A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 6, 2002
TREATING CHILDREN
EQUALLY OR EQUITABLY
One of the most important de
cisions you will make in your life
time is how your farm will be
passed on to the next generation.
Further complicating this deci
sion is ways to provide for an
equitable distribution of assets
among your children.
Time and time again families
run into conflicts over these deci
sions. If you want the farm busi
ness to continue, more than likely
you will not be able to treat your
children equally and ensure the
survival of your farm business.
Suppose you’re Farmer Brown
and have three children, two
daughters and one son. Your son
went to college, got a degree in
accounting, and is a partner in a
local accounting firm. His wife
and two children are content
with their current lifestyle are
happy to visit the farm for family
occasions. Your older daughter
married a farmer from another
area of the state and moved in
with his family to be part of their
operation. She also has two chil
dren and a stable future. Your
younger daughter, still single, has
always expressed an interest in
the workings of the farm. She’d
rather do farm work than house
work and has demonstrated her
keen interest and ability by in
creasing the herd average
through her management skills.
Leaving your farm business
equally to your three equally
loved children, in this scenario is
probably a big mistake. Neither
your son nor your older daughter
has contributed to the labor or
management on your farm for
quite some time, and each has es
tablished another family and ca
reer. Neither one is intimately
knowledgeable about the work
ings of your farm like your youn
ger daughter. Why should she
work to increase herd averages,
and thus profits, if she will even
tually be forced to share the fruits
of her labor with her two sib
lings? Or worse yet, having her
Fruit, Vegetable Committee
To Meet April 16-17
WASHINGTON, D.C. The
USDA recently announced that
the newly created Fruit and Veg
etable Industry Advisory Com
mittee will meet April 16-17.
USDA Secretary Ann Vene
man established the committee to
provide suggestions and ideas on
how USDA can tailor its pro
grams to meet the fruit and vege
table industry’s needs.
The committee will meet on
April 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and April 17 from 8 a.m. to 1
p.m. at the USDA’s South Build
ing, 1400 Independence Avenue,
Foraging Around, the newsletter of the Pennsylvania Forage
and Grassland Council is scheduled April 20. The section includes \ JP_|r7
additional coverage of the Council's recent annual conference in \*fPj|/
Grantville. Also included are features with a focus on making hay \SIJ7
for specialty markets.
New Farmers,
New Generation
M avion Bowlan
Pennsylvania
Farm Link
buy out her two siblings may
force her into an untenable situa
tion where she has no hope of
being able to be profitable.
Although it may seem obvious
who should succeed in this farm
business, without frank discus
sions about why you are leaving
the farm to certain children, your
heirs may take a dim view of
your decision. Instead they may
see these decisions more as a ba
rometer of your love, especially
when you’re talking about the
family farm. If Farmer Brown’s
children leam at the reading of
the will that the farm has been
left to their younger sister, they
likely won’t consider her hard
work on the farm and her sacri
fices for the business. They might
even think, “See, Dad really did
love her best.”
If you want your farm legacy
to continue:
• Call family meetings to dis
cuss each child’s future role and
interest in the business.
• Seek the advice and counsel
of outside experts such as attor
neys and farm consultants.
• Determine the farm’s finan
cial feasibility, if the farm cannot
support even one family, look for
other avenues to generate income
such as off-farm employment,
value-added enterprises, or ex
pansion.
• If more than one child has
an interest in the business and
the farm can support more than
one operator, consider partner
ship agreements or selling shares
that cannot be sold outside the
family.
• Determine whether children
who are not involved in the busi
ness should be able to share in
the profits.
• Discuss and determine com
pensation for children who are
not involved in the farm.
For more information on farm
transfer, contact Pennsylvania
Farm Link at (717) 664-7077. An
80-page farm transfer guide is
available at a cost of $l5, which
includes postage and handling.
SW, Room 3501, Washington,
D.C.
Individuals who are interested
in fruit and vegetable programs
at USDA are invited to attend.
Because seating space will be
limited, reservations must be
made on or before April 9. For
reserved seating and special ac
commodations, contact the com
mittee’s executive secretary, Rob
ert C. Keeney, fax (202)
720-0016, or e-mail Robert.Kee
ney@usda.gov.
Farmers Leant Crop Storage
Theories At Somerset Crops Day
SANDRA LEPLEY
Somerset Co. Correspondent
BERLIN (Somerset Co.)
Somerset County area farmers
learned about various methods
and issues concerning crop man
agement at this year’s annual
Somerset Crops Day, at the Ber
lin Community Center March 21.
According to Miquel Saviroff,
Somerset County extension agent
who coordinated the event, the
annual crops day serves two pur
poses by providing farmers with
unbiased views of pesticide use
and crop management as well as
serving as educational credits for
farmers to be licensed for chemi
cal use.
“This day is intended to be a
time of year when farmers get to
gether to see the presentation of
research-based information on
subjects that are current and rele
vant to the production of crops,
mostly com and forages,” said
Saviroff.
Speakers included specialists
from Penn State, private industry
and the state department of agri
culture. A speaker from the Crop
Storage Institute in Green Bay,
Wis., held the farmers’ attention
concerning bunker verses tower
silos.
Joseph Shefchik, who has been
with the Crop Storage Institute
in Green Bay, Wis., for the past
two years, presented the reason
ing that bunker silos have not
been found to be as cost efficient
as tower silos for several reasons.
Shefchik travels throughout
the Midwest and Northeast
speaking at various agricultural
related events. He met local agri
cultural extension agent Miquel
Saviroff last summer and Shef
chik agreed to speak at this
year’s event.
“Tower silos are much more
effective than the horizontal
methods,” said Shefchik. “Even
though the tower silos were once
considered to be outdated, stud
ies show that tower silos are more
profitable long-range.”
Shefchik explained that the
initial cost of any storage unit is
only a very small piece of the
total cost picture and the other
costs of ownership need to be
considered. Generally speaking,
the tower silo carries the largest
upfront capitol investment, he
said.
“The capitol costs of the hori
zontal methods can be highly
variable. It depends on a number
of factors including, but not
limited to, machinery choices,
layout design, bunker wall
height, and choosing to buy or
rent equipment,” he said. “Re
member that even in the case of
the tower silo, where initial costs
April 15 Deadline To Vote
On Apple Marketing Program
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Agriculture Secretary
Sam Hayes encouraged Pennsyl
vania apple producers to cast
their ballots in this year’s Apple
Referendum, which will decide
whether or not to continue Penn
sylvania’s Apple Marketing Pro
gram.
Apple producers growing more
than 500 trees are eligible to vote
in the referendum, which began
Tuesday. Producers have until
April 15 to submit their ballots to
the state Department of Agricul
ture.
“I encourage all apple produc
ers to vote in this important re
ferendum,” Hayes said. “It is
their opportunity to express their
Miquel Saviroff, left, Somerset County extension agent,
and Joseph Shefchik, second from left, a representative
of the Crop Storage Institute in Green Bay, Wis., talk to
area farmers Mike Dressier of Evan City in Bedford Coun
ty and Jack Tressler, far right, of New Centerville In Som
erset County, during break at the annual Somerset Crops
Day.
are higher and operating costs
are low, the cost of the structure
will be less than 20 percent of the
total cost of ownership.”
Shefchik reasoned that feed
loss is more likely with a bunker
silo. He says based on research, a
bunker silo loses about 17 percent
of its dry matter during the stor
age period, which can amount to
costly loses during the year. How
ever, a tower silo will lose be
tween six to nine percent of its
dry matter because of mostly an
aerobic respiration of the fer
menting bafeteria. • ' !
Shefchik also pointed out that
unloading costs are a major fac
tor that most people do not real
ize. Operating a tractor to unload
a bunker silo can be quite costly
when considering fuel; however,
a silo unloader can run for about
50 cents an hour, said Shefchik.
“In addition, filling costs is
also a factor in the total owner
ship costs of any storage unit. It
must be remembered that operat
ing a tractor is very expensive
and that the filling machines re
quired for tower silos and silage
bags wear out quickly,” said
Shefchik.
Another speaker, Don Rill, re
gional agronomy extension agent
based in Altoona, spoke on the
safety and maintenance of spray
ing equipment during the morn
ing session.
Rill explained afterward that
the local farmers gather informa
tion during crops day and then,
when the time comes to incorpo-
opinion regarding the future of
the Pennsylvania Apple Market
ing Program and the future of
the state’s apple industry.’ 1 ’
The Pennsylvania Apple Mar
keting Program was established
under the Agriculture Commodi
ties Marketing Act in 1968. The
program represents the interests
of Pennsylvania apple growers
and promotes the sale of Pennsyl
vania apples.
The marketing program is ex
pected to boost sales of apples in
Pennsylvania by, among other
things, stimulating supermarket
business through fall and winter
promotions. The Pennsylvania
Apple Marketing Program was
last reviewed in 1997.
rate any practices into their oper
ation, they usually contact an ex
tension agent for more
information.
“We still have a one-on-one
tradition of teaching on family
farms,” said Rill. “The guys on
the ground want personal con
tact. The best educational tool is
a farm visit.”
William Curran, Department
of Agronomy at Penn State,
spoke to the farmers about weed
management.
“Our job is to provide the lat
est and greatest of technology
and how to stay competitive, par
ticularly in today’s economic pic
ture with farmers going through
struggles,” said Curran after his
presentation.
Curran pointed out that crops
day gives farmers an unbiased
opinion of the latest products on
the market in terms of pesticides
and also what the latest issues are
facing Somerset County agricul
ture.
In addition to becoming updat
ed on necessary information, the
farmers have an opportunity to
receive pesticide update credits
for their license to use pesticides.
Other speakers included Rich
ard Eamst, deputy secretary for
marketing and programs at the
state Department of Agriculture;
Michael Harteis, regional farm
management extension agent;
and Miquel Saviroff, Somerset
County extension agent; Thomas
Wolf, state department of agri
culture for Region V.
The referendum order and of
ficial ballot were mailed out to
Pennsylvania apple producers
March 29. Completed ballots
may be hand delivered or mailed
to the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture, Bureau of Market
Development, Room 311, 2301
North Cameron St., Harrisburg,
PA 17110. All hand-delivered
ballots must be received by 4 p.m.
April 15, and all mailed ballots
must be postmarked by April 15
and received by the department
no later than April 20.
Pennsylvania ranks fifth na
tionally in apple production. In
2000, Pennsylvania apple grow
ers produced 475 million pounds,
valued at $54 million.