ASMmcattor Fanning, Saturday, Fabntaty lOi IW*
BLUE BALL (Lancaster
Co.) —The ag seminar of the
Blue Ball National Bank was held
Wednesday in the Fire Hall. Coun
ty Dairy Agent Glenn Shiik said
that before you can enjoy Cuming
as a way of life, you need to make it
profitable. Times have changed,
and if we don’t adjust, our compe
titors will.
Markets have changed from
when your father or grandfather
fanned. We have less government
support, and we are working with a
different consumer that wants
quality and a more healthful food.
In addition, today’s people have
less appreciation for the farm and
the food they eat because no one
drey know lives on a farm they can
visit
Shirk said you need to maximize
returns on land, labor, capital, and
feed. The key is to build a strong
income base with the milking herd
and good genetics, production,
health and longevity. To boost
breeding cattle sales, you need to
merchandise. To improve milk
prices, work for quality premiums
and component pricing.
Fanning is a personal business,
and you can’t make decisions on
what the neighbors think. Follow
the facts about your Canning busi
ness. Just because you need to
make, business decisions that do
not match your feelings about
fanning, this does not mean you
are a failure. Good business people
maiff. these decisions all the time.
H. Lewis Moore, Penn State,
said you should not raise a crop if
you have not thought how you will
market it In marketing is where
you make or break your farm
operation.
On the national economy,
Moore said some positive things
include low real inflation; unem
ployment down to 5.8 percent;
food prices and supplies in order,
the economy had a soft landing,
and exports are up.
On the negative side, the per
ceived inflation is high; the politi-
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Bank Ag Seminar
cal antics of Congress and the
President cause uncertainty; retail
sales are down, and consumer cre
dit is up. This indicates a coming
recession.
Moore said exports in 1995
grew 22 percent, and more people
have higher standards of living.
Land values have recovcrd, and
food takes only 10.7 percent of the
consumer’s income. Of course the
farmer gets only 21 cents of the
consumer’s dollar spent for food.
We are using more com, actual
ly used more com than we pew in
1995. But the record yields in 1994
helped carry us over. Nevertheless,
we have low inventory that can be
measured in days as to how long it
will last We need a large com crop
in 1996, and Moore does not see
com prices going down much until
we see how much com crop we
have this fall.
Planted acreage will increase,
and if you order seed late, the best
varieties will be gone. Seed com
panies expect sales to be up 18 per
cent this year.
In the dairy business, Moore
sees poor prospects for milk pro
duction with higher feed costs, low
profit margins, and lower milk to
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feed ratios. This will put a squeeze
on production.
Dairy product demand is higher,
and milk prices should be higher.
Other speakers included Tim
Elkner on the subject of alternative
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Everyone also knows manually
adjusting hundreds of pans every couple
days is unrealistic. The income you would
gain in feed efficiency would be lost
several times over in labor costs. That’s
why the UniGROW36O system is so
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Attht Blue Ball Bank ag seminar are from left, Glenn Shirk, Louis Moore, Ken Over
ly, and Tim Elkner.
NOW, YOU CAN QUICKLY AND EASILY ADJUST
THE FEED LEVEL AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE
This special winch enables
simultaneous feed level
adjustment of a line of f Oil
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simple turn of the crank. Unlike \J§/ iP I
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crops for farm income, and Honor
able Leroy Zimmerman told how
new ag legislation will affect our
country.
Norman Hahn, chairman of the
board, had the opening remarks.
and Melvin Pankuch. president
and chief executive officer,
thanked the people for coining.
Kenneth Overiy, vice president ag
sales and service, chaired the
meeting.
SYCAMORE IND. PARK
255 PLANE TREE DRIVE
LANCASTER, PA 17603
717-393-5807
1-800-432-0988