fOL. 31 No. 21
‘Future’ Conference sets agenda for change
Best years are ahead, Scranton tells ‘Future’ participants
BY THE STAFF
HARRISBURG Suits and ties.
Flow charts and exhibits. Long
range planning and projections of
prices, costs and demand.
If ever there was a conference
that symbolized its subject, it was
the ‘Future of Agriculture”
Conference Wednesday and
Thursday at the Holiday Inn in
downtown Harrisburg.
The sessions, attended by
several hundred both days, ranged
broadly over the landscape of
issues facing agriculture today.
And though the news about
prices and the overall outlook for
individuals currently struggling to
survive was often bad, the
overall tone was optimistic and
progressive ... a form of proof
that, as one participant put it, “the
hard times are bottoming out.”
Penn State President Bryce
Jordan set the stage by quoting a
recent lecturer as noting that
“agriculture is embarking on the
third technological revolution in
the 20th century.”
Ka' her in this century, he said,
agruulture was transformed by
the mechanical revolution, which
substituted mechanical power for
horsepower, and by the chemical
revolution, which put a broad
range of fertilizers, pesticides and
her bn ndes at the average farmer’s
disposal.
Now, however, agriculture is on
the verge of a revolution in both
biotechnology and information,
once again transforming the
Pennsylvania Guernsey breeders convene in Lebanon
BY MARTHA J. GEHRINGER
UDKANON The Guernsey
Association has traditionally held
lively state meetings. And this
year’s 55 th annual meeting,
convened at the Quality Inn here,
proved to be no exception.
Tin ooint that caused the most
discussion was the decision to
recluc c the number of voting
disti n <, m the American Guernsey
Cattle' ’Uib from 15 to 7.
Thr redistricting will place
Pennsvivania, formerly in a
disti u t of its own, in District Two
with i mio The concern of this
group was that in being grouped
with (lino, they might lose some
repre^uitation.
Pennsylvania is currently
second m the nation in Guernsey
registrations. However, this
redistru ting was done so that each
group would contain the same
numbu of registrations.
This change will require an
admc'iment to the constitution
*hn h will be voted on by the
dun hirs at the national con
tention
The morning session also con
fined lively discussion on the
overall state of dairying nation
wide, at the conclusion of John R.
Moulton’s presentation on the
wire of the Guernsey breed.
The present situation is a result
Five Sections
landscape in power, input, labor
and management practices.
With the industry at such a
crucial crossroads, Jordan noted,
the conference seemed an ap
propriate vehicle to begin mapping
out the industry’s future.
“The marvelous response we
have had to the conference,” he
concluded, “is, I believe, a
reflection of the deep level of
Lieutenant Governor William Scranton 111 provided the closing address at this week's
Future of Pennsylvania Agriculture Conference. More than 430 ag leaders attended the
two-day event held at Harrisburg's center city Holiday Inn.
of financial stress. “It’s real, we’re
seeing it,’’ Moulton said. The
reasons for this stress, Moulton
continued, are too much debt and
the difference between cash flow
and net profit. Also, for the past 19
years farmers have been living on
their depreciation, Moulton ex
plained.
The magic year was 1967. All
support prices have been geared
towards that year, Moulton noted.
This provided the farmers a false
sense of security since that year,
while the price of milk was the
highest, also had the worst net
profit.
Management was adversely
influenced when many consulting
organizations encouraged farmers
to add cows to increase cash flow,
Moulton stated. He went on to
describe this as possibly the worst
thing that they could have done.
“To be successful one has to look
at the net dollar or bottom line,”
Moulton continued. “The farmer
that will survive is the one that
opted for efficiency when his
neighbor was out expanding,”
Moulton pointed out.
The Guernsey breed and all
colored breeds are doing well on a
net cash basis, and will contmue to
do well with good managers,
Moulton said.
Maintaining, using and
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 22,1986
concern about agriculture tnat is
present in our state.”
That response included a variety
of luminaries. . . guest speakers
from top universities across the
country, and leading officials from
the state’s educational, business
and political establisments.
During Thursday’s closing
luncheon Lieutenant Governor
William Scranton 111 took the
podium, .calling for a shift from
analyzing good records for
finances and production, Moulton
noted, are the most important keys
to success. Basing management
decisions on sound facts from a
variety of sources is also critical to
the future, Moulton said The
development of a positive business
attitude and an interest in
marketing also are absolutely
essential, Moulton added.
Agreeing that there are as many
ways to succeed as there are
managers, Moulton listed several
"benchmarks for success” that he
has found to be a common
denominator among successful
farms.
A debt load per cow of under
$2500 is important for the Guernsey
cow to compete with the Holstems
on their level. Of equal importance
is an income per cow of $2OOO,
Moulton said. This can readily be
achieved with the Guernsey breed,
he continued, provide the total
solids advantage and fat dif
ferential are utilized.
Revenues of $60,000 and
production of 500,000 pounds of
milk annually per man is
necessary for the future, he con
tinued. Maintaining an operating
expense level of no more than 75
percent of cash income can be
achieved with tight management,
Moulton added.
what he termed over-mterterence
by government to a more com
petitive,
agricultural economy.
In order to insure the future of
Pennsylvania’s number-one in
dustry, Scranton said that the
following aspects of agriculture
should be emphasized:
•Marketing efforts must be
intensified locally as well as
The business meeting com
menced with a report from
president Wilmer Campbell. He
asked the group, "Are we going to
flodd the market with inferior
quality milk or offer the best
possible, such as Golden Guern
sey?”
“As Guernsey breeders we need
to become aggressive in the
market place. We must sell the
Guernsey cow and her product. We
must convince breeders that
quantity is not the answer.
Quantity bred in and quality bred
out has only contributed to our
surplus.” Campbell said.
Emphasizing the need for
quality Guernseys, he continued,
“I am convinced there has never
Maryland tobacco auctions begin
The Maryland tobacco auction season opened officially
on Tuesday with an address by Maryland Secretary of
Agriculture Wayne A. Cawley, Jr. at the Marlboro Tobacco
Market located m Upper Marlboro.
Beginning this week, Lancaster Farming will carry
Maryland auction reports on page Al 7. Prices and volumes
quoted are for three sales conducted at each of eight
locations, for a total of 24 individual sales. All tobacco sold
is Maryland Type 32.
$7.50 per year
regionally and abroad.
•Productivity must be unproved,
not just in yields, but also in the
technologies and techniques
necessary to lower the cost of
inputs.
•The ag sector must remain
divers and flexible enough to react
quickly and effectively to com
petition throughout the country.
•Research The state’s com
petitive edge can only be main
tained by pushing forward the
bounds of knowledge.
•Value-added products An
industry survives by learning how
to add value to its basic com
modities, Scranton said.
•Farmland preservation Steps
must be taken to insure the
preservation not only of prune
acreage, but of soil nutrients and
tilth, as well.
The Lieutenant Governor offered
the Chesapeake Bay program as
an example of the progress
possible when divers sectors of
society, in this case en
vironmentalists, educational in
stitutions, government and the
farming community, unite in
pursuit of a common goal "It’s a
model that clearly works, and we
ought to be implementing it in
other areas as well,” he said.
"I think some of our best years
are ahead of us in agriculture,”
Scranton concluded
Additional coverage of the ‘Future of
Pennsylvania Agriculture' Conference
begins on page A 22.
been a better opportunity to breed
good quality Guernsey cattle than
today."
Campbell announced an
agreement has been reached to sell
the Guernsey Sales Pavilion Final
settlement is expected sometime
this summer. Ruth Ann John,
assistant business manager,
reported that the sales for this year
were encouraging with increased
averages on cows and bred heifers
as compared with last year Also
there have been many requests
from non-Guernsey breeders for
Guernsey cows, she added The
shows the past year were well
represented in every class on
(Turn to Page Al 9)