(Continued from Page Al 4)
One reason for the recent jump
in cheese prices was sluggish milk
production, especially in the upper
Midwest states.
Wisconsin milk production was
4 to 6 percent below last year in
recent months. Meanwhile, milk
production in many other states
showed some growth South
western states increased milk pro
duction more than 5 percent above
last year’s production levels.
Conditions around the country
in general are favorable for milk
production to show some
increases this winter and into next
spring.
Although milk prices may sta
bilize and may even increase due
to a strong cheese market in late
1993, milk prices will start down
ward early in the new year. How
far prices fall depends on milk
production growth and consumer
demand for daily products.
Grain prices and the quantity
and quality of forages later this
winter are major factors in how
much milk production will
increase early in the new year.
On the consumer side, the
strength of the U.S. economy is
important, but even more mean-
Garden Spot Tobacco
We are now receiving
tobacco daily at our
warehouse -
Rt. 322 & Reidenbach Rd.
Highest prices paid for
top quality tobacco. Call
us before you deliver
700 Reidenbach Rd., New Holland, PA
(717) 354-6934
(717) 354-2340
MANURE LAGOON PUMPING MADE EASIER
Medium Duty
Wright Rain
No Cutting Knives, But
Has Open Impeller.
Pump Up To 700 GPM
at 150 PSI
Call Us For Help In Choosing The Right Pump For Your Requirements
Manufacturers and Distributors Design and Engineering.
ZIMMERMAN IRRIGATION
R.D. #3, Box 186, Mifflinburg, PA 17844
(717) 966-9700
Pennsylvania Ag Prognosis Good For 1994
ingful are consumer attitudes tow
ard milk and dairy products.
Continued Belt Tightening
Pennsylvania agricultural pros
pects for the new year appear
promising.
The key word is competition, of
which there is more with the pas
sage of each year. Increased com
petition adds risk to the farm
income equation, and farmers
react by specializing and produc
ing more.
The changing weather patterns
have also injected more risk into
fanning. Tightening the belt and
moving forward will likely sum
up the financial side of agriculture
next year.
Getting behind on feed bills
was a key problem in financial li
quidity for dairy farmers during
1993. The decline in the 1993 com
crop could increase financial
problems in 1994.
Interest And Investment
Increase
The interest bill to common
wealth farmers has declined by
more than 20 percent since 1988, a
drop of $5O million.
That trend will stabilize in 1994
and, as the economy slowly
improves, fanners can expect
Pump your manure to field
regardless of field conditions,
using traveling gun, stationary
gun on aluminum pipe or
underground PVC mains.
We feature 3 different pumps
to suit your particular
application.
<£* V
Heavy Duty Extra Heavy Duty
i. *M|.
Magnum
Has Cutting Knives,
And Open Impeller
Will Chop Up Straw
and Debris, Pumps Up
TO 800 GPM at 170 PSI
kIYWOMi V
CONCRETE
PUMPING
SERVICE
• Sidewinder 45 Concrete 4O Cubic Yardf Ptr Hour
• Pump Up To ISO Ft. Vertical And MO Ft. Horizontal
CONCRETE SPRAYING SERVICE
A Nm My OfAffifttf Am*
• Repair Retaining Walla • Manure Pit Contraction
• Strengthen Existing Masonry • Trench Silo Cooetructlan
Walk • Silo Repair
• Reaeal Manure Pits
KEYSTONE GUN-KRETE
II Poplar Street Gordonvllle, PA 1752#
(717) 768-3641
This Is ths pump for extra
rough work, will even chop
up 2x4 wood pieces, open
Impeller with heavy duty
chopper, pumps up to 700
GPM at 160 PSI
interest rates to inch up as much as
1 percentage point by the end of
1994.
The big ticket item in 1994 will
likely be expansion and/or moder
nization of livestock facilities.
Fanners are increasingly facing
an economic environment of tight
profit margins. They have few
alternatives. They can cut costs
more, increase profit per unit pro
duced, and/or produce more units
of farm product.
Dairy farmers, for instance,
probably will reason that a profit
of $5OO per cow on 40 cows adds
up to $20,000 annual income. The
same profit of $5OO per cow on 60
cows adds up to a more comfort
able annual income of $30,000.
Pennsylvania farmers will con
tinue analyzing where the money
is made in their operations and
expanding the profitable parts.
Lenders are facing heavy regu
latory pressures. Their inability to
fund some farmer plans could
hold back intended investment in
the new year. They will tend to be
fund investment plans that focus
on high-profit centers.
Federal policies are simulta
neously putting more risk on the
shoulders of Pennsylvania far
'N-KMTI
Barracuda
mers, and injecting more outside
competition.
That is bad news for those who
have a tough time controlling their
costs.
Farmers can do virtually
nothing to reverse these two
important trends. The silver lining
is that the present market orienta
tion of federal farm policies is
making farmers highly competi
tive on world markets.
On the competition front,
GATT (the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade) and NAFTA
(the North American Free Trade
Act) will eventually be enacted—
in some form.
The long-run gains from “firee
er” trade will occur as markets
become larger.
The problem for the individual
farmer is survival until the long
run gains begin. One survival
method is tight control of costs.
The five leading cost compo
nents in Pennsylvania during
1992, in millions of dollars, were
feed ($680); fertilizer- chemical
fuel ($380); labor ($350); repairs
($230); and interest ($180).
Labor and repairs will likely
increase 2 to 3 percent in the year
ahead, but the other leading
expense categories will continue
to decline and to keep Pennsylva-
£ PAY OFF
WATER FILTERS
L cu *t
Uwnr Panting, Saturday, Januay 1, 1M4-AlB
nia fanners highly competitive.
Summary'
Gross farm income could eclip
se the old record of $4 billion and
reach $4.1 to $4.2 billion during
1994.
A strong performance is in store
for farm production, given favor
able growing conditions, high
quality feed production, and stable
to slightly higher commodity
prices for dairy, swine, and spe
cialty crops (vegetable and
horticulture).
All-in-all, 1994 probably will
be highly challenging to farmers
facing tough competitive markets,
and rewarding to those successful
ly meeting the cost-control imper
ative of 1990 s agriculture.
The best news in the economic
outlook for grain products is that
inventories of most crops are not
hanging over the markets. Far
mers in Pennsylvania face an
interest-rate environment that per
mits solid modernization plans to
“pencil-out” in 1994. Off-farm
income sources will be essential
on most farms.
This forecast does not translate
into an agricultural boom, but with
continued tight cost-control, far
mers in Pennsylvania will experi
ence income gains during 1994.
10” Sediment filters for grit,
sand, particles, dirt, etc.
Micron Sizes
1. 5. 10. 20. 30, 50. 100
128 qty. - 51.99 ca. case lot
s
80 qty. - $2.25 ea.
40 qty. - $2.50 ea,
Call (717) 866-5388
WATER SYSTEMS
i I
742 E. Lincoln Ave.
Myerstown, PA 17067