A32—Lancaster Faming, Saturday, May 31,1910
BYPATKAUFFMAN
LANCASTER -
Dairymen. We think of them
in connection with the work
they do. They are in
terwoven in their work.
The success of their
business depends as much on
their capabilities as it does
on the genetics of the cows
they mnk- Yet we seldom
“An outstanding dairyman has to be
a man who likes his animals ......
focus on the dairyman
himself.
We survey production
charts and identify top herds
and assume that they belong
to outstanding dairymen, but
what is a dairyman? What
separates the outstanding
dairyman from the rest in
his field? How can any
dairyman achieve greater
success?
In this the first of a series,
Lancaster Farming takes an
in-depth look at these
amazing businessmen.
In a series of interviews,
Glenn Shirk, Lancaster
dairy extension agent gives
his answers to these and
other questions.
Glenn, how would you
define an outstanding
dairyman?
I think, Pat, an out
standing dairyman has to be
first and foremost a man
who likes his animals. If his
animals are cows, he must
enjoy working with cows.
CowiJ need to be the focus of
Bedford announces
Dairy Princess
contestants
BEDFORD Seven
young ladies will vie for the
1980 Bedford County Dairy
Princess title on Friday,
June 20 at the Northern
Bedford County High School.
Contestants include:
Karen Bechtel, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. W. Bechtel, R 1
New Enterprise. Karen is 16
and her family has a herd of
42 Holstems.
Sharon Bence, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. J. Roy Bence,
R 2 Bedford. Sharon is 18 and
her family has a Holstein
herd of 31 cows.
Wendy Kay Bence,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Glenn Bence, R 1
Schellsburg. Wendy is 16 and
her family has a herd of 31
Holstein milkers.
Drena Closson, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer
Closson, Roaring Springs.
Her family has a herd of 71
Holstems and she’s 16 years
old.
Avian vet assoc, forms
DOYLESTOWN - The
Pennsylvania Association of
Avian Veterinarians met for
the first time on May 7-8, at
Delaware Valley College.
The two day conference
featured discussions and
scientific presentations
relating to the various
aspects of poultry and cage
pet bird health problems.
The association elected the
following officers for 1960-81
and 1981-82: Robert J.
Eckroade, president; I.
Howard Kahan, vice-
First in a series o
Lancaster’s dairy agent talks
everything he does. They are
the great multiplier of his
time, his feed and the money
he has invested. And
because dairying is hard
work, he has to love his
work.
Next, I think he has to be a
man with a goal, a dream.
He must know what it is he
has set out to do. And he
must be able to set realistic
goals for himself and his
family.
An outstanding dairyman
must have a business mind.
Dairying is a business. And
to achieve success, it must
be well managed.
And in order to carry
through with the business
plans and goals, he must
have enough discipline to
give up personal pleasures,
when necessary, for his
cows.
He also has to be, I think, a
man who gets involved. He
must be willing to serve on
committees and to voice his
opinion, while at the same
time being sure he doesn’t
devote too much time to
outside Responsibilities and
neglect his cows.
He must be a man who
contributes to the dairy
industry. He would probably
be on some type of
production testing, both for
business analysis and
Suzanne Kay Diehl,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
William Diehl, R 4 Bedford.
Suzanne’s family has a herd
of 40 Ayrshires and she’s 17
years old.
Judy Deputy, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Deputy, R 4. Judy comes
from a 120 cow Holstein
dairy and is 17 years old.
Kimberly Ann Wakefield,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
John Wakefield, R 4 Bedford.
Kimberly’s family also
milks Holstems with a herd
of 97. She is 17.
A get acquainted party
will be held Saturday, June 7
at the home of Zeta Furry,
the reigning Dairy Princess.
The girls are scheduled to do
a promotion at Everett IGA
on June 13 and 14. And they
will be taping a John Reilly
show on Tuesday, June 17 to
be aired on Friday, June 20
at 6:30 a.m.
president; Dwight Schwartz,
program chairman,
president-elect 1981-82; and
Edward T. Mallinson,
secretary treasurer.
Wilbur Amand, Gloria J.
Goodman, and Wilson L.
Miller were elected to the
Board of Directors.
because in the testing, he is
contributing to the industry,
helping to prove young sires.
An outstanding dairyman
must be well-versed. He
must know what is going on
and must be concerned with
.issues that affect him now
and also in the future.
And that leads to another
point, I think he has to be a
man who is supportive of
common cause efforts in
areas such as marketing,
legislation, and land
preservation.
In some instances, he must
be a man who preserves his
right to continue dairying in
an area as it becomes in
creasingly urban. He must
be concerned with directing
the future of his own and
future dairymen’s existence.
A top dairyman has to
have a high level of
...he must be a man who preserves
his right to continue dairying...
production, but not
necessarily the highest. He
must be successful, but not
necessarily the most suc
cessful. He must be involved
but not so totally involved
that he neglects his family
and his farm.
Given these criteria,
Glenn, what personality
traits are needed to be
successful in dairying?
Success can be defined
many different ways, and
while there are certain
standards such as produc
tion records to judge suc
cess, I think Pat, a suc
cessful dairyman must be
one who sets goals for
himself.
He is a man who
recognizes that dairying is
an emotional and physical
strain on himself and his
family. He sets realistic
goals for both his business
and his family. And he
recognizes that these two
goals must be compatible.
When the business goals
are used to reinforce the
family’s goals, to help the
family achieve a certain
standard of living or a
certain direction, it focuses
everyone’s efforts and gives
the family a common cause
to work toward.
And I think once these
goals are established, he
must, in order to be suc
cessful, review these goals to
see that they are realistic
and that the steps he takes in
his business are headed
toward these goals.
interviews with Glenn Shirk
I think the successful
dairyman must be well
disciplined with initiative
and determination. When the
cows need tending, he must
discipline himself to be
there, even though staying at
the auction or visiting with
friends a little longer may be
more pleasurable.
He may have to discipline
himself to give up personal
comforts to invest his time
and his money into
establishing his business so
he can reap the benefits at a
later date.
This dairyman must have
a keen desire to stay abreast
of new developments, but be
cautious enough not to be the
first to try every new con
cept that comes down the
road.
He must be a man with an
open mind. He must be a
person with one eye toward
the future, while at the same
tune tempering his decisions
with his and others’ past
experiences. He must
always be willing to risk a
certain percent of proved
success to try new concepts,
particularly when a new
method comes along with
potential to be successful in
his operation. He must be
cautiously innovative.
He must have a business
mind. He must recognize
that farming is his business.
In order to be successful, he
must be a good financial
manager.
A good manager looks
toward the future and sets
realistic goals for himself
and his family. And he
analyzes whether his ven
tures are keeping him on
target toward his goals. He
must analyze the financial
impact of every decision and
move he makes, using his
resources to good advantage
but remembering to leave a
margin for error.
He must be a man who has
the welfare of his cows at
heart. He gives his cows a
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SMOKETOWN. PA
dairymen
While Glenn frequently talks management in
articles for Lancaster Farming, he was in top form
in an off-the-cuff interview on dairymen.
chance to work toward the
genetic potential they
possess so that they enjoy
doing it.
He must be well-versed.
...when the cows need tending
he must he there.”
Whether this comes from
reading, educational
meetings, working for
others, or visiting other
farms, he must know his
field.
He must be able to analyze
his own performance. He
must be able to identify
hidden motives in the
business moves he takes, to
assess whether the decisions
he has made have helped or
hurt his business.
And last, to be successful,
he must derive satisfaction
from dairying. The time
demanded would make it
impossible for someone who
did not enjoy the business to
be successful. When a man is
doing something he likes and
PH: 717-299-2571
enjoys, he does a better job
of it. I think that’s par
ticularly true of dairying.
In next week’s paper, we’ll
take a look at dairy
management. What does it
take to be a good manager?
What steps can dairymen
take to make their operation
more successful? How can
they set realistic goals? And
what methods can they use
to reach those goals ?
FORD BALER
BOYNAtyZA!