n Brockets Ag Advice
Hto iM By John E. Brockett
{■ Farm Management Agent
Lewistown Extension Office
I
Cheese are ‘spring tonic 9
Late last week I got my usual
thrill in the spring. I was diligently
working in my office at home when
I heard a noise. It took me a few
moments to sort it out in my mind. I
When I finally realized that it was
indeed geese “squonking”, I ran
outside to try to spotthem.
Lo and behold, they were flying
directly over our house. It was a
sizable flock for this area with
nearly 100 birds in one big “V” and
two small “Vs” inside of the big
“V”. For some reason geese flying
north is like spring tonic to me
because they, rather than robins or
crocus, are my sign that spring is
here. So cheer up, spring is here
and as usual spring brings with it a
renewal of spirit and hope.
Yon Can Succeed
The next five years will not be
easy. It will make no difference
what type of enterprise you as a
farmer operate, things will b 6
Tlfehave the alfalfa, seed
DEKALB 120
Superior yields, year after year
Outstanding winterhardiness
Fine stemmed and leafy
high in protein
Resistance to Phytophthora root
rot
1984 and 1985 Forage Analysis
Superbowl winner
DKI3S and Advantai
DKI3S
• Excellent yields.
• Verticillium wilt, anthracnose
and Phytophthora root rot
resistance
• Lush, leafy forage
• Bred for long rotations
Advantage
• Outstanding yield performance
in state trials
• Recovers quickly after cutting
• Healthy for long stand life
• Resistance to anthracnose and
Phytophthora root rot
JOE PISKOROWSKI Princeton, N. J.
Wins Ist place in North East Forage Quality Contest
hay division with Dekalb Alfalfa
FOR TOP YIELDING ALFALFAS CONTACT YOUR
DEKALB PFIZER GENETICS DEALER
“DEKALB" It • ftgftttrtd bund name Numbtft
dttlQflttt varftliM At • condition olttlt.pltttt
nott tUltmtnl ol llmfttd warranty and ramady on
OEKALB-FFIZER GENETICS ordtrt. tags and bt«t
tight. Those who really want 10
succeed will have a good chance, to
not only weather the next five
years, they will be able to enter the
1990 s in a good position to be quite
I profitable through the 90’s.
Notice I said “succeed,” because
a survival mentality will not do the
trick. Success will not be easy to
obtain. It will take some sacrifices.
As a farm manager, you will
have to buckle down and be a
manager first. You will have to
allocate the time to do some of the
necessary management jobs. In
the past few weeks I have talked to
several groups of dairymen and to
individual farmers.
In these discussions, I have
emphasized the importance of <
knowing where you are so you can
decide how to get to where.you
want to be. One tool that can be
used as a map is a good farm
analysis.
DEKALB-PFIZER
GENETICS <o^
DEKALB-PFIZER alfalfa wins for more growers.
120 Wins 1985 World Forage Superbowl.
:e Results In The World Forai
you need.
DEKALB Brand 120
swept the Forage Analysis
Superbowl held during the
World Dairy Expo in 1985.
Orland and Dan Reimer
took top honors. It was
their DEKALB Brand 120
that captured a first and
second in the hay and
haylage divisions.
Paul Sprecher, Sauk City, Wisconsin
Dairy and Diversified Cropping
DKI3S
3rd Place- Ist Cutting Hay -1985
“We had a little bit of everything this year, from drought
to VerttcflUmn wilt and our 135 stood np excellent This
was our first year for seeding. Onr first cutting stood
over 30 inches high with leaves right down to the bottom
of the plant And only 25 days after our second cutting
we came back through for our third.”
Forrest Strieker, Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Dairyman
Advantage
3rd Place- Ist Cutting Haylage -1965
“we made five cuttings this season. Advantage showed
good tonnage and quick regrowth. My average was 1.4
tons dry bay equivalent Alfalfa is the key to our
operation and DEKALB has the best alfalfa lineup. My
cows have convinced me of that”
It does take time and effort to
compile the type of information
that makes up a useable analysis.
This time and effort must come
from the 24 hours that make up a
day.
Yes, many farmers will succeed
without doing or using an analysis.
However, an analysis will give a
farm manager a little edge. Make
a parallel with a person on a
highway.
If that person wants to get from
Lewistown to Harrisburg but does
not know where he is now, he must
do one of the following things: use
a map with a red dot that says you
are here; start out with the sun
over his left shoulder and hope it is
morning time; ask directions as he
proceeds; or wait until dark and
use the stars as a guide.
Studying the map may take
longer initially, but die chances of
reaching Harrisburg may be in
creased. A good analysis is that
map.
It is frustrating to have people
agree with me on the value of an
analysis then add “but
Some of these buts are;
• I do not have time.
•My records are not good
enough.
• Even if I had an analysis I
would probably not use it.
• The last time I looked at my
analysis, I thought the results were
stupid so did not use them.
irbowl.
:eSui
• Even if the analysis showed
that what I was doing was wrong, I
probably would not change, or
• I am doing O.K. now, so why
should I do an analysis?
Unfortunately, many farmers
feel that the only way they can
overcome a financial problem is to
expand. Expansion may mean
more gross income, but it also
means more expenses and
probably more borrowed money.
The “expansion without
analyzing syndrome” often
compounds the original problem
and may add some additional
problems.
The Dairy Business
The dairy business is potentially
the most profitable type of farm
enterprise today for most of
Pennsylvania. First it is difficult
for large corporatre dairy farms to
compete with efficiently run
family dairy farms.
If you are serious about con
tinuing in the dairy business, then
you should decide that records are
the most important part of your
business.
The main way those records will
be valuable is if you use them for
decision making, analysis, and
High-quality alfalfa like 120 is important
to the Eeimers’ 92-cow Holstein operation in
Loganville, Wisconsin.
“Our crude protein levels have been as
high as 26.8 percent. The fourth and fifth
crops ran over 24 percent,” says Dan, who
farms 435 acres with his father, Orland.
DK 135 PRODUCES
9.52 TONS P.A.
for Joe Hartle, Belleforvte,
PA, to win the Alfalfa
Growers Program in the
Alfalfa Grass Division.
Lancaster Fanning Saturday, March 22,1986-05
projection purposes.
If you do not have time to keep
and use good records, then you are
really saying “I am looking for an
excuse to get out of farming’ ’.
Second, until recently, the dairy
business has been insulated from
many of the “supply-demand”
problems other farm businesses
have faced for a number of years.
Until recently the regular
guaranteed milk check was taken
as a “given”.
The milk check may be less
guaranteed now but, for the most
part, it is still fairly regular. In
stead of complaining about the
present economic situation,
dairymen should lode at the even
more severe problems other farm
enterprises have.
Once they have done this, the
next step would be to move ahead
using their management ability to
become more profitable. If one
dairyman can produce milk with a
cash outlay (not including interest
or principal on debt payments) of
less than 60% of cadi income, then
others should be able to do the
same. Most dairymen who could
operate on that level would be
profitable.
A LESSON
WELL
LEARNED...
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