Al6—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 26,1980 1980 looks like a year of financial adversity and general uncertainty for Delmarva farmers. Current political events have thrown the grain markets into a frenzy and at the same tune the in flationary squeeze goes on. Some farmers found 1979 a less-than-excellent year, and already they’re looking at 1980 as a potential disaster. Almost everything a farmer needs to make a crop is up m price. Fuel costs continue to climb with no end in sight. The experts are predicting fertilizer as much as 20 percent higher than last year. Seed, pesticides, and almost everything else that’s part of the production process is gomg to cost more. And the income potential from com and soybeans is uncertain, if not downright shaky. We had record production m ‘79 and huge carryovers for a number of crops. Now the change in the export market makes it sound as though we’re going to be back into the bin-busting surplus position of the early sixties. One economic observer thinks our com situation may be very close to the record surplus year of 1961. If that’s the case, farm prices are going to be down regardless of what the Carter administration does. So a farmer who found 1979 to be a difficult year may find 1980 to be almost im possible. This could be a year to cut back, to give up overpriced rented acres, to postpone new equipment purchases regardless of their tax ad vantage and to spend carefully for fertilizer, chemicals, and other variable imputs A farmer who’s using borrowed money to rent overpriced acres doesn’t have much of a chance to start with Add to that the staggering costs of ATTENTION POULTRY, HAY AND STRAW HAULERS: For Sale ★ 75 International 1800 series with 25 ft. aluminum flat bed with overhang. ★ 69 Blue International 1700 series, 19 ft. flat bed with overhang. ★ 76 Ford truck, F-350 series with 13 ft. flat bed. If Interested Call SWEIGART POULTRY 215 - 267-7296 Farm Talk Jerry Webb production and there may not be any profit left. There really isn’t much point m farming hundreds of rented acres li they’re not gomg to return a profit. And the odds are pretty good that if the profit margm was narrow for ‘79, it will be nonexistent this year. In fact, this could be the yeai of some sizable financial losses for gram farmers. If it is, the fellows with the most rented acres and the most borrowed money will be the worst hurt. Farmers tend to measure their size of business in acres. They’re too modest to talk gross earnings or profits, and so land oriented that they see acres farmed as the best measure of a man’s farming business. And so many of them push themselves into impossible rental deals so they can become bigger farmers. Maybe it’s time for some of them to look at the records of others who till large acreages to see where the profits really are. The ap perance of prosperity that goes along with a 1200-acre operation may be an illusion. In fact, the guy with 3 or 4 hundred well-managed productive acres located close to home may wind up domg better, particularly this year There are many successful farmers who till small acreages-virtual garden plots when considered alongside some of the larger Delmarva farms But that’s not to say these operations aren’t successful If you doubt that, consider the newest list of master farmers reported in the current issue of Penn sylvania Farmer magazine These are the best, all around farmers out of the hundreds of nominations received And their holdings vary from a 2500-acre sheep and beef cow operation in West Virginia, to an 18-acre vegetable farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. And while those master Virginville Grange meets Richard Kieffer, legislative chairman of the Virginville Grange, asked members to write to their United States Represen •tatives to support returning ' prayer and Bible reading to the schools. It was announced that National Grange Cookbooks are for sale for $6.00, and the junior members reported that they have napkins and cards for sale. The youth also presented the Grange with a softball trophy. The Virginville Grange voted to go to the Folk Festival. Members were reminded that it’s dues time for 1980, at $l.OO per member. The theme for the meeting was “Ringing in the New Year”. Dorothy Miller read “If you have a Gift,” and New Year’s resolutions were read in Pennsylvania Dutch by Lillian Mengel and Arlan Seidel. Kim Stump read the poem “Today,” and Carline Blatt read “Twas the Night Before New Year.” The two meetings in February will be brothers * and sisters night. fanner stones don’t give detailed financial in formation, you can bet the guy with 18 acres, who grew a quarter-of-a-million pansies last year, is doing as well as the West Virginia stockman with 200 beef cows and 300 ewes. Pansies may not be a future crop for every Delmarva farmer, but they point out the possibility for other things to grow on a small acreage besides corn and soybeans. And if growing those two crops despite their ready local market means losing money, then it doesn’t make much sense to grow them. The next few weeks should be a time of decision making, a time to look hard at last year’s numbers and project them into the troubled eighties to see if there are still some bucks to be made Overpriced rented land might be the quickest way to get out of a no-win situation MNSVIMMIIA AOMCUOUM WE’RE GROWING SETTER WHITE HORSE GRAIN CO., INC. INVITES YOU TO THEIR FARMER MEETINGS. ★ Fluid Blend Fertilizer will be discussed in all of the meetings. Also we will be discussing and helping you to market your grain. ★ White Horse Grain’s Floater Sprayer Equipment will be on display in the parking lot at the Red Rose Inn. ★ All meetings will be held at the Red Rose Inn in Jennersville, PA off of Rt. 796 and Rt 1 Bypass. CORN CLINIC FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1980 10 a. m. to 12 noon Jack Beideman from Ciba-Geigy will be speaking on “The New Weed Control For 1980” Charles Marshall from Ag-Chem Inc. will be speaking on et Better Standabihty for Corn" “How To ALFALFA CLINIC FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1980 10 a.m. to 12 noon Steve Fisher from FMC will be speaking on: “How To Get A Better Stand On New Seedmgs With Furadan” rd Wise from Beachley-Hardy Seed Co. (WL Alfalfa) will be speaking on: “The Right Seeds For Your Soils” JOHNSON GRASS CONTROL CLINIC TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1980 10 a.m. to 12 noon from Stauffer Chemical Co. will be speaking on “Johnson Grass Control In Corn” Wavne Marz Guv Braxton from Monsanto will be speaking on: “Johnson Grass And Corn Control In Soybeans” SOYBEAN CLINIC FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9.2, 1980 10 a.m. to 12 noon Charles Marshall from Ag-Chem Inc. will be on “Weed Control and Better Job On Growing Soybeans” Jack Beideman from Ciba-Geigy will be speaking on “Dual For Better Weed Control” Ray Lavser from Asgrow will be speaking On “The Soybeans For 1980” LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED IN ALL OF THE ABOVE MEETINGS For reservations send coupon into White Horse Gram at R.D.2, Cochranville, PA 19330 for 1 or more of the meetings or call. WHITE HORSE GRAIN CO., INC. (215) 869-8201 RICHARD BRECKBILL (215)932-3307 PAUL MURPHY (215) 444-5170 NAME NUMBER ATTENDING I am attending meetings on: (Check) I Feb. 8 Feb 15 Feb. 19 Feb. 22
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