C4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 30,1984 Tl>e f, ® air y * - Busipess if By Newton Bair FEED bills too high? Why are my feed bills so much higher than my neighbors? The most obvious cause is that I don't have enough on hand, so I’m forced to buy more. But the real cause, if you look deep enough, is that I have not bothered to plan ahead in my cropping system, purchases of grain and supplements, or ad justing my needs to the available supply. So the only cure for my high feed costs is to take less profit out of the business. I’d better look beyond the ob vious cause of the problem for what I can do to prevent it in the first place. If my constant shortage of feed is forcing, me to owe more and more to the feed mill or the bank, I’m fighting a losing battle. There must be another cause of the problem that I can do something to correct. It starts with good plan ning. PLAN FARMING SYSTEM The most successful Dairy Managers I know plan their whole operation with a high degree of predictibility. The easiest way to do that is to do as many things as WATER WASHERS for Hog, Poultry & Veal Animal Confinement Operations Warwick Hot and Cold Water Washers deliver over 2000 psi of profitable cleaning power for your toughest jobs Our patented diaphragm pum can’t be damaged by running dry' RENTAL UNIT AVAILABLE 2200 P.S.i. Hot Pressure Washer with Generator and Trailer Cali Ken Burkhart or Dean Weinhold AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR - SALES & SERVICE FARMERSVILLE EQUIPMENT RD 4, East Farmersville Rd., Ephrata, PA 17522 Located in the Village of Farmersville, Lancaster County 717-354-4271 possible that are under your control. No, you can’t control the weather, or prices, or many kinds of accidental freaks. But you can control or at least guide the production or acquisition of feed crops to satisfy the needs of your herd. You can also control total feed needs by adjusting the numbers of cows and heifers to be fed. Base your long range plans on the things that you have the most control over. Take the high cost of Protein Supplements, for example. This is one place where it pays to grow as much of your own protein as possible, rather than buy it. Six tons of alfalfa per acre will produce a dry matter equivalent of around 2400 pounds of protein. Com for silage on the same land will produce approximately 1200 pounds, or only half as much. Corn for grain will produce only about 630 pounds, or only about one fourth as much protein as alfalfa. Of course, you need the high energy at low cost that com silage can provide, but once the needs for energy are calculated and supplied Available with electric or gaso line power and a complete line of special application accessories INC. by your crop system, plan to grow as much protein as possible, rather than excess com which might be of questionable value on .today’s market. Even a fifty bushel crop of soybeans can provide nearly twice the protein per acre that com will. Production costs should be monitored close enough to make a comparison of the cost of growing your own with the cost of mill supplied protein. Another way of controlling your own destiny is by timely contract or purchase of production items, including feed. A shortage that is anticipated in the fall can often be corrected by purchasing the crop from a neighbors’ field at harvest time prices. Be a good negotiator. Take time to accurately estimate the potential yield and value of a field before striking a bargain with your neighbor. It doesn’t need to be a steal to be a good buy, but it should cost you less than you would have to pay later on when supplies are tight and the market high. TOO MANY REPLACEMENTS? How many heifers should you be feeding? The average dairy replacement rate is between 20 and 25 percent per year. A good ratio of heifer replacements to milking cows is about one heifer under two years old for every two milking cows.. When nature gets too generous with heifer calves, it is only natural that you want to keep every critter that comes along. But when the heifer barn is jammed with beef and you are buying high priced feed to keep them, they may never pay for it. Make sure that every heifer raised has the potential for raising the level of production in your herd. The cost of feeding a heifer is high. A Holstein heifer calving will cost between $lOOO and $l2OO for feed alone. If much of her feed is purchased, the cost will run a lot W June is W ULOMBARDINI t The Powerhouse Shop* and Equipment > r l jP^Model * ’ * L4O For years Lombardini has been Europe's largest supplier of small, air-cooled diesel engines. Now, after several years in this country Lombardini is the fastest growing line of air-cooled diesels in North America. Lombardini specializes in small air-cooled diesels. DIESELS OUR SPECIALITY CALL FOR USED DIESELS Distributor: HOOVER DIESEL SERVICE PH: 717-656-6133 2998 West Newport Rd., Ronks, Pa. 17572,2 Vi mile East of Leola Along 772 Authorized Dealers Hoover Diesel Tim's Diesel Seiler Engine Sensenig Diesel Service Service Service Service 717-786-2173 Star Rt Box 2 IBox 245 D Pennsy Rd. R 0 3 RD 3, Box 91A Rebersburg, Pa. 16872 New Providence, Pa. Selmsgrove, Pa. 17870 Quarryville, Pa. 17566 17560 U|R|E$ | NV|TE p ___ ~° f like pen room, labor and of course raised carefully weighed the real potential for profitable against the total feed supply as production H e well as the other obvious things Land improvement workshop set SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - A land improvement contractors workshop sponsored by the Schuylkill Conservation District will be held July 12 at the new Schuylkill County Fairgrounds located next to the Penn State Campus, Rt. 61, Schuylkill Haven. The workshop is being coor dinated with the Schuylkill County Fair Association and the Penn sylvania Chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA). LICA equipment operators will be demonstrating excavation equipment donated from some major equipment manufacturers including Caterpillar and John Deere. Demonstrations will contribute to necessary improvements in preparation for the 1984 Schuylkill County Fair. The demonstration will include excavation work to construct a midway area, water diversions, vegetated waterways, stone-centered waterways, surface Dairylea , Eastern share services SYRACUSE, N.Y. Two major northeastern, dairy cooperatives have concluded agreements under which each will produce a service for the other. The announcement was made jointly today by Clyde E. Rutherford, president of Dairylea Cooperative and Earl Forwood, president of Eastern Milk Producers Cooperative, both headquartered in Syracuse. Dairylea will merge its member supply program into a similar but larger operation run by Eastern. Dairylea members will be able to order by mail a wide variety of food items, including some Dairylea products. Eastern’s Dairy Division trucks will deliver the items on specified dates to announced locations where pur chasers will pay for them and pick them up. Some non-food items such as calf starter and certain sanitizing chemicals are also available. Eastern’s Dairy products division is completing work on a major warehouse and retail store com- We have the right size, weight, shape, price and engine available. LOMBARDINI DIESEL USES Vi OR LESS FUEL THAN GAS ENGINES LESS DOWNTIME THAN GAS ENGINES 4t068H.P TAKE ADVANTAGE OF: 1.12 month warranty or 4. Priceper horsepower 2,000 hours 5. Easy starting 2. Low fuel consumption 6- 100% back-up with 3. Low maintenance parts and service. DEALERS IN< drainage drop inlets and sub surface drainage pipes for soil erosion control. Other related manufacturing companies will be demonstrating equipment and contributing materials. These companies in clude Atlantic Construction Fabric Inc. demonstrating several types of erosion control and road building fabrics; Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS) demonstrating subsurface drainage tile and road culvert installation; and Finn Corporation will put the finishing touches on the projects by demonstrating a hydraulic seeding. Hydraulic seeding is a system of placing grass seed, lime, fertilizer and mulch in one operation. Finn Corporation will also demonstrate a mulch spreading machine for spreading straw on hay mulch. Contractors or township officials interested in attending should contact the Schuylkill Con servation District at 622-4957. plex in Canton, Pa., which will open late this summer. Eastern members will be able to subscribe to the top-rated Blue Cross/Blue Shield/Major Medical plan administered by Dairyleas' wholly-owned subsidiary, Agri- Service Agencies Inc. The plan, includes a million dollar Major Medical entitlement, uniform coverage and economical rates throughout the Eastem-Dairylea member area and has been rated as one of the best administered plans in the nation. In 1983 the Agri-Service Agen cies plan paid out $7.8 million in benefits. During its 14 years in operation it has paid out ap proximately $6O million for the medical expenses of subscribers. A New York state Workmens Compensation Group plan and life insurance will also be available to Eastern members. “We’re delighted with the arrangement,” Forwoodsaid. “We can do a great deal more for our members by working together where it is mutually beneficial.” Lot U« Know Your Service Problems 24 Hour Service - Check Our Prices
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