's Pecan Processing Plants Bustling During Holiday Season Disaster Assessment Hurricane Kate stormed through the Florida panhandle and across south Georgia November 22, damaging enough crops to prompt Governor Joe Frank Harrris to request U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assessment teams to visit 11 Georgia counties last week. Reports from their findings will be sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John Block as early as next week. Cotton, pecans and soybeans suffered the most. Damage to the cotton crop could cost Georgia farmers as much as $10 million, and damage to soybeans could he more than three times that much. No dollar value has been placed on the pecan losses at this writing, but producers in several counties lost hundreds of pecan trees. 09 consumer With nearly one third of Georgia's current pecan crop harvested and the holi- day season near, the state's pecan processing plants are operating in full swing. There are nearly 50 pecan processing facilities in Georgia, primarily located in the southwest pecan growing area. Georgia pecan growers produce 40 percent of the national crop with 85 percent processed by these plants. In addition, some 30 to 35 percent of their business is brought in from other pecan producing states. While the holiday season is the busiest time of year for processors and distributors, pecan sales during the rest of the year far outstrip holiday volume. For example, 30 percent bakery trade, 15 percent to confectioners, five percent to ice cream manufacturers and 10 percent are sold to consumers for home use. During processing and bagging, Georgia Department of Agriculture inspectors make frequent visits to pecan processing facilities. They check equipment for sanitary conditions and make sure there is no contamination or adulteration of the product. Package labels also are checked to ensure the consumer gets what he pays for. of Georgia's pecans are sold during (Continued on Page 12) the peak holiday season leading up to Christmas. Pecan products sold in Commodity Meetings fund-raisers and holiday gift packs go from farm to consumer without Planned This Month leaving the state and include pecan logs, as well as spiced, roasted and Nomination meetings for producer candied pecans. member vacancies on the Georgia The remaining 70 percent of Agricultural Commodity Commis- Georgia's pecans are sold commer- sions for Cotton, Peanuts and Tobac- cially throughout the year. Pro- co will be held December 9-11. cessors estimate that 60 percent of Nominations for the vacancies can these commercial sales go to the be made by any producer. All pro- ducers of these commodities are urg- line ed to attend these important meetings. Q. What minimum percentage of milk fat and protein must be contained in a commercially made ice cream? A. Federal regulations specify that ice cream must contain not less than 27 percent protein. However, as the milk fat content increases, the percentage of protein required decreases. Q. When I went to buy some frozen juice it was thawed out completely, even the cans on the bottom of the freezer were soft. Also, the vegetables were mushy. Can you send someone out to check this store? A. We sent an inspector to the store and he found that the frozen food counter, where the juice was stored, was not set at a proper temperature. Also, he discovered that a fan had been unplugged and was not allowing the cold air to circulate. The vegetable freezer case has a defrost unit that was not functioning properly. It is in the process of being repaired. All thawed juice and vegetables were removed from sale. Our inspector will continue to monitor this store until all repairs are complete. *** Q. After pouring a glass of milk, my child put the jug back in the refrigerator without the cap. Later that day, the rnilk had developed a slight odor. Is this unusual? A. The fact that your milk developed an odor is not unusual. Milk is notorious for absorbing odors. Therefore, it is important to keep containers closed. *** For answers and action on areas regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, call the Consumer Services Of/ice at our toll-free number, 3-800-282-5852 statewide, or in metro Atlanta, 656-3645. Write Consumer Services at Capitol Square, Room 227, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. COTTON December 9 11 a.m. Morgan Co. Farm Bureau Office, 1091 Ward Rd., Madison. December 9 7 p.m. Bleckley Co. Farm Bureau Office, 109 Beech St., Cochran. PEANUT December 9 7 p.m. (District 4) Bleckley Co. Farm Bureau Office, 109 Beech St., Cochran. December 10 10 a.m. (District 5) UGA Experiment Sta- tion, Plains. December 10 7 p.m. (District 2) Rural Development Center, Rooms 4 & 5, Tifton. TOBACCO December 10 (District 1) Colquitt Bureau Office, Hwy. Moultrie. 3 p.m. Co. Farm 33 North, December 11 3 p.m. (District 5) Coffee Co. Farm Bureau Office, 417 West Walker St., Douglas. Page 2 THE MARKET BULLETIN Wednesday, December 4. 1985 we yet letteu All types of light blasting done, beaver ponds drained, drained ditch shot, foundations and boulders shot, rocks removed, etc. Doug Robinson, Fayetteville. Ph. 404-461-1951._________________ Horseshoeing, Hunters, jumpers, Western, Polo ponies. Richard Dunivant, Gumming. Ph. 889-3747._________ Will do all types of farm fencing & farm land clearing. Bill Hardin, 2360 Jones Phillips Rd., Dacula 30211. Ph. 962-5094. Dear Editor Horses / cattle hauled, tractor work, bush hogging. J.R. Wimpey, Jonesboro. Ph. 471-4221.________________ Recently there was an interesting article in the Constitu tion about the progress of the Market Bulletin. You revealed the number of mailings, however, there was no mention of the number of readers. Will do tractor work, bush hogging, light grading, Troy-Bilt tiller work, hauling w/sgl. axle flat dump truck, Clarke & surrounding cos. Winston Westbrook, Athens. Ph. 546-8170._______________ Take my word it is not considered "junk mail." In the November 20th issue my ad appeared for free farm equipment to be removed from my farm. Our phone started ringing at 9:45 a.m. and the last call came in at 11:20 p.m. After the third call, we kept a record. For a nine-hour period, we had an average of nine calls every 10 minutes. At 5:30 p.m. there was a change. The calls came every 30 minutes. We received a total of 706 calls from across the entire state. After we began keeping a record, we asked callers where they lived. We calculated that over half were from the area surrounding Walton County and the rest were long distance calls. That averages out to 4.4 calls per county, Grading, clearing, hauling w/955 loader and/or dump truck, dirt, gravel, sand. Joe Brassfield, Smyrna. Ph. 432-4555. Will catch cattle, hogs anywhere in Ga., 14 yrs. exp. Ronnie Dykes, Cochran. Ph.912-934-6747.________________ Loader, backhoe, dump truck clearing, general tractor work, bush hogging, blade work, etc., top soil, fill dirt avail. 0. Vandeford, Lawrenceville. Ph. 404-963-3606.__________________ Loader/dozer work, grading, clearing (Irg. or sml. tracks), ponds, lakes, hauling, etc. M. Fox, Canton. Ph. 887-7308 or 926-9078 (Atlanta)._____________ throughout the state. The most interesting call we received was from a gentleman who was not interested in my equipment but wanted to know how many calls I received. He stated that once he advertised "free chickens" in the Bulletin and nearly went crazy. On November 21, we removed the receiver after the first call at 7 a.m. and returned it at 8:15 a.m. By 8:20 I received five calls; three long distance and two local. C. A. Brooks 4261 Rockingchair Lane Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083 Will do tractor work, bush hogging, post hold digging, plowing w/in 25 mi. Winder, 2 hrs. min., cash only. D. Granslaff, Winder. Ph. 867-5525._____ Will furnish sprigs and custom plant certi. Tifton 78, Tifton 44, Brazos, Alicia, Coastal Bermuda on your farm. Gene Hart, Guyton. Ph. 912-728-3380._____ Will plow gardens, bush hogging, all types of tractor work on your farm, reas. and reliable, 30 yrs. exp. B. Lightsey, Decatur. Ph. 288-2324._________ Will water grind corn & wheat into meal, flour or grits aft. 3 pm. Mike Buckner, Junction City. Ph. 404-269-3630. Farm employment It you have questions regarding this category, call Son/a Way 656-3727, No commercial, industrial or domestic employment permitted. Only that employment that pertains to the individual farm may be advertised. Want farm work, prefer working w/horses. James Fennell, P.O. Box 242, Cartersville 31028. Ph. 912-929-1725. Want full/part time job working w/horses, have yrs of exp. w/English & western, can do all, have ref., Gumming, Alpharetta, Atlanta areas. Jackie Mannaert, Atlanta. Ph. 237-4006._______ Want job exercising horses. M. Sincere, Gumming. Ph. 889-2979.____ Extra good job for nigh caliber retired couple, house & salary, upkeep garden, etc., light farm chores, B. E. Copeland, P.O. Box 251, Roswell 30077. Ph. 404-475-5789 6 to 11pm.__________ Horse barn help full/part-time, pay determined by exp. Cathy Hope, Alpharetta. Ph. 475-8446.__________ Want dependable female to live in and do light farm chores, room, board plus sml. salary. Mrs. Lola Sargent, 2057 Lawrenceville Hwy., Decatur 30033. Ph. 404-321-6176.________________ Married woman will feed, turn out horses in exchange for boarding 2 horses in So. Paulding-Douglas Co. J. Glower, 4873 Maroney Mill Rd., Douglasville 30134. Ph. 942-8545 before 4 pm. Man & wife seek farm employment picking up eggs or caretaking, need salary & place to live. Roney Dixon, Cherry St., Apt. 723, Macon 31204. Ph. 912-743-0538.________________ Want Christian lady who drives to live in and help w/gardening and other chores on farm near Savannah, salary, room/board. Mrs. Hattie Zipperer, Savannah. Ph. 912-925-2345.___________ Want honest, dependable farm family w/knowledge of hay, hog farming, will furnish 5 room house, utilities and salary. Tommy Macon, Cataula. Ph. 322-5196. Retired woman in good health wants farm work for space for trailer and fencing for animals. Mrs. Mitchell, P.O. Box 91, Roopville 30170.____________ Want top working manager, salary, house, bonus, pecan farm near Atlanta. 3. Nims, Box 888312, Atlanta 30356. Ph. 404-395-0514 or 393-1331.________ Want family for general farm work, mobile home avail. J.H. Holyoak, Rt. 1, Alapaha 31622. Ph. 912-532-6135. Working student needed at sml. dressage barn, must be advanced (or nearly) rider, barn near Dcatur. A. Genovese, Stone Mtn. Ph. 289-7535 / 938-7433. Want light duty job on farm, some tractor exp. & bldg. repair, will learn, Upson Co. area. Murray Harmon, The Rock. Ph. 647-1786. Horseshoeing & trimming, hot, cold, corrective, prompt, reliable service, grad. Eastern School Farriery. Steve Powers, Douglasville. Ph. 942-8080.________ Horseshoeing & trimming, regular & corrective by AFA certi. farrier. Eddie Rainey, Milner. Ph. 404-358-2409._____ Will repair / rebuild elec. farm fence chargers. B.W. Hedditch, Rt. 1, Box 302, Rock Springs 30739. Ph. 404-764-1773. Farm Services Dragline work, dig & clean out ponds, drain swampland on mats. Larry Potts, Watkinsville. Ph. 404-725-7851.______ It you have questions regarding this category, call Son/a Way 656-3727. Will do any type of farm fencing by foot or job. Ronnie Hill, Maysville. Ph. 335-6590 / 3077._______________ Advertisers should include a statement with each notice indicating that the service offered are indeed "farm services" provided by that individual. Will split your firewood, will come to your place w/hyd. wood splitter. David Corbitt, Atlanta. Ph. 758-6188._______ Will do tractor work on your farm, gardens tilled, bush hogged, seed planting, light grading, loader work. Steve Will build farm fences of all types, cor- Kennerly, Tucker .Ph. 972-8357. rals, catch pens, ref. avail. Mark Whelchel, Rt. 9, Box 284-A, Gainesville 30506. Ph. 404-983-3165 or 404-534-2046 Will build all type of farm fences. Greg Strickland, Winston. Ph. 489-2202. evenings.__________________ Will do bush hogging, plowing, blade work, plant pine trees. Fred Eckhardt, Griffin. Ph. 228-6567.____________ Will do tractor work, bush hogging, plowing, light blade work. Douglas Givens, 1242 Suwanee Rd., Lawrenceville 30245. Ph. 963-3890.___________________________ Stumps removed from your farm land below ground level, reas. Joel Cawthon, Jackson. Ph. 404-775-6066.________ Blacksmith, 7 yrs., exp., grad. Southeastern School of Horseshoeing, hot & cold work, will travel. Steve Prescott, Sharpsburg. Ph. 404-251-0852 aft. 7 pm.______________________________ Garden plowed, farm front end loader work, clearing & grading. J. Rich, Austell. Ph. 941-6855._____________________ Will remove beavers & muskrats from your lake or pond in Cherokee, Bartow, North Cobb cos. B. Gordon, 721 Marietta Hwy., Canton 30114. Ph. 479-6327 aft. 7 Will do loader work, clearing, grading, etc. Brooks Bresnan, Woodstock. Ph. 926-3240.____________________________________ Swamps drained w/dragline or backhoe on mats. Wayne Marrett, 3230 Stanton Rd., Conyers 30208. Ph. 404-483-4182/4567.__________________________ Will do loader, tractor, dump truck work on your farm, top soil & fill dirt avail. Joe Gargiulo, Decatur. Ph. 296-9189. Chicken houses cleaned, litter spread, hay cut & baled in sq. bales, also, corn & grain combined in Carrollton, Franklin area. W. Hackney, Roopville. Ph. 404-854-4996.____________________________ prn.__________________________________________ Will plant pine trees w/crawlers w/V blades and Whitfield semi auto, tree planters. Larry Westbrook, Rt. 1, Box 180-A, Lumpkin 31815. Ph. 912-887-2160. Will dig fish ponds, land clearing, backhoe services on your farm, will pickup roots. Oscar Bailey, Rt. 1, Box 152, Vienna 31092. Ph. 912-268-4911._____ Loader work, grading & clearing, etc. on your farm. Chris Riner, McDonough. Ph. 957-6244.__________________ Horses/cattle hauled, have portable catch pen. Lynn Hale, Acworth. Ph. 404-428-2835.______________________ Tractor work, plowing, tilling, bush hogging, light grading, Clarke , Oconee & surrounding area. W.B. Thornton, Bogart. Ph. 404-769-8362.__________________________ Will do bush hogging, light blade work, plowing, other, 25 mi. radius of Loganville. E. Ray, Rt. 3, Loganville 30249. Ph. 466-1376.___________________________ Will build horse barns, pole barns, any type barn to fit your needs, ref. and pictures. Martin Skiver, Rt. 2, Box 1092, Dahlonega 30533. Ph. 404-864-6586. Stumps ground 6-8 in. below ground level from gardens and farm land, reas. Gary Reynolds, Roswell. Ph. 992-8005. Front end loader / backhoe, dump truck work, cut, roll or bale hay, haul cattle, I local or long distance. David Thomas, I Canon. Ph. 404-245-9669._________ | Will haul horses, local or long i distance, reas. rates and exc. care. C.L. | Williams, Jackson. Ph. 404-775-5367. j Will build fences, any type, highest | qual., 18 yrs., exp. Bates Kelley, Hartwell. Ph. 404-376-6322/7313.__________ Horseshoeing & trimming by AFA certi. farrier, regular & corrective work, 24 hr. answering service. Benny Biddy, Alpharetta. Ph. 475-4896.__________ Farrier, 10 yrs. exp., corrective shoeing. G.J. Seleb, P.O. Box 506, Barnesville 30204. Ph. 404-358-3856.___________ Will build farm pasture fencing. Garland Reagan, Lawrenceville. Ph. 404-46-1222.________________________ Will do bush hogging, garden plowing, pasture renovation, all types of tractor work for your farm, exp. & dependable. Steve Roberts, Woodslock. Ph. 475-2481. Farm fencing of all types. John R. Griffitts, 4745 College St., Forest Park. Ph. 404-366-6846._____________________ Mail ads to arrive in our office by 1 Wednesday. Will do bush hogging, garden plowing, Cobb co. & surrounding area, reas. & reliable. Hugh Wright, Marietta. Ph. 404-926-3042.__________________ Will do garden plowing and land, bush hogging, reas. rates, Fairburn & surrounding area. Joe Brock, Fairburn. Ph. 964-7844.______________________ Horses transported 80