Tenpenny Farm: Building For The Future Of Dairying In New Jersey
(Continued from Page A2O)
The planning started to pay off
when the Blascos began shipping
milk in the end of October to
Dairylea. On 15 head they are
averaging 38 pounds per day. ''We
are just engrossed in watching the
amount of milk (shipped) grow,”
Kelley said. “That we are able to
receive payment for the milk and
get something out of it besides a
‘good night Pearl’ at the end of the
day is just amazing,” Vince added.
One of the drawing cards for the
Blascos was the ability to work
together. “It’s your own business
and it is a way of life. We saw what
could be done and we were in the
right place at the right time,”
Kelley said. “This is our dream,
our children don’t exactly embrace
the idea,” Vince added.
Their four children, John, 18,
Scott, 16, Shannon, 15, and Melissa,
14, have always been there to help
out, Vince notes. He credits Kelley
and his two daughters with getting
the farm off the ground. Kelley did
the milking and herdsman duties
with help from his daughters while
he did other things to prepare for
the eventual start up, Vince stated.
He objects to the term part-time
farmer. He doesn’t know how you
can farm successfully part-time.
“I now know why they put lights on
tractors,” he quipped. Kelley
added, “My mind swims with how
difficult it must be to do the field
work and cow care.”
Vince doesn’t profess to knowing
all the ins and outs of the business.
“I’ve been on the business end of
the cow and the fork. Not that this
equates to 30 years in the business,
but our specialty will be in herd
management and processing.” For
this reason, they based their ration
on hay, which they buy, and 60
acres of high intensity pasturing.
“The professors at Rutgers and
Penn State told us if you’re
going to raise feed, raise all of it
and if your are going to buy your
feed, buy all of it. I always thought
that if the feed was cheap, I
couldn’t grow it cheaper. If it was
expensive, everyone had a bad
year and I would too. There is no
cloud hanging over New Jersey
that makes everything grow
right,” Vince explained.
Things have not always gone
well for the Blascos. “We’ve been
lucky. Things that could have set
us back 10 years were resolved
within a week. We had help from
above,” Vince said.
They reached their financial
breaking point shortly before their
loan came through. Without the
loan to build the barns they would
have had to sell the cows, Kelley
explained. The feed was near the
end, something had to give, Vince
added. With the loan approval,
plans proceeded as hoped for.
By September the construction
was scheduled to be completed and
the cows moved in. However, it
wasn’t until mid-October that the
project was finished. Up until then,
Kelley was milking 18 cows in a six
stall bam held together by baling
wire. “God bless baling wire. It
reached the point where it was
coming apart, but we weren’t
going to invest anymore in
repairs,” Vince remembered.
He marvels at what they have
now, compared to when they
started with a make-shift milking
set-up and a one iron-lung vacuum
pump.
With all new facilities, they don’t
anticipate problems with keeping
the facility clean and the neighbors
appeased. “If we allow people to
watch what we are doing we’ll
have to keep it clean or we’ll run
away business,” Kelley said. “We
will need to be a showplace.”
They plan to start processing
when they milk 40 cows and hope
the demand is present for planned
increase to 80 cows. “Three years
ago we planned to sell to 3 percent
of the population. With the ever
increasing population, our outlook
for success look better,” Vince
said.
Although they are optimistic
about their plans, Vince admits he
has an added security. “The price
of ground has raised so much in
New Jersey that if things don’t
work out we would have sufficient
funds from the sale of the ground to
haul the buildings away.”
The skyrocketing price of land is
a concern for Vince. Although he
recently received an offer of |2
million for his 80 acres, he explains
that with this type of incentive
farmers cannot afford to continue
fanning in New Jersey.
He urges Pennsylvanians to
increase their land preservation
efforts. “Once the land is gone, you
have wall-to-wall people and you
can’t get the land back.” In New
Jersey the building boom hap
pened quickly and the state’s land
preservation efforts were too little
too late. Vince noted that the two
most expensive places in the
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 20,1986-A23
"God bless baling wire," Vince Blasco stated when
recalling the condition of their old milking barn. Boards were
braced from the ceiling to support the stanchions.
country to build homes were
located in New Jersey.
Vince notes, “We are probably
getting in at one of the worst times,
but we may be hitting it right.”
USDA Buyout Report
WASHINGTON - An estimated
8,800 head of dairy cattle were
slaughtered in federally inspected
plants during the week ending Nov.
22, as a result of the Dairy Ter
mination Program, the U.S
Department of Agriculture an
nounced Wednesday.
This total includes all cows,
heifers and calves identified as
dairy animals designated for
disposition in compliance with the
program requirements.
The cumulative total of cattle
slaughtered under the program
from April 1 through Nov. 22 is an
estimated 870,600 head.
The Blascos have their master
plan drawn. With wise
management and optimism their
future and new year look bright.
The purchases of meat in ad
dition to normal purchases are to
help offset the effects of the DTP
on the domestic meat market. The
cumulative purchases, reported bi
weekly as of Dec. 5, total 333.3
million pounds.
Dairy cattle reported for export
under the program for the period
April 1 to Dec. 5 totaled an
estimated 45,719 head. An
estimated 1,205 were exported
during the week ending Dec. 5.
Live cattle exported under the
program are expected to increase
as countries develop tenders to
participate in the export enhan
cement program.