PBrockett's Ag Advice
The Farmer Of The 1990 9 s
The exodus of farmers from full
tune farming will probably ac
celerate in the next 10 years. Why?
One reason is the continuing
surplus of farm commodities in
relation to market demand. A
second reason is the continuing
advances of science, technology,
and management techniques that
both improve the efficiency of
producing a product and add to the
surplus. A case in point is the
coming growth hormone in the
dairy industry. Third is the
changing lifestyle of our con
sumers more free time which
means more time spent in
recreation more concern about
physical condition which means
dietary needs. A fourth reason
may be diluted by the new tax laws
competition from those who do
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Built rugged for efficient, high-volume feed
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• Galvanized steel, all bolted construction.
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• Options: hopper, spouts, diverter, support brackets
Patz CATTLE FEEDERS
Chain and flites for simplicity
economy
Model 400 feeder fits straight line
bunks up to 200 ft. 10ng... move all
types of feed smoothly around bunk
without sifting or separating.
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By John E. Brockett
Farm Management Agent
Lewistown Extension Office
not have to make a profit from
their farm business.
Then there is the reasoning that
the government can fix anything if
they would only pass the right
laws; this is coupled with the
stupidity of those who make our
laws in trying to fix everything and
still win votes. Many farmers still
refuse to view their farms as
businesses that must be run like
businesses.
Attitude is a major problem for
those who really desire to improve
farm income; particularly the
feeling that all it takes to succeed
as a farmer is “hard work” and the
desire to farm. Another problem
for many farmers is the vast
amount of information a farmer
must sift through to decide what
piece of information is useful, what
Model 162-A
FAST
DELIVERY
and
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is worthless, and what is actually
detrimental. Finally, the cost of
borrowed money may be higher
than the potential return from that
money.
When all of this is taken into
consideration, it adds up to a
major loss of farmers in the next 10
years. The loss will probably ex
ceed the one that happened during
the drought years of the mid six
ties. Actually Pennsylvania far
mers will probably be in better
financial shape than farmers from
most other areas of the country.
Pennsylvania farmers are blessed
with basically good soils, favorable
climatic conditions, and, easy
access to major markets for their
commodities. Pennsylvania far
mers also have alternatives to full
time farming that may help them
move from full-time farming to off
farm income work.
Who Will Be The
1990’s Farmers
Those who will be farming in the
1990’s will be people who have been
able to adjust to a new way of
farming. They will include those
who are willing to accept the fact
that they will need an off-farm job
to supplement farm income. They
will have to be careful that the off
farm income is not consumed by
the farm operation, or the off-farm
job will not be a viable alternative
but just another frustration.
Patz ■
Model
262
Conveyor
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Another survivor group will be
those who presently have little or
no debt and can continue in that
category To be truly successful
and not just survivors, the
members of this group must take
advantage of their debt free
situation and become top notch
managers or they will soon be
among the “also rans.”
The real future farmers will be
those who can learn to be business
executives willing to treat their
farm and their enterprise industry
as a business. They will be able to
make decisions based on facts, not
emotion. They will probably keep
and use extensive records on
production functions as well as
financial areas. They will know the
cost of producing a unit of their
commodity under their conditions.
They will know how to recognize
and use useful advice and in
formation, how to glean the useful
parts from the vast pile of
available information, and how to
discard all of that worthless in
formation and expensive advice.
These farmers will be self con
fident enough to recognize their
own weaknesses as well as their
strengths. They will know how to
set priorities and not fear hiring
people who know more in certain
technical areas than they do. Most
of them will see that being a
Patz BELT FEEDER
For fast, reliable, feeding plus..
easy maintenance and low investment.
• High Volume • Mounts Left or
• Simplicity Plus Right Side, or
• Continuous-drive Ceiling
Plow • One Motor No
• Installs Quickly Reversing Switches
101 FEEDER AND CONVEYOR
Check these features:
• Feed is distributed along the
bunk from above by a feeder
with a tapered bottom.
• Can be used inside or outside,
• Chain and flites move at 91’
per minute delivering up to
44 bushels of feed to the bunk
each minute.
Lancaster Farming Saturday, September 13,1986-Dl5
• Can elevate, feed and convey
with optionals.
• To fit your requirements, the
101 can feed in one or two di
rections; convey and feed in
one or two directions; or just
convey.
Feature for feature that’s why
farmers are selecting the Patz
Model 101 feeder and conveyor
“financial manager” will be a top
priority in the future. They will
also recognize that labor
management is a major concern of
theirs.
To Be Successful
You Will Need:
To be a successful farm operator
into the 90’s you will need the
following:
1. Highly efficient production per
unit with high quality and sound
economics. The combination is a
must. Just high production alone is
not enough. A dairyman can go
broke with a 20,000-pound herd
average if the cost of producing
that record exceeds the returns, or
if the farm family’s expectations of
family living from the farm ex
ceeds the amount available. Cost
control is a must in any business
that is to be successful.
2. Detailed and useful records.
Financial records are a necessity
for cost control, tax management,
planning, making changes,
analyzing the business, and basic
decisionmaking.
3. A regular farm analysis. An
analysis is important to any
businessman who is interested in
improving the weak areas of the
business. A good analysis can help
the manager of a business project
the results of a management
change.
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