P2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 14,1984
Marketing costs help evaluate competitive
UNIVERSITY PARK - Can
marketing costs help poultrymen
evaluate the competitive position
of the Pennsylvania egg industry?
According to A. Kennit Birth, of
the Penn State Department of
Agricultural Economics and Rural
Sociology, marketing costs, in
cluding packaging materials, plant
operation, administration,
overhead, store-door delivery, and
credit for new cases, as separate
items are frequently published in
trade papers.
Differences in costs among firms
may be due to services performed,
emphasis placed on quality,
volume, equipment used,
management efficiency, location
of production and marketing
facilities in relation to consumer
markets, as well as other factors.
Differences can also be due to
whether costs are based on dozens
of grade A and better eggs
marketed or based on total output.
Carton costs may not vary much
among firms except for dif
ferences in volumes purchased.
Variation in packaging material
costs may be due to type of master
container used, such as plastic or
wire baskets, collapsible cases
and/or regular cases. Costs of wire
baskets or returned cases largely
depend on the number of times
each container can be used.
Store-door delivery costs may
vary considerably. They will
depend to a great extent on the
distance traveled, volume per
stop, total volume and relation of
delivery area to procurement
area. Some, if not all, of the higher
delivery costs due to small
volumes per stop may offset by
higher prices received.
If not all eggs purchased are of
the size and quality desired in the
carton pack, they must be replaced
by the desired quality and size. The
cost incurred to replace those eggs
in the nest run or other pack that
are below the desired size and
quality for the cartoned product is
often referred to as replacement or
yield cost. If the purchased eggs
were paid for on the basis of the
resale value of the respective egg
sizes and qualities less marketing
costs, there would not be any
replacement cost except to ac
count for handling losses in the
plant.
LIVESTOCK
LATEST
Pa. horses achieve Eclipse Awards
KENNETT SQUARE - Two
horses bred in Pennsylvania have
been named Eclipse Award win
ners for their 1983 racing cam
paigns. The Eclipse is the highest
honor an American thoroughbred
can receive.
Ambassador of Luck, the
country’s top racemare, and
Flatterer, the leading
steeplechaser, will be honored at
the Eclipse Awards dinner in New
York City later this month, along
with eight other divisional
champions. The winners were
selected by racing writers and
officials across the U.S. and by the
staff of Daily Racing Form. '
Ambassador of Luck was bred
position of state egg
The actual replacement cost will
be influenced by the percentages of
the respective qualities and sizes
of eggs in the packs purchased and
those packed in cartons. There are
maximum tolerances in U.S.
Grades for some sizes and
qualities and minimum quantities
for others for both nest run and
cartoned packs. Replacement
costs will depend on yields of the
respective packs for both size and
quality and can - vary among
purchases even though minimum
requirements for the respective
packs are met.
If a farmer paid 65 cents per
dozen for nest run eggs and
received the prices given in the
table, replacement cost would be
$3.40 for the higher prices and $3.32
for the lower prices. If there were
no loss eggs, the replacement cost
would be the same for both price
levels. The $3.40 replacement cost
in the table would have to be added
to the price paid for the nest run
pack in order to determine the
break-even price less most
marketing charges. The actual
replacement cost will depend more
on differences in prices among the
respective qualities (which remain
rather constant throughout the
year) than on the price level.
What does all this mean to
Pennsylvania poultrymen and
marketers? Birth said a farmer
cannot evaluate the competitive
position of the industry by com
paring only marketing costs. “You
must include production and
market costs and income to
determine net income. With
purchase of nest run eggs, a
replacement cost must be con
sidered as part of the marketing
costs,” he said.
With grade buying- paying a
specific price for respective
qualities and sizes- no significant
replacement cost exists. On the
average, the blend price to
producers selling nest run and to
those selling on a graded basis plus
marketing charges would tend to
be the same. But under the grade
buying program, producers with
the best pack are rewarded ac
cordingly. This in turn encourages
improvement in quality, fewer
undergrades, and relatively higher
income for eggs marketed therby
strengthening the competitive
situation.
by C. Thomas Fuller and was
foaled at Fuller’s 400-acre Win
terwood in Unionville, Chester
County. The five-year-old mare
ran just six races in 1983; the
brevity of the campaign which won
her an Eclipse is an indication of
the strength of her performances.
After beginning the season with
three consecutive victories in
races at Belmont Park, Am
bassador of Luck won the $113,050
Molly Pitcher Handicap, finishing
the race just 1/5-second off
Monmouth Park’s 28-year-old
track record. Subsequently, she
won the Ballerina Stakes at
Belmont, running the six furlongs
in the fastest time for a female in
MT. MORRIS, II - After a
successful three-year stint in
Atlanta, Georgia, the International
Pig Trade Show will move to the
Midwest in 1984, and Watt
Publishing Co., show sponsor,
anticipates another banner event.
The third annual show was held
Dec. 1-3 in the Atlanta Civic
Center. It was again well-received
by both exhibitors and attendees,
and show officials were extremely
pleased with the positive overall
results.
In 1984, the one-of-a-kind
exhibition will be staged in Des
Moines, lowa, at Veterans
Memorial Auditorium. In another
change, the dates will be moved up
from December to early fall, Oct.
3,4, and 5.
“Since the show is international
in scope, the earlier dates should
have greater appeal for guests
from outside the United States,”
explained Watt vice president and
publisher Orvel H. Cockrel. “In
ternational visitors are interested
in tours of farms and production
facilities in the Midwest, which is
the center of the pig industry in the
United States, and late September
and October are ideal times for
travel.”
The 1963 show in Atlanta had a
total attendance of 3,319, with
registrations reported from 38
countries and 36 states. There were
EC
E 3
New York in 1983.
In her final start of the year,
Ambassador of Luck won the
prestigious Maskette Handicap by
five lengths, making her seasonal
record six wins in six starts and
increasing her 1983 earnings to
$231,030. In all, she’s earned
$463,171 in the three years she’s
been racing.
Flatterer cinched his Eclipse by
sweeping steeplechasing’s Triple
Crown last year. Never before had
a horse won all three legs of the
Crown.
Flatterer was foaled at Jonathan
Sheppard’s Ashwell Stables in
West Grove, Chester County, just a
few miles from Ambassador of
Extra Large
Large
Medium
Undergrades
Loss
Grade A Price
Value of Eggs Purchased
Amount Below Grade A Large Price
Nest Run Cost FOB
Replacement Cost (Nest Run Cost-Value)
Pig trade show moves to lowa in 1984
industry
Example of Replacement Cost
Sales Value Value Sales Value
Dozen Cents/Dozen Dollars Cents/Dozen
202 exhibit booths, and for the first
time in the history of the show,
there were displays of live breeder
stock. The live animals proved to
be a popular show attraction.
An educational exhibit drew
crowds throughout the show. The
“stars” of the exhibit were two
sows which had received embryo
transplants earlier in the year. The
animals farrowed during the show,
delivering eight piglets each.
As a prelude to the three-day
trade show, a conducted tour of pig
production facilities in Florida and
Georgia was held and 44 in
dividuals, all from outside the
United States, participated.
Among the highlights of the show
were three seminars featuring
experts in various areas of the
industry. Each program was a
half-day in length. A seminar
designed for women in the pork
industry opened the show series
I
Chester D. Hughes
' Extension Livestock Specialist
The 1984 Pennsylvania Farm
Show has come to an end and again
the event was successful and en
joyable. It’s back home to the farm
and the regular routine. The winter
months are however an opportune
time to plan for the future.
Sheep producers should be
thinking of the summer grazing
season and forage production for
their flocks. More marketable
products can be produced from
sheep on forage alone than any
other farm animal. Up to ninety
percent of the total feed utilized in
a sheep program can be supplied
by forages. Sheep programs
Luck’s birthplace. Bred by
Sheppard in partnership with
William Pape, the gelding is
trained by Sheppard, who has been
the country’s leading steeplechase
trainer for more than a decade.
Flatterer initially ran in flat
races and in 1982 won four races.
Last year, Sheppard switched
Flatterer to steeplechasing, and in
the autumn, the wisdom of the
change became apparent.
In early October, Flatterer
scored a seven-length victory in
the American Grand National. He
subsequently won the Temple
Gwathmey Handicap, and his
victory in the final leg of the
(Turn to Page 03)
7.00
42.16
6.84
5.60
61.60
Cents/
Dozen
68.00
-61.60
= 6.40
65.00
3.40
and included segments on
management, promotion, finance
and practical pig psychology.
An international pig
management seminar attracted a
near - capacity audience. Topics
included a report on swine embryo
transfer, health and nutrition,
reproductive efficiency, and piglet
nurseries. Another seminar,
conducted entirely in Spanish, and
entitled “The Challenge of Early
Weaning,’’ included presentations
by four speakers followed by a
round-table discussion between
speakers and attendees.
A free pork barbecue was staged
Dec. 2 in the outside show lot at the
Civic Center and a team of cooks
served approximately 2,500 sand
wiches. The annual IPTS banquet
and entertainment program was
presented the evening of Dec. 2 in
the ballroom of the Atlanta Hyatt
Regency.
Livestock Ledger
should, therefore, begin with a
sound forage program. In planning
a sheep program, the annual
carrying capacity (the number of
animals a forage plan will support
for a year including pasture and
hay) must be established.
Due to the nature of their grazing
habits cattle and sheep com
plement each other in grazing
forage. Sheep graze the shorter,
finer material while cattle graze
taller, coarser growth. One could
normally expect to add a ewe per
cow grazed and not increase the
amount of pasture land required.
The additional feed required would
be 600 pounds of hay and necessary
concentrates. The quality of forage
needed for sheep is equally as
important as the amount. The
quality required is related to the
stage of production of the flock.
Nutrient requirements are
highest for ewes in late gestation
and early lactation. High quality
hay, com silage and/or some cover
crop or accumulated grazing will
be needed for ewes from late
November to late March. Hay
produced for sheep should be at
least 50 percent legume and
contain a minimum of 12-14 per
cent crude protein.
Fifty percent grass-legume,
alfalfa, clover or other pure
legumes are excellent sheep hays
when harvested early with a
minimum of weather damage and
stored to prevent spoilage.
Value
Dollars
6.00
35.96
5.52
4.20
51.68
Cents/
Dozen
58.00
-51.68
= 6.32
55.00
3.32