BB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 21,1980
BY PAT KAUFFMAN
LANCASTER - In
preceding weeks we have
looked with Lancaster dairy
agent, Glenn Shirk at what
makes an outstanding
dairyman, dairy
management, and routes for
young dairymen to take.
Today we are looking at the
dairy in trouble.
According to Glenn, with
inflation increasing faster
than the price of milk, those
heavily borrowed and
financially overcommitted
are being killed by the high
interest rates. Glenn, how do
they know their dairy is in
trouble 9
I think, Pat, that while this
can be obvious to some,
there are many who are in
trouble and perhaps don’t
realize it. Perhaps the
dairyman should ask himself
several questions
For instance, is his
production satisfactory? Are
he and his family physically
and emotionally fatigued’ Is
he enjoying it and is he
timely meeting the goals he
has set for the business and
his family’ Is he behind on
payments or financially
strapped’
Even if the operation is in
trouble, there’s usually
hope. However, some
families can most be helped
by getting out of dairying
Some fellows stubbornly
hang in there and are
dragged down hill farther
when there’s really no way
out And others recognize the
eventuality of their situation
but are afraid to face the
reality of finding other
employment and making the
necessary steps involved m
getting out of dairying. They
wrestle with fear of the
future and with the stigma
they feel such a move bears
I think when the situation
indicates, it’s best to get out
while the getting is good and
you still have something left.
Fourth in a series o
Is your dairy in trouble?
Glenn, what are the
methods to use if you
recognize your operation is
in trouble and feel that it’s
wise to continue dairying’
I think the first that comes
u..
to mind is usually to attempt
negotiating partial
payments. Where this is not
possible, the next step is
often refinancing. But this
needs to be looked at
‘ interviews with Glenn Shirk
44 Failure to allow flexibility
helped cause his problems ...
carefully. over the term of a longer
Many times refinancing is note. Care must be taken not
done on a short term note to to overextend on short term
avoid the higher mterest notes
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While it will cost more in
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the dairyman needs working
capital now It’s important
that he understands what he
is doing managing his way
out of difficulty and that
he utilizes sound
management tools such as
planning flexibility into his
program
He must ask himself if he
can still meet the notes if
inflation increases and his
milk check does not Has he
allowed breathing room for
family emergencies’
Frequently it’s a lack of
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(Turn to Page B 9)
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