Growing The Pennsylvania Dairy Industry
Bradley J. Hilly
Penn State Dairy Alliance
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) The projections for the fu
ture of the Northeast dairy busi
ness published in the May 10
issue of Hoard’s Dairyman are
troubling. If those projections
hold true, by 2020 cow numbers
in the Northeast will have de
clined to nearly 76 percent of cur
rent numbers, while cow numbers
in the western states are project
ed to grow by more than 50 per
cent.
Although total milk produc
tion is projected to grow slightly
in the Northeast, our market
share will have declined to about
14.5 percent, down from 20.4 per
cent in 1980. Until 2001, milk
production in Pennsylvania has
grown slightly on an annual basis
(an average of 1.69 percent or ap
proximately ISO million pounds
per year). In contrast, the Cali
fornia dairy industry has grown
an average of 4.41 percent, or ap
proximately two billion pounds,
per year.
The progressive dairy states
are aggressively pursuing growth
opportunities to expand their in
dustry. The leaders of the New
York dairy industry have ac
cepted the challenge to grow
their industry. Yet in Pennsylva
nia, the reaction to the word
“growth” in reference to our
dairy industry is often met with
animosity. Why is this? Are we so
attached to a way of life that we
will let it be the downfall of our
industry? Having grown up in
western Pennsylvania, I saw
what the loss of key industries
does to local economies and so-
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Sylvia To Head Penn State Crop
And Soil Sciences Department
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) David Sylvia, professor of
soil microbiology at the Universi
ty of Florida, has been appointed
head of the crop and soil sciences
department in Penn State’s Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences.
“Dr. Sylvia has demonstrated
leadership and professionalism in
his scholarship,” said Robert
Steele, dean of the college. “His
work on mycorrhizae is recog
nized internationally, and he is
an award-winning educator who
has contributed strongly to the
development of Web-based dis
tance education. We are extreme
ly gratified that someone of his
stature will be joining us at the
university.”
Sylvia has been professor in
the University of Florida’s soil
and water science department
since 1993. He served as adminis
trative intern for academic pro
grams in the university’s College
of Agricultural and Life Sciences
from 1996 through 1997, and was
a visiting research fellow at the
Biological Laboratory of the Uni
versity of Kent at Canterbury,
United Kingdom, in 1993. He
was associate professor at the
University" of Florida from 1989
to 1993, assistant professor at the
university from 1984 to 1989, and
research associate there from
1981 to 1984.
Sylvia’s research examines the
nicrobial ecology of the rhizos-
Dhere particularly mycorrhizal
cial structures. The loss of the
mining and steel industries has
still adversely affected many
communities. Should the Penn
sylvania dairy industry incur a
similar fate, the impact on our
rural communities could be dev
astating. It is important that we
grasp the challenge before us and
proceed at a pace we have never
imagined.
Grow is not the four-letter
word it is often perceived to be by
some of our producers and indus
try leaders. Growth can be
achieved by a number of methods
and all producers can benefit.
This is not an issue of small ver
sus large. Our dairy industry
needs both the small and the
large producers. However, if pro
ducers choose to stay small, the
challenges they will face in the
future will tax their management
skills like never before.
The cost to raise a family con
tinues to increase. Family living
draws for our average dairy fami
ly are approximately
$35,000-$40,000 per year depend
ing on tax liabilities. That re
quires $5OO-$7OO per cow per
year in net farm income, more
than most average dairy busi
nesses generate. Due to inflation,
that number will continue to in
crease. Within 10 years, assum
ing an average inflation rate of 3
percent, $47,000 must be with
drawn from the business to main
tain the same standard of living
that $35,000 provides today. At 4
percent inflation, the number is
$52,000.
It will be important for our
smaller producers to maximize
the profitability of their business
es. They can achieve this by max
fungi with the goal of incorpo
rating mycorrhizal technology
into sustainable agriculture prac
tice. He had edited three books,
contributed chapters for 16 oth
ers, authored 57 refereed papers
and abstracts and delivered in
vited lectures at numerous state,
national and international re
search symposia.
He has been elected fellow of
the Soil Science Society of Ameri
ca. He was honored as Graduate
Teacher/Adviser of the Year in
the University of Florida College
of Agricultural and Life Sciences
and was a 1997 Fulbright Distin
guished Scholar. Sylvia received
the University of Florida Out
standing Faculty Achievement
and Performance Award in 1990,
and was a National Academy of
Science Exchange Scholar to
Czechoslovakia in 1988.
Sylvia received his bachelor’s
degree in forestry from the Uni
versity of Massachusetts in 1975
and a master’s degree in plant
pathology from the same institu
tion in 1977. He earned his doc
torate in plant pathology from
Cornell University in 1981. He is
a member of the American Socie
ty of Agronomy, the American
Society of Microbiology, the In
ternational Society of Root Re
search, the Soil Ecology Society
and the Soil Science Society of
America.
imizing production and control
ling their investments. This will
require a different business model
than small dairies have adopted
in the past.
Owning the equipment and
land required to raise crops to
feed the cows is an expensive lux
ury. The returns on these invest
ments cannot match the returns
provided by a well-managed
dairy cow, even at $2,000 per
head. The general trends all indi
cate that as production increases,
so does profitability. Average
production per cow topped
18,000 pounds for the first time
in 2000. Yet many herds
throughout the state are well
below this figure, as are the coun
ty averages for many counties in
Pennsylvania.
This presents a tremendous
opportunity to grow our industry.
Increases in production per cow
have averaged 2.25 percent for
the past 25 years. By establishing
an industry-wide initiative to im
prove production per cow, we
could achieve a 5 to 7 percent
growth rate per year. This in
crease would go a long way in
meeting the need for the addi
tional production required to
keep our processors satisfied. To
accomplish this, we need to focus
on cow comfort and forage quali
ty issues in many areas of the
state. Higher producing herds
must focus on transition cow
management and development of
standard operating procedures.
There is no reason Pennsylvania
cannot be in the top five states in
milk production per cow.
Increasing production per cow
is only one avenue for growing
our dairy industry. Many Penn
sylvania producers aspire to
achieve the lifestyle only a larger
dairy business can provide them.
We need to provide opportunities
for those producers who wish to
expand to do so. We must also
show other producers how ex
panding can actually improve
their lifestyle. Whether to attend
professional meetings, take vaca
PDA’s Mark Butcher Chosen
Livestock Grader Of The Year
MILLIE BUNTING
Market Staff
AUBURN, Ala. Mark
Butcher, Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture’s (PDA’s)
livestock grading supervisor,
received the Livestock Grader
of the Year Award at the 42nd
Annual National Livestock
Grading and Marketing Associ
ation (NLGMA) workshop and
conference in May at Auburn
University.
Butcher was one of three
Pennsylvanians attending the
NLGMA’s annual summer con
ference, whose main agenda in
volves a grading workshop
which has been designated as
the largest, most intensive
training session for individuals
interested in livestock grading
and evaluation.
The other Pennsylvanians at
the conference were Baldemar
R. Ortiz, officer in charge of the
USDA’s market news office in
New Holland, and Kenneth
Ketterer, a PDA livestock mar
ket reporter.
In addition to reviewing cur
rent livestock situations in their
various states, the 128 attend-
tions or participate in outside ac
tivities, larger producers have the
luxury of spending more time
away from the farm. They hire
and train good employees to
manage their business when they
are away.
Successful expansions require
successful planning. In recent
years, many of our dairies have
expanded themselves into a no
man’s land of dairy business. It is
no secret that at 600-800 cows,
dairy businesses begin to reach
the economies of scale that many
of our producers hope to achieve
by expanding to smaller sizes.
Careful well-planned expansions
will provide an opportunity to
grow to the next level within a
relatively short period of time
(three to five years). Over-investi
ng in equipment and facilities
can lengthen this time frame and
will even keep some producers
from achieving their ultimate
goal. As an industry, we must
practice sound investment strate
gies, which often means short
term sacrifice for long-term gain.
To help provide ample oppor
tunity for our dairies to grow, we
must stop the flow of cattle out of
our state. Why do our western
competitors purchase animals in
Pennsylvania and pay the truck
ing to haul them long distances?
Could it be that they realize that
earning capacity of a well-man
aged animal far exceeds that of
most other investments required
in a dairy business? Those pro
ducers selling cattle to move west
could make another SSO-$lOO per
head by selling animals to local
producers, who would still pur
chase cows for less money than
our western competitors are pay
ing.
As dairy businesses continue to
grow, they will provide ample op
portunities for support businesses
such as custom heifer growers,
custom harvest operators, and
even custom crop growers. We
need to establish these businesses
throughout the state, as the
smaller producers can benefit
ees participated in correlating
slaughter and feeder cattle
grades of most species and
classes of livestock.
The association’s member
ship consists of about 220 live
stock reporters/graders from 30
states. Members can be federal,
state, or county government
employees actively engaged in
livestock market reporting
and/or grading according to the
USDA grade standards.
Butcher got his start in mar
ket reporting years ago as an
intern for John Zimmerman,
retired head of the PDA live
stock market division. After he
was graduated from Delaware
Valley College, Doylestown,
with a degree in dairy science,
Butcher worked at Em-Tran
for two years before joining the
PDA market news staff in July
1991.
Butcher’s livestock grading
work involves the grading of
feeder pigs and retum-to-farm
Holstein calves at the terminal
markets whose reports are im
portant to the buyers as well as
sellers in trade. His responsibil
ities also include covering the
from them as well as larger pro
ducers. In fact, smaller dairies
will need to employ these serv
ices, as it will be increasingly dif
ficult to maintain the investments
necessary to operate a traditional
do-it-all dairy business model. As
an industry we must forge new
relationships and help those who
no longer want to operate a dairy
business to find and develop the
opportunities available to them.
The third avenue for stimulat
ing the growth of our industry is
to provide dairies with alterna
tives to relocate. Many areas of
Pennsylvania and surrounding
states continue to be developed
into suburban communities.
Within the next five to ten years,
many dairies from these areas
will be forced to make a decision
to discontinue or relocate their
businesses. In addition to these
businesses, dairy producers from
other countries have been immi
grating to the United States.
There are numerous areas in
Pennsylvania that could accom
modate an expanding dairy in
dustry. If we are serious about re
vitalizing our state’s dairy
industry, we must promote Penn
sylvania as a viable alternative to
the Midwestern states for relocat
ing a dairy business. We are close
to the markets, have affordable
land prices (in many areas of the
state), and can provide a labor
force with strong work ethics.
The challenge lies before us.
We can continue on our current
path and watch our industry de
cline, or we can switch paths and
aggressively work to prevent this
from happening. Ultimately, the
responsibility lies in the hands of
you, our state’s producers, to de
cide which path you will take.
Many producers are in this busi
ness because them
with a way of life that they can’t
find anywhere else. Now is the
time to protect that way of life,
by making tough business deci
sions. We must grow our indus
try, before it moves elsewhere, for
once it is gone, your way of life
just won’t be the same.
regular livestock auctions out
side of Lancaster County with
the aid of other state reporters
who work in conjunction with
the USDA Market News Serv
ice.
A native of York County,
Butcher resides with his wife
Stacey in Newport (Perry
County). He said his farm
background consists of growing
up near a farm. He and his wife
Stacey farm about 18-20 acres
of produce for their own farm
ers market, growing everything
from flowers in the spring to
pumpkins for Hallowe’en.
Called “Butcher’s Farm
Market,” it is located on 4th
Street in Newport. He said the
market is mostly run by his
wife, but he does do most of the
planting and growing work.
That is his sideline.
Butcher considers his live
stock grading and reporting
work very important to the
producers, the market owners,
livestock buyers, and packers.
In these days of more and more
direct marketing, producers
still look to the market reports
for information.