A3B-Umc«stef Fanning, Saturday, March 4, 2000
Farmers Get Advice On Surviving And Thriving At Dairy Days
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) According to Brad Hilty,
owner and chief consultant of
PLS Agri-Management Associ
ates in Carlisle, operating a suc
cessful dairy business can be
challenging in today’s agribusi
ness environment.
Hilty presented two sessions
during the first Lancaster
County Dairy Days, held several
weeks ago. In his first presenta
tion, he identified ten manage
ment strategies that farmers can
employ to “survive and thrive”
in today’s volatile dairy indus
try.
Hilty’s first recommendation
for dairy farmers who want to
maintain a profitable business is
to develop a strategic business
plan.
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ers who would build a barn with
out first having blueprints,” said
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Hilty. “Yet many farmers don’t
have a written plan for their
dairy operation.”
Hilty recommended writing a
mission statement. The farmer
can evaluate his operation based
on the framework established in
the mission statement.
The farmer’s plan should
answer the following questions:
Where are you and your busi
ness at now? Where do you want
to be? What are your goals and
objectives? How will you achieve
them?
“Writing a business plan can
be time consuming,” said Hilty.
He recommended enlisting the
help of professionals.
Hilty’s second recommenda
tion was to control the controll
ables. “Focusing on the
uncontrollables will drain you of
your energy,” said Hilty.
Milk production, milk pricing
components, milk quality, and
risk management were all listed
under the controllables, accord
ing to Hilty.
“Risk management is a key
management practice that you
have to brush up on,” said Hilty.
“It is going to be a key compo
nent in a successful dairy opera
tion down the road.”
Hilty warned against locking
in milk prices without knowing
your cost of production. “You
don’t want to lock in your milk'
price at $l4 when it cost you
$14.50 to produce the milk,”
said Hilty. “You have to know
how to use the risk management
tools.”
The third recommendation
was to maximize forage quality
and feed a balanced ration.
“Harvest, store, and feed high
quality forages,” said Hilty.
“And make sure you test your
fofages.”
According to Hilty, poor qual
ity forages cost one farmer who
milk 100 cows nearly $lOO,OOO
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Toyota Will Be Featuring:
Bassmasler Casting
Kids - Sat, 10am - 2pm
Zebco and Big KMart present
a youth bass fishing contest on
Saturday with casting, pitching
& flipping events' It is one of the
most successful youth fishing
programs m the world'
Also Showing:
• Stillwater Lures
Offering a complete line of fishing lures proven
to catch all types of gamefish, especially bass,
walleyes, striped bass & seat trout.
Pequea Rod Company
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Drawing for fishing & onto equipment and accessories!
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in lost production and higher
grain costs when he didn’t
manage his forages properly.
“You need to feed a consist
ent, high quality forage basis,”
said Hilty. “If you need alterna
tive storages, such as an ag bag,
use one.”
Hilty’s fourth recommenda
tion emphasized cow comfort.
“You need to evaluate your fa
cilities for cow comfort,” said
Hilty. “Cow comfort improves
production and reduces cull
rates. Your longevity increases,
which reduces one of the highest
costs you have heifer replace
ments.”
The fifth recommendation
was to know your cost of pro
duction. “You need a good ac
counting system and good
production records, both on the
dairy and the cropping enter
prises,” said Hilty.
Hilty encouraged farmers to
manage their information sys
tems so that thr ild '
Champion Boats
& Lund Boats
On Display!
Hunting Guide
Ken Gingrich,
Safari Nordik
The Sportsman’s Shop
Buy, seD, or trade hunting, fishing, camping equip
ment, more! Expert gunsmithing on premises.
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• Reading Boat Works
Displaying a large assortment of Champion Bass
Boats and Lund aluminum boats to meet the
needs of the beginner or professional angler.
Gambler Lures
The finest in fishing products from worms,
weights and lures to rigs & ribbon tails.
their strengths and weaknesses.
“If you know your cost of pro
duction and production records,
you can compare them to bench
marks,” said Hiity.
Hilty recommended that
farmers compare their produc
tion records to benchmarks from
the top ten percent of dairies in
the country.
“Don’t strive to be just aver
age because average isn’t going
to cut it in ten years,” said Hilty.
The sixth recommendation
was to implement a manage
ment team and use key advisors
as a sounding board for farm de
cisions. This “sounding board”
can help develop key strategies
for improving profitability.
“There are a lot of people de
manding your time,” said Hilty.
“Why not demand some of their
time back?”
Making wise investments was
Hilty’s seventh recommenda
tion. “You should examine each
(Tr
Beginner’s Turkey
Calling Seminar
The Sportsman’s Shop will host
a Beginner’s Turkey Calling
Seminar on Saturday! The
seminar will be held by Barry
Gunther, a member of the
Quaker Boy staff, and conclude
with a Youth Calling Competition
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