Pipeline
Hard times bring out best
Who are you working for?
yourself? The bank? Uncle Sam?
As farmers, most of you are self
employed, but how often do you
[eel like you are really working for
someone else? •
That leads me to another very
important question. What are you
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poultry equip;
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automation In the first place, fitly years ago. -..
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WEY EQUIPMENT
COMPANY, INC. (717>3W-MO7
By
Glenn A. Shirk
Extension
Dairy
Agent
really working and farming for?
Hopefully it is for a purpose more
worthy than just trying to make
payments on bills. Hopefully, it is
for the purpose of helping you
fulfill your own and your family’s
goals. Do you even know what
these goals are?
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These may be uncomfortable
and difficult questions for you and
your family to address. Never
theless, they are probably worth
discussing and reviewing
periodically. Worthy, realistic
goals can add purpose to your life’s
work, making each day worth
living to the fullest. They help you
focus oil the good things in life,
elevating you above the problems
of the day and bringing out all that
positive energy pent up within
yourself.
Are we bound by life as it is now,
or are we challenged by what life
can be? The choice is ours. During
the past year or two, I’ve had the
opportunity of visiting with many
farm families. Like you, I’ve also
read and heard about the hard
times farmers and agri-businesses
are having. I see how it is affecting
people’s lives: how it is affecting
their physical and emotional
health, how it is straining family
relationships, how it is creating
tension in communities and farm
groups. And, I am concerned.
On the brighter side though, I
have also seen how these difficult
times bring out the “best” in
people. I’ve seen people pull
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Rout* 30 West
at the
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together in good faith and with
unity of purpose - as families, as
organizations, and as com
munities. This is very encouraging
because we need people who have
“vision,” unity of purpose, and a
concern for others.
Perhaps we need to do some soul
searching and define the goals for
our life. How is “what we are
doing” affecting our lives and the
lives of those around us? Are our
goals determined by need or by
greed?
What Can I Control?
As we analyze our lives and our
farm businesses, we need to
identify those areas over which we
have some power of control. Then,
we need to get serious about
focusing most of our efforts on
continuing to do those things that
we already are doing properly, and
on changing those things that need
to be changed in order for us to be
able to reach our goals as quickly
as possible. That’s management.
We also need to recognize those
things over which we have very
little control. Accept the fact that
about all we may be able to do
about these things is to influence
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Lancaster Farming Saturday, December 14,1985-Dl3
All this sounds so simplistic, but
you and I both know it isn’t. One
reason is we are facing the un
certainties of a new farm bill. Until
we know more about the bill, it is
difficult to set goals and to make
plans for the future. But, that
should not deter us from doing
what we can, now.
For example, we can take a
critical look at our farm business
to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of each facet of the
business such as: financial
management, herd management,
crop management, estate plan
ning, etc.
Are we good managers? Do our
records let us know where money
is going? Do we know what is
profitable and what isn’t? Are we
channeling enough money into
things which have greatest
potential for a good, quick return?
Or, is too much being consumed by
excessive overhead and operating
expenses? Are we making good use
of credit? - of purchase and
payment contracts and discounts,
etc?
Are you producing at an efficient
level of production? What that
level is will vary from farm to
farm. It may be higher or lower
than your present level. If you’ve
been giving accurate feed data to
your DHIA supervisor, the DHIA
“milk income over feed cost’’
figures, for individual cows of
similar test, should help give you a
rough idea of your most efficient
level.
The level of production and ef
ficiency you need may help in
fluence how you react to some of
the new technology (iso acids,
growth hormones, controlled
lighting, electronics, etc.), and to
all those other production
recommendations that you are
constantly being exposed to. Most
of these ideas are designed to in
crease production and efficiency,
and you might ask, “Why now,
when we have this surplus!?”
That’s a valid concern.
Some people feel that any new
technology which increases milk
production should be outlawed, at
least while milk surpluses persist.
But, can we afford to bury our
heads in the sand while our
competitors, here and abroad,
work hard to steal our markets by
continuing to become more ef
ficient while we slack off, or by
introducing imitation products?
Might the dairy industry take a
good lesson from the auto industry,
the steel industry and others?
Perhaps the real problem isn’t
that we are too productive or too
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change; that usually requires a lot
of time and cooperation, and the
payback may be slow. Never
theless, these changes may still be
worth striving for. This is where
strong organizations can play a
very important role, but to be
strong, organizations need your
support.
New Technology
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