Wrights Receive Award
Laureen and Lyle are shown with their DHIA Herd Man*
agement Award.
(Continued from Pago A 24)
fun getting through chores that
way so we could go watch them
play.”
Their children are the fourth
generation to have lived at Way
View Farm. While the girls have
chosen to pursue other vocations,
Darrin has yet to decide which
direction to take.
“Right now, he’s not planning
(to make the farm his life),” said
Lyle. “He’s only 16. He sees us
tied down, that farming can be a
burden. When you have cows, it’s
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a 24 hour-a-day surveillance job.
He’s got a big choice to make.”
As with any job, the positive
and negative aspects are on a per
sonal level. For Lyle, the best part
of farming is the independence.
For Laureen, it’s working with the
animals.
Whether their son chooses to
follow in their footsteps or not will
be a decision the Wrights will
respect. After all, their philosophy
on farming is the same as on life:
plan early, and take each day as it
comes.
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Dairy Business Analyses Suggest
Guidelines For Boosting Profitability
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The results of two annual
surveys of Pennsylvania dairy
farms suggest guidelines for far
mers who wish to improve their
efficiency and profitability, said a
dairy economics specialist in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences.
In 1990 and 1991 Pennsylvania
Dairy Farm Analyses reveal that
low milk prices and drought have
affected farm income significant
ly. Average net farm income for
the 1991 sample farms dropped
more than SO percent from 1990,
falling to $15,013. Net cash
income on those farms was
$24,315.
“Like other business people,
milk producers need to set goals
and objectives in managing their
operations,” said Dr. Stephen
Ford, assistant professor of agri
cultural economics, who con
ducted the analyses. “These
surveys offer some hints about
what helps certain farms excel.”
The 1,060 farms surveyed had
an average of 69 cows, each pro
ducing 16,088 pounds of milk.
Over 91 percent of these farms’
gross income came from milk and
dairy livestock sales.
The cash cost of producing milk
on these farms averaged $10.32
per cwt. “But when costs were
adjusted for inventory changes
and depreciation, the cost of pro
duing milk rose to $12.15 per
cwt,” Ford said. “This leaves only
$0.77 per cwt to pay the farm’s
owner, other family members, and
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cost of equity in the business.”
To get a better understanding of
what made some farms more pro
fitable than others. Ford took a
closer look at some of the more
successful operations in the
sample. “Because successful oper
ations often make good models for
other farms, the performance mea
sures of these farms can serve as
guidelines or targets,” Ford said.
Ford selected a group of 119 top
farms from the 1,060 farms in the
analyses. “Based on net farm
income, these farms were in the
top 25 percent of farms in both the
1990 and 1991 analyses,” he said.
These farms averaged 102
milking cows and sold an aver
aged of 17,901 pounds per cow.
“Net farm income for the leading
farms averaged over $65,000 in
1991, compared to the overall
average of about $15,000,” Ford
said.
The analysis indicates that the
leading farms utilized labor more
efficiently than average, with 38
cows per worker and 683,015
pounds of milk sold per worker.
“The average for all farms was 32
cows per worker and 514,708
pounds of milk sold per worker,”
he said.
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The top farms also had better
debt figures than overall average.
“For the top group, total debt was
only 19 percent of the market val
ue of assets,” Ford said. ‘The
overall average was 27 percent.”
These farms also saved money
on feeding costs. “Purchased feed
costs for the top farms were $3.01
per cwt of milk,” Ford said.
“That’s $0.58 lower than the aver
age for all farms in the sample.”
The farms in the top group were
efficient enough to reduce the cost
of producing milk. “The average
cost of producing milk for the top
group was $10.30 per cwt in 1991,
$1.97 less than the average,” he
said. “This cost reflects all costs
associated with milk, adjusted for
inventory changes, except the val
ues of unpaid owner and family
labor, management, and equity.”
Using 1991’$ average milk
price of $13.20 per cwt, these top
farms had $2.90 per cwt of milk to
cover their unpaid costs of labor,
management, and equity. “Impro
ving the management of labor,
debt, and purchased equity
appears to have a positive effect
on farm profitability,” he said.
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