Farm Management Educational Program Funded
UNIVERSITY PARK With
a $lO,OOO donation from the Pen
nsylvania Young Farmers Associ
ation and a $lO,OOO grant from the
Pennsylvania Department of Edu
cation, Penn State is beginning a
statewide program to help farmers
with farm financial management
The College of Agriculture has
developed a computerized farm
management education program to
be used by high school vocational
agriculture teachers and extension
agents who work with adult far
mers. The contributions from the
state and the PYFA will fund a
part-time position for an educa
tional coordinator, beginning in
September.
Jersey Junwr Seminar Teaches Fitting Techniques
CHAMBERSBURG—The club members came from Cumber- tics instructed the participants in
Pennsylvania Junior Jersey Cattle land, Huntingdon, Somerset, Mer- proper fitting and clipping tech-
Club’s annual Junior Seminar was cer, Tioga, Franklin and Chester niques for showing their animals,
held July 10 to 11 at the farm of counties to participate in the event. He demonstrated on calf, young
Ted and Carolyn Small. Twenty Terry Rawn of Landmark Gene- heifer and cow classes.
David Jenkins, left, of Somerset County and Mike Moose, middle, of Mercer
County, watch as Terry Rawn instructs them In proper clipping techniques at
the recent Jersey Junior Seminar.
The computer program has been
accepted by Penn State’s Coopera
tive Extension as a way to make
farm management education as
uniform as possible statewide,
says Don Mincemoyer, instructor
of agricultural education at Penn
State.
With the program, farmers will
be able to analyze their farm finan
cial records over the past few years
and make projections for future
years. Vocational agriculture
teachers and extension agents are
being trained to help farmers use
the program and to interpret the
results. The computer program
will accept data from any com
puterized financial record-keeping
program, Mincemoyer says.
The College worked with the
Pennsylvania Farmers Association
and the Farm Credit System, as
well as private entrepreneurs, to
develop a program that would sup
port the record-keeping systems of
these organizations.
Merril Brofee, a former Perry
County dairy farmer and one of
the initial users of computers on,
the farm, assisted in developing
the program.
“The farmer will be able to cal
culate his cost per unit of produc
tion, then look at the maiket and
decide if he can continue to pro
duce with a margin of profit,” Min
cemoyer said. “The program will
give him ratios and factors, such as
what percentage of his gross
income must go toward paying
interest on loans. With this infor
mation, he can begin to analyze his
business, and make decisions that
may improve it.”
The new program will provide a
link among the farm industry,
Cooperative Extension and agri
culture in the schools, Mincemoy
er said.
The Pennsylvania Young Far
mers Association presented the
$lO,OOO check to Dr. Lamartine F.
Hood, dean of the College of Agri
culture, on the Penn State campus
on June 28. “I hope this program
RCMA Sets Oass 1 Price
(Continued from Page At)
establish future prices, Anna
explained.
Handlers who process milk
from RCMA members will con
tinue to pay the dairymen the
announced price for the area. The
handler will pay the difference
between the area’s announced
Class 1 price and the RCMA price
CCC Begins Writing Checks
(Continued from Page At)
budget estimate one and one-half
years before the crops are grown. It
is difficult to project accurately
how much the programs will cost
that far ahead of time.”
The volatility of the CCC prog
ram outlays increase the budget
projection difficulties, Hall cited
as a second reason for the frequent
lapses in the CCC’s check writing
ability. Domestic and international
supply and demand can fluctuate
dramatically from year to year. In
years of large crop surpluses, the
farm economy becomes depress
ed, and CCC outlay for the surplus
production increases. Hall
explained.
Hall said several bills have been
introduced in Congress to avoid
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 18, 1987-A29
will be of benefit to all of the far
mers of Pennsylvania,” said Ron
O’Neil, president of the PYFA.
“Penn State is always anxious to
develop materials that will be help
ful in farm management educa
tion,” Dean Hood said. ‘This
donation will help to support our
efforts.”
Dr. Samuel Curtis, head of the
Department of Agricultural and
Extension Education, said the abil
ity to manage finances is one of the
most critical factors in farming.
“You’ve made an investment in
agriculture that is every bit as
important as investing in seed or a
tractor,” he told the PYFA
members.
to RCMA. RCMA will then distri
bute the funds to its total member
ship, irregardless of the class of
milk they ship, Anna explained.
Anna estimated total member
ship in the 11-state Northeast reg
ion at 92 to 93 percent. The Board
has decided to extend the sign up
period to permit every dairymen
access to the over-order prices.
future shutdowns of the CCC’s
spending ability. He favors chang
ing the way in which the CCC
receives its funding. Instead of
Congressional appropriation, Hall
explained, the CCC should be per
mitted to go directly to U.S. Treas
ury for the needed funds. “That, we
think, will avoid shutdowns like
this in the future.
“If we had to shutdown, this is
the time of year to do it,” Hall com
mented. Although individual far
mers were hurt, there were no
major payments due, and the total
deterimental effect was minim
ized. Loan making was just about
over for the present crop year and
the new crop loans are just now
beginning as the reappropriation
came through, he added.
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