C2-Lancasier Fanning, Saturday, July 25, 1992 P' 'oultry Science Penn State Poultry T Pointers MANAGE YOUR POULTRY ENTERPRISE AS A SYSTEM Dennis E. Buffington Prof. And Head Ag and Biological Engineering Poultry farming like all other farming enterprises is becom ing increasingly competitive because of global economic pres sures that are often beyond our control. Poultry producers who were very successful one or two decades ago are not as successful if they are following exactly the same prac tices that they did one or two decades ago. It becomes increas- Lfnderwriters Laboratories Approved Master Labeled £ rv \ Lightning Rod Systems M TEATES PROTECTION L.P.I. Certified Master Installer Farm, Residential and Commercial FREE ESTIMATES TIM SHAFFER P.O. Box 136 (717) 374-7090 Freeburg, PA 17827 Aug FARM D 9 am-5 pm Rt. 414 Sponsored by the Empire State Potato Club, Inc. Host Farm Family: Rodman Lott and Sons FroA AHmie«inn IN COOPERATION WITH: American Agricutluritl • New Tbit Stile College el Agriculture & Uli Science! • rree MUiiii»aiui i New Equipment Diilm' Auoclation • NiwM SUM farm Equlpmant Club • Comall Parking $2 per car Coepenllve Eitamion • New Tbit Slate Electric 1G« Corporation • Rocneiter Get I Electric Corporation Capital legion ingly important for poultry pro ducers to manage their poultry enterprises using the systems approach. The systems approach involves understanding each individual component that comprises the sys tem. Management needs to know how that individual component reacts to shifts in any input factors. In addition, management needs to know how any changes in an indi vidual component affects the over all operation of the system. Final ly, the overall mission of the sys tem needs to be defined and all the personnel need to be constantly reminded of the system mission. Generally the mission of a poul ! w ! 'eterinary Science / B&B SPRAY PAINTING & SANDBLASTING Jr* Spray 10 Years RLm 00 Experience In: Brush m Barns, Roofs, Fences, Houses, Exterior, Interior & Repointing, Masonry Restoration, Aerial Ladder Spray Painting ■■■■ • i " i RD 1, Blrd-In-Hand, PA 17505 SERVICE (717) 354-5561 8*92 Seneca Falls, MY kFM. 1 EMPIRE FARM DAYS •lAN IOTTIitONt try enterprise is to maximize the net return. However, my experi ence is that some poultry produc ers will erroneously emphasize maximizing production, using fac tors such as number of eggs per layer per year or daily gain of broilers. Or management may focus upon minimizing other fac tors such as days to market for broilers or pounds feed per pound of gain. These factors are indeed very important and influence the eco nomic well-being of any poultry enterprise. However, if one chooses to maximize net return rather than maximizing number of eggs per layer per year, then diffe rent management strategies will need to be used. Detailed records form the cor nerstone of any systems manage ment approach. Each poultry pro ducer should be able to document the true costs associated with pro ducing a dozen of eggs and the cost for each component of the egg pro duction system. The components of an egg production system include feed, labor, utilities, depre ciation of equipment and facilities, maintenance of equipment and facilities, flock health services, debt service, taxes, insurance, manure handling, etc. Also, a poul try producer needs to know how a change in one component increased the cost of egg production. For example, a 10 percent increase in feed costs is going to increase the cost of producing eggs considerably more than a 10 per cent increase in utilities cost. But how much more? Detailed records are needed to answer such ques tions. Having a gut feel is not sufficient. Another example relates to maintenance of equipment and building facilities. Detailed records will provide information of the true costs associated with the maintenance. This figure then needs to be evaluated when con sidering hiring an experienced contractor to handle your mainte nance requirements. Also, the val- Lakeview To Host WOODSTOCK, Va. Lake view Simmentals will host the Virginia Simmenlal Association’s annual Field Day on Saturday, August 8, at the farm in Wood stock. “We are expecting a very large crowd of both purebred and com mercial catdemen to be with us for field day,” said Wilson Eastep, Lakeview Simmentals. “As an added attraction, we are inviting a Halting on in the9os j£ Fuel Economy and Soil 1 <2§Conservation Are Concerns iH.tt.dwuv Of Yours. Buy BrilUon . For More Information Contact Your Brillion Dealer t I PENNSYLVANIA I Intercom*# Ouarryvlll* Fr#d#rlck 1 ' CB. HOOBER GRUMELUFARM CERESVILLE FORD Adamatown & SON SERVICE NEW HOLLAND ADAMSTOWN ‘SSS? I HEW JERSEY - ! "mSST brothers, inc. JJSS EQUIP. CO. , . SNYDER, INC. Brldgaton Lebanon . ’ LESUE FOGG Barwlck UMBERGERS CH. RINEHIMER OF FONTANA nc „ o , 4 tSrF cTnTCR INC Columbua ' nou „ Maxatawny TURF CENTER, INC R g E o BROTHERS GEORGE N NH FLICKER & EQUIPMENT 11X SONS . INC. Waat Grova GROSS, INC. S.G. LEWIS & Eaaton Natdmor# SON, INC. Elrncr GEORGE V. CLUGSTON poLE TAVERN SEIPLE FARM EQUIPMENT EQUIP. Elizabethtown SALES CORP mom New Holland . —■ 1 c M niMPUFNT A ro ABC. GROFF. INC. I MARYLANDU EQUIPMENT CO. Fairfield Gattyaburg Olay Rlaing Sun CALDWELL YINGLING PIKEVILLE AG INDUSTRIAL TRACTOR & „ IMPLEMENT EQUIPMENT, INC. EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT j ue of the services that the poultry producer or his employees will be providing if they are not spending time with maintenance must be evaluated. Operating a poultry enterprise today involves the management of a complex system. Detailed records provide the information needed by the manager to more fully understand the system and then to manage the system in an efficient manner. Several weeks ago I was visiting a farmer who indicated that he was too busy doing farm work to have any time for keeping records. My response to him was “trying to manage a complex system without records is like trying to fish with out a hook on your line. Your poul try operation won’t be very suc cessful and you won’t have many fish to eat.” Simmentals Field Day number of farm and cattle related businesses to set up displays of their business products. There will be a small fee of $5O per display to help sponsor a Sim mental Dinner. The field day will have contests with winners to be announced in the later part of the evening. Registration deadline is August 1 by phone (703)459-4900 or (800)541-7496. BRILLION FLAIL SHRED* DERS keep going when others stop! One of the most Important features is that you get the heaviest gearbox on the market with this machine. 12 & 15 foot. With either side slicer or cup knives.
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