MARKETING 2000 AND 2001 PRODUCTION John Berry Lehigh County Ag Marketing Agent I see very few crops still in the field. The cows are off pasture. Machinery is put away. Most doors and windows are being kept shut. It is the beginning of a less hectic season. We might even contemplate the past year and plan for the coming year. Farmers tend to be conserva tive politically, philosophically, and emotionally. This is natural. Making a living in the face of weather, price, and government uncertainty is risky business. There is no need to seek addi tional excitement. This has lead to an increasing interest in mar keting. The past couple of years have presented significant marketing Randall G. Renninger Certified Public Accountant Specializing in agriculture and construction industries “We help business people discover ways to cut costs, save taxes, and be more profitable” Call about our FREE seminars 535 W. Orange Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 (717)299-6480 ♦ Fax (717)299-6390 Phone 717-867-4624 Hershey's Soyflakes: The Original Whole Cooked Soybean Flakes. Cooked Slowly With Steam challenges. Lack of rain, too much heat, low prices, too'lnuch rain, not enough sun, low prices, increasing competition, and low prices are causing growers to consider developing a more sub stantial plan for actively market ing their production. Using tradi tional marketing methods has come up short lately. Producers understand the need to concentrate on market ing. The challenge is developing a flexible marketing plan that uses appropriate tools and con trols emotional decisions. Follow ing the market closely, quickly reveals that prices cannot be pre dicted with total success. We can study the past and the present, and then apply this knowledge to the future, but there are limita tions. Marketing has a vocabulary that is unrelated to our everyday team Processed Soybeans, Corn, Bar Buyers of Corn, Soybeans, Barley activities. Sometimes it seems marketing involves doing the exact opposite of what is logical. The available marketing alterna tives have distinct advantages and disadvantages that must be understood before a thoughtful plan can be developed. The farm financial situation, attitude to ward risk, and level of marketing knowledge are additional factors affecting development of a usable plan. All costs must be considered when developing a marketing strategy. Interest rates, shrink age, fees, advisers, transporta tion, lost opportunity, and cash requirements need to be consid ered. Marketing can be success ful without using the futures markets, but understanding the futures market can be powerful. Local prices are nearly a direct result of what happens at the various boards of trade. Prices can change from week to week. It is easy to concentrate on a single sale that resulted in a below-average price. Try using a yearly pricing summary. The idea is to follow the value of total or expected production. Cash sales, forward pricing, futures ac tivities, and government pay ments all contribute to farm rev enue. Many people would like to think there is a secret formula to making marketing deci sions, but it does not exist! Successful marketing re , quires time and patience. The longer and harder you work at it, the better you will become. In an effort to 1 increase farmer’s marketing knowledge, the Lehigh Val -1 ley Grain Marketing Club is sponsoring a marketing seminar on Jan. 23 near Al lentown. Bob Utterback is the fea- ne A Very M eriy *S. Hershey Farms Inc. 9 Horseshoe Pike banon, PA 17042 Toll Free 1-888-801-3301 Custom Mixed Feeds Custom Made Pellets Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 23, 2000-A29 Safely Store Garden Chemical Products COLUMBUS, Ohio As snowy mornings draw closer, gardeners are putting away sum mer tools. These tools may in clude garden chemicals and pes ticides used to fight insects and weeds during the growing sea son. Gardeners are encouraged to take time to evaluate their stor age methods to protect their fam ilies and pets, said Joanne Kick- Raack, coordinator of the Pesti cide Education Program, part of Ohio State University Extension. “Garden chemicals and pesti cides should be stored out of reach of children and pets ideally in a locked cabinet,” Kick-Raack said. “Pesticides should be stored in the original container with the original label attached. Storing pesticides in another container, such as an empty soda pop or food bottle, is confusing and could cause an adult or child to ingest the product.” Kick-Raack emphasizes keep ing containers in a dry area to tured speaker. Utterback is a reg istered commodity broker and president of Utterback Market ing Services, Inc. in New Rich mond, Ind. He provides overall technical and fundamental mar keting outlooks and he and his staff implement trades for farms and farm related organizations. You can read his outlooks in Farm Journal magazine and daily marketing comments at http://www.utterback.com Paul Knight will also be giving a presentation. Knight is the Pennsylvania climatologist. He is an instructor of meteorology at Penn State and manages the Weather Communications Group. Knight has been the sen- prevent corrosion or possible leakage. Containers should be sealed tightly and stored sepa rately from food, seed, fertilizer and other products. “Safety should be the first pri ority when handling and storing pesticides,” she said. The labels on pesticide prod ucts also provide information for storage, Kick-Raack said. Some products may need to be stored in a controlled area to avoid freezing or excessive heat. Anoth er safety tip is to avoid stockpil ing pesticides. “Storage needs can be reduced if homeowners buy only the amount of garden chemicals and pesticides they need for the growing season,” she said. For more information about storing and disposing of garden chemicals, contact your county extension office or the Pesticide Education Program at (614) 292-4070. ior forecaster for The New York Times since 1986. Paul is also the producer, co-host, and on-cam era meteorologist for WPSX TV’s Weather World. During this seminar, we will be discussing the economic and political environment, federal farm policy, fundamental factors affecting agriculture, developing a marketing plan, trends, volatil ity, cash flow, emotions, weather, and world agricultural output. Everyone is invited to attend this excellent educational activity. For additional information, contact John Berry at (610) 391-9840. Fax 717-867-4313
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers