August 2005

Extra profit potential documented: $70,000 more per farm average in one year is the front-page feature in Farmshine ( Aug. 26, '05 ). " Pennsylvania 's original Dairy Profit Team participants increased profitability by $70,000 per farm average in one year. Overseen by the Center for Dairy Excellence, the 12-month pilot program was successful and serves as a foundation for a growing program. . . . The farms completing the pilot increased their herd size by 7.2 percent, increased production per cow by 16.7 percent and shipped 24.9 percent more milk during the first 12 months of the program versus the previous year. . . . The Center has expanded the Dairy Profit Team program to 25 farms for 2005, and will continue to add 40-50 farms pr year in the future." Visit the Center's website at Profit Team's website at http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/cde/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=135061 .

When OSHA Comes Calling and Be Ready for OSHA appear in Northeast Dairy Business (Aug. '05). "'It's a misconception that agriculture is exempt from OSHA standards,' says Ellen Abend, safety and health educator with the Cornell Agriculture Health & Safety Program. OSHA must visit very farm where there's a fatality, which farms must report, she says. But under its 'General Duty' clause, which states a business must provide a safe work environment, OSHA can inspect dairies. . . . In a Western DairyBusiness magazine item on California OSHA inspections of dairies in the state's Central Valley, there were five frequent violations cited: 1. Failure to have an injury and illness prevention program; 2. Lack of proper machine guards; 3. Electrical hazards; 4. Problems with reporting and record keeping; 5. Lack of health and safety training. How would your dairy fare in these five points if OSHA came to call?"

Making Decisions is the focus of the Pro-Dairy feature "The Manager" in Northeast Dairy Business (Aug. '05). Eleven separate articles discuss topics such as decision-making style, the difference between strategic and tactical decisions, management records for decision making, decision costs and much more. You can access the series at The Manager website: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/prodairy/manager/august05.html .

Developing leaders takes time says Charles Gardner, D.V.M, in "The Dairy Business" column of Hoard's Dairyman (Aug. '05). "One of the most challenging aspects of transitioning from smaller farms to larger ones is providing leadership to employees. Doing so requires an investment of time from senior management, and time is a very scarce resource on an expanding dairy farm! Yet the return from having a well-trained and highly motivated staff is exceedingly high."

Competing for farms and land by Lorraine Stuart Merrill is "The People Side" column in Hoard's Dairyman (Aug. '05). "The financial press is full of stories about America 's red hot real estate markets. Notable trends include the boom in second homes and recreational properties, as investors pull cash out of stagnant stock and bond markets and shove it into real estate. Rural lenders and realtors report these chickens have come home to roost in many regions, driving up agricultural land prices. . . . The Federal Reserve report cites investment and recreation as the most frequent reason for farmland purchases-with the fastest growth in recreation."

PBS to tout farming reports The New Jersey Farmer ( Aug. 1, '05 ). "Come September, keep an eye on lineup on your local PBS television channel. Farms, farming and farmers are going to get a big public boost. America 's Heartland is a new weekly public television series that will celebrate our nation's agriculture."

What Do Your Cows Say About Their Welfare? asks Dairy Herd Management (Aug. '05). "Completing an animal-welfare assessment can help you answer that question. . . . An assessment is an educational tool designed to evaluate all aspects of an operation and identify any areas that may need to be improved so that anyone looking at your operation from the outside would agree that you deliver top notch animal care. . . . Currently, there are two national programs that provide animal-welfare assessments or audits of dairies: Animal Welfare Audit Program ( http://awaudit.org ). . . developed by SES , Inc. at the request of the National Council of Chain Restaurants and the Food Marketing Institute; and Animal Welfare Assurance Review and Evaluation (AWARE - http://www.emsllc.org/aware04/awaredefaultpage04.asp )"

June's Big Boost in Milk Production was featured in the "Washington Dairygrams" section of Hoard's Dairyman ( Aug. 10, '05 ). Production increase of 5.4 percent "in the 23 states, put markets in a tailspin. More milk-per-cow (+4.7%) was the driver. . . . Among top states . . . Pennsylvania was up 7.8 percent with 6,000 more cows than a year ago."

Piping Manure ( Manure Manager , July/Aug '05) reports on Lamb Farms, Inc. one of New York State 's largest dairies which "owns 4,200 Holstein cows and is a partnership between the Lamb and Veazey families. . . . The dairy's main motivation for installing the pipe network was limiting its liability. The operation had grown to the point where using the road system to transport the volume of manure it was generating for spreading on nearby farms was becoming a liability issue. It now has installed about six miles of underground pipe. . . . Solids separation was critical to the efficient management of the pipe network because solids removal makes it easier to pump the liquid manure to field outlets. In addition to easier transport, removal of a portion of the solids from the manure also helps reduce anaerobic activity in the dairy's holding lagoon, thus reducing the potential for odor."

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