Dairy Industry

The Maryland Dairy Industry Association held an organizational meeting Dec. 13 in Frederick County to elect officers, approve bylaws and appoint committees on an interim basis.Myron L. Wilhide of Keysville, a Carroll County dairy farmer and Farm Bureau leader, was named interim president by acclamation. Janet Shank Stiles was chosen interim vice president.Laura Kaminsky of Wentz, northeast Carroll County, was elected interim secretary-treasurer. She also is a field representative for the Maryland Farm Bureau, which will temporarily house the group's offices in Randallstown.

It's time to spring into grilling seasonThe first hint of spring brings out not just daffodils but also grills, so the latest offering from the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library, "Outdoor Cooking" (Time-Life Books, 1997, $18.95), is just in time. Besides such old favorites as hamburgers and steaks, the book offers recipes for Thai-style swordfish, bacon-wrapped Cornish hens, and grilled fennel and endive.Palates of the XersWhen it comes to food choices, Generation Xers, roughly those people born between 1966 and 1978, have tastes that don't reflect those of their parents' era. A 10-year trend-tracking survey for Kraft Creative Kitchens of White Plains, N.Y., found that Xers don't cook from scratch, and they prefer ethnic foods, such as fajitas and Thai noodles, for dinner.

Dairy group to hold training session before 2000 annual meeting The Maryland Dairy Industry Association will hold a hands-on training session on the National Dairy InfoBase, which provides information on dairy-related subjects, as a prelude to its 2000 annual meeting. The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Carroll Community College Annex, 300 S. Center St., Westminster. The cost for the workshop is $50 for those who own copies of the InfoBase CD-ROM; $100 for those who have never purchased it. The conference, which will feature the presentation "A Team Approach to Family Dairying," will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the same day at Wilhelms Conference Center on Route 140. Information: 202-293-0476.

The Maryland Dairy Industry Association will hold its annual meeting Nov. 29 at Wilhelm Ltd. Caterers in Westminster. Association officials will outline a dairy production management plan designed to assure dairy producers of "Thriving in 2002 and Beyond," the theme of the meeting. Dairy veterinarian Dr. Jerome K. Harness will present the keynote address about guidelines for increasing economic returns in the modern dairy operation. Seminars will include a farm labor management plan, a farm investment management guide, a reproduction plan and timetable, and bio-security measures to protect and maintain herd health.

Senate approves bill on birth control pillsThe Maryland Senate approved a bill yesterday that would end the practice of treating birth control pills differently from other prescriptions.The measure, passed 31-14, would require health insurers to include contraceptive drugs and devices in their prescription plans. The amended version permits religious organizations to request that their insurer exclude such coverage.Women's groups and medical organizations promoted the bill as gender equity, saying national studies show women of reproductive age spend 68 percent more on out-of-pocket health costs than men. But insurance representatives argued the benefit would drive up the cost of health care.

On Aug. 23, 1893, ground was broken for the Harford Creamery on a road two miles east of Shawsville and two miles north of Madonna now called Harford Creamery Road. Machinery began churning at the creamery on Dec. 10, 1893. The boiler was known as "Old Bess." With a new plant to process milk up and running, farmers began to keep more cows. The plant at one time had 100 contributors and handled as much as 20,000 pounds of milk a day. The milk was separated from the cream and some of the cream was made into butter.

GRANTED, YOU CAN'T feel too sorry for a guy making $30 million, but Cal Ripken Jr. has his own problems.First comes a headline-making report from the director of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and child care expert Dr. Benjamin Spock that cow's milk -- the drink Mr. Ripken endorses as dairy industry spokesman -- can lead to juvenile diabetes and digestive problems in youngsters.Days later, Esskay meats, another product heavily represented by the Orioles' star shortstop in local advertisements, announced the closure of its East Baltimore processing plant after 70 years there because of dangerous structural problems.

Maryland agriculture officials will be watching Pennsylvania in coming weeks to see whether some of the recent steps taken to preserve the dairy industry there could help farmers here. Last month, Pennsylvania teamed with New York and Vermont in search of ways to boost the profit of dairy farms, increase their share of the U.S. milk market and reverse the trend of farms going out of business. The collaboration comes on the heels of Pennsylvania's implementation of a program to pay farmers in the northeastern part of the state a bonus for increasing their annual milk production.

The Maryland Senate tentatively endorsed a controversial milk price-support measure yesterday after an emotional debate over whether the state would hurt consumers through the effort to help the struggling dairy industry.Hours after Gov. Parris N. Glendening made a personal appeal to key leaders, the Senate agreed in a 26-20 vote to let Maryland join a regional consortium that sets the farm price of Class 1 (drinking) milk.Dairy advocates, and even some opponents of the heavily lobbied bill, predict it has a good chance of passage in a final vote expected today.

A cheese giveaway is putting Vermont's finest dairy product on the tables of Carroll's needy residents. Volunteers at Carroll County Food Sunday filled grocery bags yesterday with three days' worth of food as usual. "Oatmeal or Cheerios; macaroni or beans," each patron was asked. Then they were offered the unheard-of: Monterey Jack, cheddar, Colby Jack and extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Each family received an 8-ounce block with their groceries. "They can have the flavor they like," said David Hagerty, chairman of Food Sunday, which operates distribution sites in Westminster, Eldersburg and Taneytown, and assists about 16,000 households a year.