D2B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 2,1983
Brocket's Ag Advice
Kv By John E. Brackett
Farm Management Agent
JgP Lewistown Extension Office
Why are some fanners able to
make more profit than others in
similar circumstances? I suppose
the answer is the same as why one
man can hit more home runs in a
year than anyone else? Or why
does one college football hero
command millions of dollars for
his services while others fade into
oblivion? Some people just have a
greater talent than others in a
given area.
However that is not the only
reason nor is it a true answer.
There is more to it than sheer
talent. The best is also the most
dedicated, have more desire to
succeed, the best at decision
making and the one most apt to
study ways to constantly improve.
This is a factor in any area of life.
No dedication, hard work, and
desire do not take the place of
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talent but it can bring that talent to
the nth degree.
As examples look at some ball
players from the past - Eddie
Stanky, Leo Durocher, Pee Wee
Reese. They were mediocre in
relation to some of their team
mates. If all scientific factors were
applied to them they would never
had made a high school team, let
alone be a major leagurer. Yet
dedication, desire, and work did
magnify their talent into star
quality.
Let’s look at some of the factors
that help make a top crop producer
good.
1. Soil quality - there is no
question that soil quality is im
portant. It is easier and cheaper to
1%
ImNH
produce high yields on Hagerstown
silt loam than on Edom soil. Yet
some farmers were able to
overcome low quality soils with
soil improvement techniques such
as drainage, contours, good
liming, and good cultural prac
tices.
2. High yields - this has been one
of the more surprising factors as I
have been reviewing my en
terprise analyses. Some farmers
with quite high yields also had very
high expenses. Their returns were
not what may have been expected.
The top operators appeared to
have been able to strike a balance
between costs and returns. One of
the most variable items was cash
machine costs. Apparently some
farmers can operate equipment
more efficiently than others. This
is not real surprising since an
energy servey I 3id a few years
ago indicated the same thing.
3. Crop records - many but not all
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good crop producers keep crop
records. None of those at the other
end of the spectrum kept crop
records.
4. Careful cost control - in
practically every case the top crop
money makers had average or
better yields on all crops and
average or below expenses. In
addition to the wide fluctuations of
machine costs, it was a surprise to
see the variation in lime and
fertilizer costs per acre. Not
knowing all the farms, it was hard
to tell whether this fluctuation was'
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due to a variance in selection
brands, careful shopping for '
best price, better use of soil te;
quality of soils or past liming
fertilizing practices.
I do feel that most farmers cou
do a more efficient job
producing crops if (1) they h<
more knowledge of soil chemist
and the use of nutrients by plan!
(2) used soil test results, (3) s
priorities on fields on which
spend the fertilizer dollar, and (■
paid more attention to nutrie
balance.
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