Greater Profitability (Continued from Page A 26) time with the family. He worried that dairying “may be a good liv ing, but not a good life.” So they switched to grazing. They installed a new fence. They put in a new water system, paddocks, and other refinements. Com ground was converted to pas ture. They reseeded cropland with fescue and put in alfalfa-orchard grass mixes, making use of some matua-clover-ryegrass combinations. The land presented a “real opportunity” to graze no-till alfalfa. The Pattersons installed addi tional fencing. After a while, cow cull rate was reduced significantly. Overall health showed significant improvement Costs went down as a result of the switch to a low production, low-cost system. And the savings translated quickly into net profit Patterson reviewed the financial figures on his farm, dated from December 1989 to December 1994 (reprinted this issue of Lancaster Farming). It was clear net income per cow went from $921.49 in 1989 with 61 cows to a net income per cow of $1,290.36 in 1994 with 91 cows. Rugged Enough Ear Lime, Precise Enough For Fertilizer. You know how tough it is to spread wet lime. And fertilizer is too expensive to waste. Our new 56i spreader does both jobs with ease. Plus, it has no equal when it comes to spreading “sloppy” material. Stoltzfus Spreaders have been known as unique, “top-of-the-line” ag spreaders since 1947. • Press-wheel ground drive • Walking-beam suspension • Corrosion-proof steel hopper 1-800-843-8731 • UHMW plastic floor • Lime: 3 tons / acre max. Fertilizer: 125 lbs. / acre min. In the end, for every dollar obtained per cow, half of that was used as family income. That net income Patterson attributes to the grazing program. Patterson explained that too often, farmers set up the dairy in order to produce milk to obtain profit Instead, he said, you should set the farm up for pofit and allow milk to bring that profit Producers can then keep as many cows as they can. “Let the cows do the work for you,” he said. The cows, as a result of grazing, are cleaner and drier. He spends less time milking now with 91 cows than he did with the 60-cow herd. It is much less expensive to graze than to grow or purchase feed and feed supplements. “It is absolutely imperative,” said Patterson, “thatweleamtobe low-cost producers and absolutely imperative that we use grazing to do that” To further that end, Patterson noted the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Dairy Grazing Field Day sche duled Tuesday and Wednesday, July 11-12, at the Delta Springs Farms in ML Solon, Va. and at his farm in Crimora, Va. Examples of grazing, including watering sys tems, nutritional considerations. The One Spreader Morgan Way, P.O. Box 527, Morgantown, PA 19543 Farmers are still using Stoltzfus - Spreaders they’ve had 20 years or more. That means your investment in a versatile Stoltzfus Spreader will add up to a very smart buy indeed. Call or write today for a free brochure and the name of the dealer jiearest you. STOLTZFUS cost-share programs, forage var ieties, etc. will be discussed. After addressing the group. Logansport, Ind. dairyman Dave Fogey showed slides of what his farm was like before he switched to seasonal grass dairying. The area around the farm was worn down. Tilled areas surrounded it Soil was being lost The area didn’t look real clean. But then he showed those who attended the grazing conference a picture of his farm after he switched to seasonal grazing. Lush, green farm fields. A cleaner, healthier environment for UrtT cows. The crowd was impressed. Forgey, columnist for Hoard’s Dairyman, switched to seasonal dairying (moving the calving sea son to fall) over a course of three years. The Forgeys reduced the herd size from ISO to 120. Some of the challenges Forgey faced: becoming more intense about con ception rates, selecting bulls for high conception rates, and letting some good livestock go. The farm also made use of check sheets apd electronic heat detection. But the results, when all other factors were in place, was lower feed costs, optimum use of mater ials, less equipment costs, and the herd benefited immediately in terms of overall health. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 11,1995-A27 The December DHIA report for the River-View Farm herd was 20,032 pounds, using the alfalfa/ grass grazing. Forgey reviewed the entire farm system, making use of an intensive rotational grazing system using 8S paddocks measuring 214 to S acres each. Included is a simple water supply, with more than three miles of water line feeding separate, transportable 100-gallon Units. The cows are moved every 12 hours from paddock to paddock. The cows arc kept on pasture all year-round, said Forgey. Silage is fed to them on pasture ground with a round bale system even in the middle of winter. He told the group that in the harsh winter last year, there were 10 days in a row that the temperature outside was 30 degrees below zero, with an 80 degrees below zero wind chill, and the cows were outside. Net income per cow is more than $BOO. In a question and answer session that followed, Forgcy emphasized the importance of selecting a plant species that works well with your soil types. For good soil in his sys tem, he uses an alfalfa/ orchardgrass mixture. On clay soil, he uses bromegrass/red clover. Every paddock gets hayed at 5/ Chuckwood Sales y and Service f (717) 532-5820 WOOOMASTER Buy an AGO Ad-lib Feeder Or buy a bucket. It took six yean of pellet or meil. research, and over 7000 From 11 lb ninety pits separate measurements to 265 lb market hogs, involving pig behavior to there's a precision-cast develop the ACOAd-Ub ACO Ad-lib Feeder to fit Feeder. Which is why it’s your pig. the only feeder proven to And. depending on your reduce feed wastage to feed cost, the amount you .aj less than 2%, and save on wasted feed will * . ' aggression in the pen by have paid for your feeder i i 1 U P to 60%. in just nine months. n»' yf Curved partitions make So, neat time you're fouling virtually impos- buying a feeder, make sure tiWe. And specially it’s an ACO. Otherwise designed agitators keepa you might as well be perfect flow of feed, be it buying a bucket. Look for us at the Keystone Pork Congress at Lebanon Fairgrounds Lebanon, PA Wednesday. Feb. 15 Booth #5O Larry e. Moyer, President BROOKVUE FARMS EQUIPMENT (610)612-2330 26 Brookvuc Lai* FAX (610)6t2-9779 Menztown, PA 19539 MFORTER-USADISTIWUIOR-ACO Tselnlogln pie- FARM EOUPHENT LOCATEOMMLEI NORTH OF FHLADEIFHIA-tMLES WEST OF ALLENTOWN. FA least once in the spring and is mowed at least once during the year. Joel Salatin. Staunton, Va. graz er who operates Polyface Tree Farms, emphasized the importance of “poly,*’ or many-, rather than “mono.” or single-culture farms. He said that through a combination of “generic” equipment that does multiple tasks, and watching costs, he has worked out a system that is healthy for the environment and farm-profitable. Also, he emphasized that ani mals “should do the work. Don’t think that every problem has a heavy-metal, diesel-fiiel answer” on the farm. Dr. Dave Zartman, professor at Ohio State University, spoke about the results of five years of research done on seasonal dairying. Research indicated that something on the order of IS-20 percent addi tional profit can be made if grow ers switch to seasonal dairying, and a similar amount using management-intensive grazing, he told those who attended the conference. But the main message, he said, is that “seasonal dairying has enormous flexibility. It is not locked to grazing.” Seasonal dairying works in many different variations. Zartman told the far mers to “give serious thought to seasonality” even if working with a confinement system. OUTSIDE WOOD |HPP FURNANCE Hot Air and Hot Water Domestic Hot Water a» r\ A \ r t
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