—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 29,1979
12
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -
Changing economic con*
ditions and the failure of
many independent fannes to
adopt modern business
Strategies are making ob
solete one of America’s most
cherished institutions, the
family farm, according to
Walter Russell, vice
president of Gppenheimer
Industries, a leading
agribusiness management
and consulting firm based in
Kansas City.
“The family farm is
disappearing in part because
its owners see it more as a
way of life than as an in
creasingly complex
business,” says Dr. Russell,
whose , own family has
operated a small farm near
Emerson, lowa, for the past
105 years.
“Too many decisions are
guided by tradition rather
than sound economic con
siderations,” he observes,
“whether it’s in cotton,
livestock, grain or whatever,
the family has established a
pattern and that pattern
continues no matter how
much change takes place in
the world outside.
“Sometimes a son learns
something about business
land wants to try something
new. As likely as not his
father will resist with the
protest, “This is the way
we’ve always done it.”
Russell adds, however,
that unsophisticated
management is by no means
the • only problem en
dangering the family farm.
“Inflation and new
technology have put the
small-scale fanner at an
g not a lifestyle but a business, manager says
enormous disadvantage,” he
explains.
“The new machinery is
unbelieveably expensive and
today’s financing costs often
make the burden too much to
carry. Even worse, an old
standby for boosting in
sufficient revenues
raising livestock now has
become an enterprise that’s
too expensive for. any
families to get into.”
HARRISBURG - Soil
Conservation offices
throughout Pennsylvania
are trying something new.
The employees were
recently given the option of
what type of work week their
offices would follow.
Under Public Law 95-390,
they were authorized to
experiment with a flexible
and compressed work
schedule. The trial period is
to last three years, after
which time the effectiveness
of the system will be studied.
According to Graham
Munkittrick, State Con
versationist, the program
seems to be working welL It
went into effect in October of
this year.
The SCS employees were
given the option, as work
units, to have one of three
types of schedules. One
.choice was to keep the
normal five day, eight hours
a day schedule. The other
two options were a four day
week where the employee
works ten hours a day, or
the 5-4/9 plan. In this plan,
Only about half of the
nation’s farms ,are
generating enough profit
consistently to fend off in
solvency, says Russell, and
most of those are larger
operations. He also observes
that many of today’s suc
cessful farmers are using
rented land.
For young couples plan
ning to buy a farm today,
Russell has some blunt
advice: “Unless you have a
SCS tries
the employee works 9 hours
a day for eight days and
eightfbours on the ninth day.
What this means to the
person who is seeking
assistance from SCS is that
the hours that assistance can
be provided could possibly
be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The work units that chose
the four-day work week
numbered 25; the 5-4/9 plan
came in second with 15 work
units; and 9 field offices
decided to keep the normal
week.
The following is a sum
mary of work schedules for
area field offices:
ALLENTOWN (4-Day
Week)
Bert M-W&F 6:30-5:00
Burgess M-Th6:3o-5:00
Galanti T-F 6:30-5:00
Yohn M-Th6:3o-5;00
CARLISLE (4-Day Week)
Thrasher M-T 7:00-5:30
Aulenbacher T-F 7:00-5:30
M-T7:005:30
CHAMBERSBURG (4-Day
Week)
T-F7:00-5:30
Akers
farming background, torget
it.
“Too many city people
have a romantic notion of
farming, that all it demands
' work. They have no
idea how slim their chances
of making a go of it will be,
no matter how hard they are
willing to work,” he says.
For those whose
backgrounds do qualify
them to buy a farm, he
recommends that no action
flexible work week
Hoffman
Schaffer
M-Th 6:004:30
M-Th 7:00-6:30
GETTYSBURG
Bentz M-F 8:004:30
Hann M-F 8:00-4:30
McCleaf M-F8:00-4:30
HARRISBURG
(4-Day Week)
Myers M-Th7:oo-6:30
LANCASTER
(4-Day Week)
Archibald T-F 7:00-5:30
Cantore T-F 7:00-5:30
Custer T-F 7:00-6:30
Eberly M-Th7;oo-5;30
Knight M-Th7:oo-5:30
Lucas T-F 7:00-5:30
Merkel M-Th 7:00-5:30
Petrichenko M-Th7:oo-5:30
Petrus M-Th 7:00-5:30
Tohrer T-F 7:00-5:30
Yaworski T-F7:00-5:30
Zuschlag M-Th 7:00-5:30
LEBANON FIELD OFFICE
(4-Day Week)
HeUerick M-Th 7:00-5:30
Suffian T-F 7:00-5:30
Thomas T-F 7:00-5:30
be taken without
professional advice.
“No one would consider
buying a factory without
calling in outside help, but it
is not so unusual to see multi
million dollar investments
made in farms without the
aid of consultants who
specialize in agribusiness. ”
Accordingly, for those who
already are running then
own farms, Dr. Russell
offers this reminder: “First
LEESPORT (54/9 Plan)
Slake M-F 8:004:30
Dietrid’
Ist week
M-W7;004;30
Th 8:00-4:30
M-F 7:00-4:30
2nd week
' Pettiford
-Ist week
2nd week
M-F 7:004:30
M-W7:004:30
Th8:004:30
Phsher
Ist week M-W7:004:30
Th8:00-4:30
2nd week M-F 7:00-4:30
Shryock
Ist week M-Th7:004;30
F8:00-4:30
2nd week T-F 7:004:30
NEW BLOOMFIELD
Balthaser M-F 8:004:30
Bistline M-F y 8:004:30
NORRISTOWN
Week)
M-Th 7:00-5:30
W-S7:00-5:30
Brzostek
Voyer
POTTSVILLE (54/9 Plan)
Bobek M-F 7:00-5:30
Off Thurs.
Worrilow M-F 7:30-5:00
'
and foremost', your farm «
your business, not your wm
of life.” J
Oppenheimer Industries u
one of the largest cattle and
ranch management firnu,
The 69-year-old agn!
culturally oriented company
also specializes in prfoperty
acquisition, consultancy
leases, brokerage, cattle
herds and sales/leasebael
options.
Wagner
WEST CHESTER f4-Daj
Week)
Barnett
Small
Wells
High
YORK (4-Day Week)
Boyer M-F 8:004.30
Hanvell M-F8:004-30
Kile M-F 8:00-4-3(1
Swank M-F 8:004 30
have a
nice weekend...
# Sj
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I /
(4-Day
W*s SWEET TALK
SOMEBODY
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M-T7:3W00
M-F (8)
M-Th7:oo-5 30
M&W-F7:00-5 30
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