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Walter Wurster
DAIRY HOUSING
Are you conahwogja building
project for your dairy farm? If so,
you need to ask a lot of questions,
seek all the advice you can find,
do an extensive plan, and make
the decisions that are right for
your operation. Whether it is a
remodeling project or a major
expansion, there are big bucks
involved, and once construction is
completed, you will have to live
with your decisions for a long
time. There has probably never
been a perfect building project
where the owner could say that he
would not change anything that he
did. However, the goal is to have
those changes be minor ones and
not have a large effect on the
operation.
After saying all this, I don’t
want you to be scared to make
building changes. It has often been
said that a business never stands
still; it either goes forward or falls
backwards. A successful manager
is always looking for ways to
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Agricul
tural exports from Pennsylvania reached a new
record of more than $4OO million in 1992, an
increase of 15 percent over the previous year
according to Agriculture Secretary Boyd E.
Wolff.
“Exports of agricultural products from the
Keystone State have more than doubled since
1987,” Wolff said, “and that provides statisti
cal proof that our market development efforts
are paying off for Pennsylvania producers and
processors.
‘The Departmentof Agriculture’s participa
tion in international food shows has helped a
growing list of Pennsylvania companies gen
erate new interest in their products.”
According to figures released by the Pen
nsylvania State Data Center, Pennsylvania
Agricultural exports totalled $400,571,495 in
1992. The export figure includes all crops,
livestock, food and tobacco. It does not include
forestry and wood products, which also set a
new record of $367,090,934, an increase of
more than 23 percent over 1991.
In the past year the Department of Agricul
ture’s Division of Domestic and International
Trade has participated in trade shows with
more than 100 Pennsylvania companies,
attending trade shows in Korea, Hong Kong,
France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the USA.
In addition, the Department sponsored special
trade missions to Thailand and to the United
Arab Emirates.
Agriculture Secretary Wolff and staff mem
bers from the Department’s Bureau of Market
Development represented 17 Pennsylvania
food companies in a special PENNSYLVANI-
A USA Pavilion during the giant U.S. Food
Export Showcase May 9-12 in Chicago. That
show was held in conjunction with the 1993
Supermarket Industry Convention sponsored
by the Food Marketing Institute.
“Those companies have discovered that our
initial contacts during the Chicago show have
translated into, requests for product sample
shipments to foreign lands,” .Wolff said.
Samples of confections, tomato sauce, pow
dered beverages, beer and soup have been sent
Chester County
Dairy Milk Lines
Extension
Dairy Agent
improve the operation, including
animal nutrition, crop production
and the use of die facilities. How
ever. it is a lot easier and faster to
reformulate a feeding ration to
correct a problem than it is to jack
hammer concrete out a bam to
correct a mistake.
There is help out there. One
excellent opportunity to get build
ing ideas is the upcoming Animal
Housing Expo at the Lebanon
Fairgrounds on July 13 and 14,
1993. There will be industry
booths, demonstrations, and
speakers that will address building
concepts and planning procedures.
For dairy farmers considering any
building project, the Expo should
be a priority event to attend.
The Expo is open from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m. each day and it is located at
the Fairgrounds on Rt 72, south of
Lebanon. Your county agricultur
al extension agent is another sour
ce of value information and ideas.
What choices do you have? Dan
McFarland, multi county ag engi-
Pennsylvania Ag Exports Increase
nccring extension agent, says, “In
dairy housing, if a firmer provides ,
good vendlation, a comfortable
resting area, adequate feed space
and an adequate water supply,
their choices of a building are end
less.” It then becomes a choice as
to what type of structure the far
mer prefers. Take the time to visit
farms that have built structures in
the past few years to solve needs
similar to yours and ask a lot of
questions. Why did they decide on
a particular type of building, what
are the advantages to the system
and what would they change, after
having worked in the facility for a
period of time?
A partial checklist of items that
should be addressed before a
building project starts are:
• Decide what your goals and
needs are now and in the future.
• Decide on the type of build
ing or feed storage that will
answer your goals and needs
take tours.
• Determine the location of the
new facilities in relation to the
land and existing buildings. Far
mers tend to want to put new
buildings too close to old bams
which causes ventilation, tire, and
movement of cattle and machinery
problems. Location may affect the
type of building that you select.
Don’t be afraid to take a couple
acres of prime com ground for
your new bam to avoid creating a
problem you will have to live with
for years.
• Talk to several builders in
Southeastern Pennsylvania, there
are a number of excellent agricul
tural construction companies.
• Develop a sound financial
plan to determine what size facili
ty fits your operation, what is the
payback time on the new invest
ment, and how will your profit/
loss statement, cash flow and
balance sheet look after the new
to Taipei, Taiwan, Korea and Saudi Arabia as a
result of participation in the food show in Chi
cago in May. A total of 34,000 potential buyers
attended the show. International attendance
was up 35 percent over last year.
“Gur diverse food processing industry has
established an international reputation for
quality, and that reputation has carved out a
worldwide market niche.”
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9UAUTT • CRAFTMANBHIP • COMMITMENT
MORTISE & TENON
*NEW & RESTORATION
FROM DESIGN TO COMPLETION. OUR GOAL IS CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION. WE OBTAIN THAT BY QUALITY CONSTRUCTION
WITH COMPETITIVE PRICES. CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION
facilities are operating. Another above the projected cost a
question is, do you pged to .buy .building project almost always has
cattle tb get your new facility up to additional costs above the original
full capacity to make your finan- estimate because changes and cor
cial plan work? The FINPACK rections are made during
computer program provided by construction,
the cooperative extension is an * y° u planning to build
excellent tool to formulate this tot- severa * facilities, such as cow
al financial plan. barn, heifer bam, silos and/or
• Allocate additional funds (Turn to Pago A 35)
Cows producing over NO lbs. protein arc:
(term Brood Ago Mlk
Joseph & Sandra Luaby
Sunshin H
OH Lonehll Farm
Kathy H
Annie H
Timberviow Farm
Yvalte H
Marilyn & Duane Hershey
Amber H
Dixie H
Ardrossan Farms
Birdeye
Wroslie
Marie King
Oaks
Dunwood Farm
Saturn
Dot
Chris & Ches Stoitzfus
Ostrich
Tim & Phyllis Bariow
Golda
Walmoore Inc. #3
615
Charles J. Moore
Y 165
Honey
Colt
J. Harold Bare
47
Century Oak Farm
Bertie
Eyvy
WBkinson Farm 1
2933
Dale Davis
Wendy
Leslis
Melwood Farm
Louela
Dandy
Breck-A-De Farm
177
159
A recent survey of companies that partici
pate in trade shows with the Department of
Agriculture reveals that 63 percent of those
companies have generated overseas sales
because of the Department’s export enhance
ment efforts.
For more information on exporting Pennsyl
vania agricultural products, contact the Depart
ment’s Division of Domestic and International
Trade at (717) 783-3181.
ALL STEEL
* COMMERCIAL
* LIGHT INDUSTRIAL
* AGRICULTURE
(215) 445-7897
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1132
980
337 Panorama Dr.
Denver, PA' 17517
EQUESTRIAN
* RIDING ARENAS
* STABLES, ETC.
897
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