A24- Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 20, 1988 f tsi A f MANAGEMENT BY ROLAND P. FREUND Regional Farm Management Agent Each year atBHHHHI this time we have^^HHH many farmers with dairy orl beef cattle to feed who are short of forage. At the same time their neighboring crop farmers have com fields which they are willing to sell for silage. If both parties can agree upon a price that is fair, then trading com silage can be a good deal for both of them. This is especially true in a year when drought results in shortage of forage and poor grain yield in com fields. To analyze such a situation it is necessary to look at the trans action from the view points of both the comgrower and the cattleman. Corngrower’s Perspective Before comgrowers can decide what they must get if they sell com as silage, they need to work out what the field would give them if they sell it as grain. They must know GRAIN YIELD potential and the PRICE they can expect at harvest time. Grain yield can be determined by sampling and yield checking the field. Price can be established by what the mill is offering for contract deliveries at normal harvest time. These two facts enable comgrowers to deter mine the gross income potential for com as grain. But this is NOT what the grain is SOLUTIONS FOR TODAYS GROWING NEEDS for fruits, vegetables & all crops Contact PARS, me. Elizabethtown, PA (717) 367-2667 Distributor Of: • NACHURS • NUTRI-CAL • BIVERT • l* ‘ I L(7l7> 3«7-2667 1 Thewxld’smost tedirdogically advanced m \i. (ui >nt C isfms.'l'i iiu; r i\«. 1 rh«. iu». 'id luvir \ ' nu'omii,m tr ni nl t!u tin Our in ulkfi mt I u t<-i rlu in t 1 1 h*.i lt it mm n u uu. v>.m 1 u k rin it. mk | i iuk nr lil ' > m iuor\a"t \XhKhiiKin h nuinu imu ♦tr t r». it^i s it<. ui 1 \ irru ill in Ir \iHirsi, It Oi rlu Ur i- kitK u ij MM w 111 ll'k 'I 11 1 1 The Fireplaces “by Vermont Castings. BOWMANS STOVE SHOP 906 E. Main St., Ephrata, PA 17322 (717) 733-4973 Tues & Wed. 10-6; 111011. & JFn 10-8; Sat 10-4 1 Mile East of Hphrau on Rt 322 worth when it’s standing in the field. HARVEST cost, DRYING, and HAULING must all be deducted first to give the net income from grain. This then is the MINIMUM which graingrowers should accept. If they can get more than this by selling it elsewhere, that alternative may be a better deal for them. Cattlemen’s Perspective Buyers of a cornfield need to know how much feed, and the val ue of the feed that they are getting. CORN SILAGE YIELD in an even stand can be measured by sampling techniques. With uneven fields in droughty conditions this is a guessing game. Because there is about twice as much water as there is dry matter in silage, it’s more important to know the DRY MATTER% (D.M.%) and pay for dry matter tons than to try to esti mate moisture levels and count wagon loads. The simplest and most accurate system to determine yield is to start with an empty silo, ‘ measure the level of silage in the structure and use silo tables to arrive at the DRY MATTER TONS in the silo. Take care to check if the tables are for once only filling, for settled height, or for settled and refilled capacity. When cattlemen are feeding normal well-eared 35% D.M. com silage (65% moisture), in each ton the cattle are eating about 4 hun dredweight of earcom and 4 hndredweight of fibre equivalent to a fair quality grass hay. This BBwwsren 6 . GATES 8 . Hot Dip Galvanized ’ • 12’ .... BALE BAGS ** Now In Stock! 58”x56”x164” means that in one D.M. Ton of com silage there is approximately .57 tons of ear com and .57 tons of hay. So, the PRICE OF EAR CORN and the PRICE OF GRASS HAY can be used to calculate com silage value. The cattleman is going to have expenses handling this silage which must be deducted: HARVESTING. HAULING, and ENSILING. In addition there are ENSILING LOSSES and QUAL ITY adjustments which need to be considered. The resulting value is the MAXIMUM price that the cat deman should pay. Example Area of field- 45 acres Shelled com yield- 37 bu. Silage fills 20x50 silo, 118 D.M.T. Shelled com price- $3.20/bu. Ear com price- SlOO/T. Fair grass hay- $7O/T. Corngrower’s calculations Grain gross income- 37x3.20 = $llB Harvesting cost- $23 Grain haul- 2 Drying charge- 9 Total deductions 34 Potential income from grain $B4 Stover value- 13 Comgrower’s minimum value/ ac. $97 Cattleman’s calculations Yield » 118/45 » 2.62 D.M.T./Ac. 0.57 Tons Earcom @$ 100=557 0.57 Tons Grasshay @s7o * $4O Feedvaluc/D.M.T. Comsilage = $97 Feedvalue/Acre = 2.62x97 = $254 Harvest cost- $45 Hauling cost- IS Ensiling cost- 9 Storage loss (10%) 25 Total costs, losses $94 Cattleman’s maximum value $l6O per acre At various moisture levels this is equivalent to a price per wet ton: 60%- $25.65%- $22,70%- $l9, and 75%- $l6. Buyer beware! Recognize that there is usually a big difference between minimum and maximum price in such a deal. Careful calculations should ensure that a price is struck which is SPEEDY CORN CRIBS f' • Easy To Erect £ • Rods Instead Of ft Bolts On Wire Mesh Place Your Order NOW And SAVE! ;==== => l . D-CON NOW $B.BB Y ORDER SALE $27.99 $34.99 .$37.99 $42.99 $49.99 $54.99 KENDALL' 2”x24” MILK SOCKS Give yourself abreak. Get the sock $9.88 PERMECTRIN n tfuSSSft fIMCTMTB 1 Qt. Reg. $38.99 NOW $33.88 advantageous to both parties. To assist in these computations Penn State Extension has a compu ter template in each extension office. Do not hesitate to contact your office and request that your Drought Relief Bill (Continued from Pago A 1) bied for a support price increase of $1 during congressional hearings on the relief bill. But federation officials say they aren’t disap pointed at the eventual result “We’re pleased that in a very budget-minded Congress, we got what we got,” said Mike Brown, a NMPF economist Earlier in the year, before drought relief became a major issue, the federation launched a campaign to eliminate the possibil ity of a 50-cent support price cut in which it enlisted the support of member cooperatives and farmers throughout die country. The new - legislation effectively ends that campaign as well as lobbying efforts for another whole herd buy out or milk diversion program to reduce production below the 5-billion-pound trigger. Currentiy, farm milk prices are on the rise as seasonal factors and the drought tighten the supply demand equation. The Minnesota- Wisconsin [nice the benchmark for setting minimum prices in the nationwide federal order system -- climbed 18 cents in July, to $10.52 a hundredweight. Some analysts predict it will reach $11.20 before the end of the year. The M-W will fall, however, during the next spring flush. The temporary increase should keep milk prices 25-35 cents higher than they would otherwise be during this period. Brown said. The bottom line? Maintaining current profit margins, if any, would appear to be the best most producers can manage over the next year as higher than antici pated milk prices are more than offset by higher feed costs. In July, soybean meal prices as high as $360 a ton helped push the milk feed price ration down to a national average of 1.15, well below the f CORDON ’• . VAPONA INSECTICIDE • Reg. $5.59/Gal. NOW $4.88/Gal. • NEW BACK-RUBBER OILER Reg. $6.79/Gal. . AMINE 400- 2,4-D NOW f^p /Gal WEED KILLER Reg. $11.59/Gal NOW $9.88/Gal. Good For Pastures, Lawns & Postcmcrgcnce Planting figures be run through the “Pricing' Com Silage” program. Providing the information provided is reaso nably accurate, the printout will give both parties the information which they need to negotiate a deal. level thought to be profitable for milk production. The govern ment’s August crop report, which estimated a com crop 35 percent below,last year’s 7.3 billion bushels and a soybean crop 23 per cent less, promises prices will remain high through at least the first half of 1989, Brown said. Obviously, the impact of the drought will vary among produc ers according to the amount of feed they buy and the extent of crop los ses they experience. According to the federation, the “average” 60-cow herd owner may pay as much as $15,000 more for feed next year while receiving only about $5,000 in government disas ter benefits. Those benefits will be available only to livestock producers who grow their own feed. A provision that would have extended assis tance to purchased feed as well did not make it into the final version of the drought bill. The bill does contain a broad program of assistance to crop far mers. Producers whose losses exceed 35 percent of their average yields are eligible for payments -- in cash -- that will make up 65 per cent of the value of these losses. Losses in excess of 75 percent will receive 90 percent compensation. Other provisions include: ~ a revamped assistance prog ram for livestock producers who suffer crop losses. This will super cede the Emergency Feed Program and Emergency Feed Assistance Program already on the books. - a package of credit measures for farmers, banks and rural businesses. This includes extend ing eligibility for low-interest emergency loans from the Farmers Home Administration to farmers without crop insurance coverage. - assistance for tree growers and landowners who preserve wildlife habitat. GORDON’S CHEMICALS ACE Hmrdwmre