1. No category

Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Lancaster, PA
#1746
Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County
1383 Arcadia Road
Lancaster, PA 17601-3149
www.farmandhomecenter.com
THE FARM AND HOME CENTER NEWSLETTER
FALL/WINTER 2014
VOLUME VII, NO. II
SAVE THE DATE
Farm and Home
Foundation’s 51st
Annual Meeting
you
e
p
o
h
We ur new,
like o signed
rede etter.
newsl
Yes, I want to help Grow Our Future in 2014-15
I want to assist the Farm and Home Foundation in fulfilling its mission to
make agriculture successful in Lancaster County now and into the future.
o My annual membership dues of $2 per member are included ($2 x # _____ persons = total $________).
o I will o I will not be able to attend the 51st annual business meeting on January 20, 2015.
o Enclosed is my tax-deductible gift of: o$500 o$100 o$50 o$25 o Other $ ____________
Please make all checks payable to the Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County.
Name________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone (__________)_______________________________
Street Address____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City _____________________________________ State _______ Zip Code _______________ Email:_________________________________________________________
The official registration and financial information of the Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department
of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
ADDRESS CHANGE?
If you have moved, changed your name, or prefer to be removed from our mailing list,
please contact us by mail, email ([email protected]), or phone (392-4911). Thank you!
8
Farm & Home Foundation
The 51st Annual Meeting of the Farm and
Home Foundation of Lancaster County
will take place on Tuesday, January 20,
2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the Max Smith
Auditorium of the Farm and Home Center.
All members and interested friends are
invited and encouraged to attend the
dessert buffet and business meeting.
Reservations or tickets are not required,
but RSVP’s are encouraged by a call to
392-4911, an email to [email protected], or returning the tear slip
on page 8 of this newsletter. You may
mail contributions and annual dues of $2
per member or pay for membership that
evening at the door.
Financial and operational reports of
the 10/1/13 – 9/30/14 fiscal year will
be presented; information about the six
2014 scholarship winners will be shared,
along with other pertinent business of the
Foundation.
Members will also elect seven Directors
to serve three-year terms on its Board.
Board members meet six times throughout the year and serve on committees to
conduct the business and operation of the
Foundation and its facility, the Farm and
Home Center.
Please mark your calendar and plan to
join us on January 20.
Extraordinary Opportunity to Give
The Farm and Home Foundation will
join over 260 non-profit organizations
in Lancaster County on Friday, November 21, to participate in its third annual
Extraordinary Give Day. Sponsored by
Lancaster County Community Foundation, Rodgers & Associates, and the Martin H. Baer Charitable Trust, this exciting
24-hour day of giving offers $50,000
in additional prizes and incentives to
participants who obtain online contributions from donors.
During seven time slots throughout the
day, five “Golden Tickets” will be randomly selected by computer to participants
who give via the ExtraGive.org website
to receive an additional $1,000 grant
added to their gift of $25 or more. Five
Golden Tickets will be awarded during
the following times:
12 – 3 AM Midnight Madness
5 – 8 AM Fulton Bank Rush Hour
9 – 11 AM Morning Coffee Break
12 – 2 PM High Companies Lunch Hour
4 – 6 PM Clipper Magazine & Spencer
Advertising Happy Hour
7– 9 PM Benchmark Construction
Company Primetime Prize
10 – 12 AMLanc. Co. Solid Waste
Management Finale
The first 10 organizations who receive
50 unique gifts of at least $25 will each
receive an additional $1,000, with only 1
gift per donor per organization counted
towards this incentive prize. Finally,
two grand prizes of $2,500 each will be
awarded to the organization with the
Continued on page 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
Manager’s Desk............................................. 2
Receipts & Disbursals................................ 2
Gifts and Donations.................................... 3
Penn State Extension................................. 4
DBC Ag Products...................................... 4-5
USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service........................ 5
USDA’s Farm Service Agency.................... 6
Lanc. Co. Conservation District................ 6
Lichty Tax Accounting..................................7
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Lancaster, PA
#1746
Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County
1383 Arcadia Road
Lancaster, PA 17601-3149
www.farmandhomecenter.com
THE FARM AND HOME CENTER NEWSLETTER
FALL/WINTER 2014
VOLUME VII, NO. II
SAVE THE DATE
Farm and Home
Foundation’s 51st
Annual Meeting
you
e
p
o
h
We ur new,
like o signed
rede etter.
newsl
Yes, I want to help Grow Our Future in 2014-15
I want to assist the Farm and Home Foundation in fulfilling its mission to
make agriculture successful in Lancaster County now and into the future.
o My annual membership dues of $2 per member are included ($2 x # _____ persons = total $________).
o I will o I will not be able to attend the 51st annual business meeting on January 20, 2015.
o Enclosed is my tax-deductible gift of: o$500 o$100 o$50 o$25 o Other $ ____________
Please make all checks payable to the Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County.
Name________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone (__________)_______________________________
Street Address____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City _____________________________________ State _______ Zip Code _______________ Email:_________________________________________________________
The official registration and financial information of the Farm and Home Foundation of Lancaster County may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department
of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.
ADDRESS CHANGE?
If you have moved, changed your name, or prefer to be removed from our mailing list,
please contact us by mail, email ([email protected]), or phone (392-4911). Thank you!
8
Farm & Home Foundation
The 51st Annual Meeting of the Farm and
Home Foundation of Lancaster County
will take place on Tuesday, January 20,
2015, at 7:00 p.m. in the Max Smith
Auditorium of the Farm and Home Center.
All members and interested friends are
invited and encouraged to attend the
dessert buffet and business meeting.
Reservations or tickets are not required,
but RSVP’s are encouraged by a call to
392-4911, an email to [email protected], or returning the tear slip
on page 8 of this newsletter. You may
mail contributions and annual dues of $2
per member or pay for membership that
evening at the door.
Financial and operational reports of
the 10/1/13 – 9/30/14 fiscal year will
be presented; information about the six
2014 scholarship winners will be shared,
along with other pertinent business of the
Foundation.
Members will also elect seven Directors
to serve three-year terms on its Board.
Board members meet six times throughout the year and serve on committees to
conduct the business and operation of the
Foundation and its facility, the Farm and
Home Center.
Please mark your calendar and plan to
join us on January 20.
Extraordinary Opportunity to Give
The Farm and Home Foundation will
join over 260 non-profit organizations
in Lancaster County on Friday, November 21, to participate in its third annual
Extraordinary Give Day. Sponsored by
Lancaster County Community Foundation, Rodgers & Associates, and the Martin H. Baer Charitable Trust, this exciting
24-hour day of giving offers $50,000
in additional prizes and incentives to
participants who obtain online contributions from donors.
During seven time slots throughout the
day, five “Golden Tickets” will be randomly selected by computer to participants
who give via the ExtraGive.org website
to receive an additional $1,000 grant
added to their gift of $25 or more. Five
Golden Tickets will be awarded during
the following times:
12 – 3 AM Midnight Madness
5 – 8 AM Fulton Bank Rush Hour
9 – 11 AM Morning Coffee Break
12 – 2 PM High Companies Lunch Hour
4 – 6 PM Clipper Magazine & Spencer
Advertising Happy Hour
7– 9 PM Benchmark Construction
Company Primetime Prize
10 – 12 AMLanc. Co. Solid Waste
Management Finale
The first 10 organizations who receive
50 unique gifts of at least $25 will each
receive an additional $1,000, with only 1
gift per donor per organization counted
towards this incentive prize. Finally,
two grand prizes of $2,500 each will be
awarded to the organization with the
Continued on page 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
Manager’s Desk............................................. 2
Receipts & Disbursals................................ 2
Gifts and Donations.................................... 3
Penn State Extension................................. 4
DBC Ag Products...................................... 4-5
USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service........................ 5
USDA’s Farm Service Agency.................... 6
Lanc. Co. Conservation District................ 6
Lichty Tax Accounting..................................7
MANAGER’S DESK
Farm and Home Foundation
of Lancaster County
1383 Arcadia Road
Lancaster, PA 17601-3149
Phone/Fax: 717.392.4911
Email: [email protected]
www.farmandhomecenter.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Nevin H. Dourte, President
Robert N. Barley, Vice-president
E. Scott Augsburger, Secretary
Alan W. Strock, Treasurer
Jack Coleman
Kurtis L. Groff
Larry Groff
J. Larry Hess
Lloyd Hess
Richard D. Hess
James Kettering
Audrey R. Landis
James L. Musser
Bernard R. Nissley
Bonita Ranck
Jordan M. Risser
Glenn Rohrer
Helen Rohrer
P. Kenneth Rohrer
Robin Rohrer
Lynn Royer
Midway through the autumn season,
as we reflect on our productive growing season in 2014 with its moderate
temperatures, sufficient moisture, and
absence of weather-related disasters,
we must certainly be grateful. The
bountiful harvest not only rewards our
hard work, but also prepares us for the
leaner months to come, when frigid
temperatures and various forms of wintry precipitation force us to adapt our
lifestyles. We then resort to our stored
reserves for sustenance instead of to the
garden or local roadside stands. I trust
your freezers and food pantries are as
stocked as mine with fruits, vegetables,
jams and dried foods.
At the Farm and Home Center, we are
also preparing for the bleak winter. The
12 inch February snowstorm that collapsed roofs and wreaked other forms of
havoc earlier this year, caused our aging,
flat auditorium roof to leak as never
before. After the Building and Grounds
Committee assessed the damage, their
recommendation was to replace the
entire roof before next winter arrived.
Krimmel Construction, LLC, who submitted the lowest bid, was contracted to replace the 5,400 square foot rubber roof.
Work was underway by late August and
completed by mid-September. With a 20
year limited warranty on the membrane
and a 15 year labor and material manufacturer’s warranty, we now anticipate
having a leak-free auditorium for many
years to come.
Receipts 10/01/13 - 09/30/14
When we expanded the parking lot last
summer, we did not anticipate another
major building improvement expenditure so quickly. We still have about
35%, or $79,000, of that expenditure
on our line of credit. The good news is
that we have not needed to borrow any
additional funds in order to replace the
auditorium roof. But with the outstanding debt from our 2006 Growing
Our Future expansion project, along
with the line of credit, the present
indebtedness of the Farm and Home
Foundation is nearly $1.6 million. The
faster we can retire that debt, the
quicker we will be able to fund more
scholarships and grants to 4-H and
other youth leadership programs.
The Farm and Home Foundation will
once again be participating in the Extraordinary Give Day on Friday, November 21, as it kicks off its third countywide fundraising event. You may give
online at ExtraGive.org during that 24
hour period and help us stretch your
donations to earn even more. Please
assist us as we begin our 51st year of
supporting agriculture, assisting family
living, and promoting youth development and leadership in Lancaster
County.
Please stop by sometime soon to
say hello, and have a wonderful time
celebrating Thanksgiving with your
families and friends.
Linda Armstrong
Disbursals 10/01/13 - 09/30/14
ADVISORY
Leon J. Ressler
Linda J. Armstrong, Manager
MISSION STATEMENT
The Farm and Home Foundation of
Lancaster County strives to sustain and
preserve our agrarian heritage by supporting, strengthening and promoting
the advancement of agriculture and family living in local communities through
education, leadership development and
conservation.
2
Farm & Home Foundation
TENANT NEWS
LICHTY TAX ACCOUNTING
Transferring Your Family Business
Business owners must decide when and
how to step out of their family business,
and selecting the best estate planning
tools will depend on whether they plan
to retire from the business or keep it until they die. If they have children or other
family members who wish to continue the
business after their death, they will want
to transfer it to successors at its full value.
With income, gift, and potential estate taxes, careful planning is required to prevent
business assets from being sold to pay
them, possibly leaving less for their beneficiaries. Business succession planning
should ensure the continuity of the business with the smallest possible tax consequences. Let’s examine some strategies:
A systematic gifting transfer of up to
$14,000 per recipient per year of a business interest to beneficiaries, with no tax
incurred, is permitted by the IRS. By transferring portions of their business in this
manner, owners may gradually transfer a
significant portion of their business free
from gift tax. The disadvantage of relying
solely on this method is the length of time
required to complete a transfer.
A buy-sell agreement is a legal contract
that pre-arranges the sale of a business
interest between the owners and a willing
buyer that allows the owners to keep control of their interest until their retirement,
disability, divorce, or death as specified in
the agreement. When that event occurs,
the buyer is obligated to buy the owners’
interest from the owners or their estate at
the full market value. The buyer may be
a person, a group (such as co-owners), or
the business itself. Sale price and terms
are pre-arranged, eliminating the need for
a “fire sale.” Business owners are bound
under a buy-sell agreement; they cannot
sell or give the business to anyone but the
buyer named in the agreement without the
buyer’s consent. These conditions could
restrict the owners’ ability to reduce the
size of their estate through lifetime gifts
of their business interest unless they careFarm & Home Foundation
fully coordinate estate planning goals
with the terms of the buy-sell agreement.
A more sophisticated business succession tool is a grantor retained annuity
trust (GRAT) or a grantor retained unitrust (GRUT), irrevocable trusts to which
owners transfer appreciating assets while
retaining an annuity or unitrust payment
for a set period of time. A GRAT provides
the grantor with a fixed periodic payment,
while the GRUT provides a fixed percentage of trust assets, revalued annually. Either at the end of the specified payment
period or at death, remaining assets in the
trust pass to the other named trust beneficiaries. The value of the GRAT or GRUT
is subtracted from the value of the property transferred to the trust (i.e., a share
of the business), so if the grantor lives
beyond the specified payment period, the
business may ultimately be transferred to
successors at a reduced value for estate
tax or gift tax purposes.
A private annuity is the sale of property
in exchange for a promise to make payments to the grantors for the remainder
of their lives. Complete ownership of a
business is transferred to family members
or another party, the buyer, who makes
an unsecured promise to make periodic
payments to the grantor either for the remainder of his life ( a single life annuity)
or for the remainder of his life and the life
of a second person (a joint and survivor
annuity). A “joint and survivor” annuity
provides payments until the death of the
last survivor, either the husband or the
wife. Because a private annuity is a sale,
not a gift, it allows assets to be removed
from an estate without incurring a gift tax
or estate tax. Until recently exchanging
property for an unsecured private annuity
allowed for spreading out realized capital
gain, deferring capital gains tax, but this
benefit has generally been eliminated;
consult a tax professional before making
a decision.
A self-canceling installment note (SCIN)
allows a business to be transferred to a
buyer in exchange for a promissory note,
where the buyer must make a series of
payments under that note to the owner. The note states that on the death of
the owner, any remaining payments will
be canceled. SCINS offer the benefit of
a lifetime income stream and the avoidance of gift tax and estate tax, similar to
private annuities. Unlike them, SCINS give
the business owner a security interest in
the transferred business.
A family limited partnership can also assist in transferring a business interest to
family members. A partnership must first
be established with both general and limited partnership interests, then the business be transferred to that partnership.
The owners retain the general partnership interest, allowing them to maintain
control over day-to-day business operations. Over time, the limited partnership
interest is gifted to family members,
making the value of the gifts eligible for
valuation discounts as a minority interest
and for lack of marketability. This allows
transfer of much of a business to heirs
with significant transfer tax savings.
Please consult a tax professional, as well
as an estate planning attorney, to determine which option best suits your situation and needs. Our office is in Room
222, our website is www.lichty.us, and our
phone number is 735-2027.
7
TENANT NEWS
USDA’s FSA
Farm Loans through
the Farm Service Agency
Farm Programs at the
Farm Service Agency
The Farm Bill has changed the interest
rate for participation projects with our local lenders. FSA currently offers a Farm
Ownership loan to purchase or enlarge
farms, make capital improvements, and
provide financing towards soil and water conservation and protection. If you
become a direct farm loan applicant and
you are working with a local lender who
is doing 50% or more of the project costs,
we now may offer a participation rate two
percentage points below our current note
rate, with a floor rate of 2.5%.
The new farm bill is finally here and activities surrounding it have now begun.
Here is a quick overview of some of the
programs:
The Farm Bill also increased the loan
limit for FSA’s Beginning Farmer Down
Payment Program. This program allows
beginning farmers to partially finance the
purchase of a farm at 1.5% interest if all
of the requirements of the program are
met. Beginning Farmer Down Payment
Program loans cannot exceed 45 percent
of the lesser of the purchase price, the appraised value of the farm to be acquired,
or $667,000 and is limited to a maximum
of $300,000.
In 2013, FSA developed a Microloan program. The Microloan operates the same
as a regular direct operating loan with a
limit of $35,000. The application process
is streamlined, making it easier for small
farms or beginning farmers to apply. The
rates and terms are the same as our direct
operating loan. Please call for current
rates. FLP Interest rates for October were:
Farm Ownership Loan: 3.625%
Farm Operating Loan:
2.125%
BF Down payment: 1.5%
Farm Ownership-Joint Financing: 2.5%
Contact a loan officer to learn more about
our Participation Loans, Beginning Farmer Down Payment Program, or Microloan
Program.
- Tiffany Lutz
Farm Loan Manager
6
MPP – Margin Protection Program for
dairy producers: The MPP-Dairy offers
protection to dairy producers when the
difference between the all milk price
and the average feed cost falls below
a certain dollar amount selected by the
producer.
LIP – Livestock Indemnity Program:
Provides benefits to livestock producers
for livestock deaths in excess of normal
mortality caused by adverse weather.
ARC/PLC – Agriculture Risk Coverage/
Price Loss Coverage: These programs
replace the DCP program. For specifics, visit this fact sheet, http://www.fsa.
usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/base_acre_
reallocate_arc_plc.pdf
Here is a timeline of important dates:
November 28, 2014 – Last date to enroll in 2015 &/or 2015 MPP
February 27, 2015 – Deadline to update
yield history and reallocate base acres
March 31, 2015 – Deadline to elect
the ARC/PLC program for each of your
farms.
Please call the office to set up an appointment to work through the process
with one of the staff members. You
may utilize the online tools available to
determine which program or coverage
level is best for you.
- Julie Holland
County Executive Director
OCTOBER 1, 2013 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
LANCASTER COUNTY
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Are You Planning To Build
A New Chicken House?
The Lancaster County Conservation District
Erosion and Sedimentation Department is
again witnessing an increase in the number
of plans for new layer and broiler chicken
houses. This trend is anticipated to continue
for some time to come. If you are contemplating building a new chicken house, you
should be aware that the design and approval process can take as long as one year
before you are approved for construction.
“Why?” you ask. A major reason is because
stormwater management planning is now
required for agricultural buildings. This requirement was imposed on the municipalities by the federal government, asserting
its authority over state government. The
state then leveraged the county government
through Act 167. Act 167 of 1978 requires
county governments to perform watershedbased stormwater management planning
and to develop a model ordinance. After the
state approved the Lancaster County stormwater management model ordinance, local
municipalities then had 6 months to adopt
a local stormwater management ordinance.
As of May 7, 2014, every Lancaster County
municipality needed to adopt a stormwater
management ordinance.
It is likely that the chicken house construction will also require an NPDES permit, a
permit required where earth disturbance is
equal to or greater than one acre. The NPDES permit process can take several months
to prepare the application and several more
months to process, review, and ultimately
permit the construction activity. In most instances, the NPDES permit is issued by the
county conservation district.
In conclusion, when signing a contract to
build a chicken house, keep in mind that
other farmers may be making similar plans.
Be realistic with the construction timeline,
since there are a limited number of consultants available to assist you with these planning and permit requirements.
- Nevin Greiner
Resource Conservationist
Farm & Home Foundation
GIFTS & DONATIONS RECEIVED
HARVESTER: $25,000-$49999
REAPERS: $10,000 - $24,999
CULTIVATORS: $5,000 - $9,999
PLANTERS: $1,000 - $4,999
Scott & Kris Augsburger/
Laurel Ridge Pig Co.
Daniel Baum Company
Ephrata National Bank
Judith Esbenshade
Fulton Bank
Hess’s Catering
Lancaster Co. Community Foundation
Little Britain Agri-Supply Inc.
MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACA
Risser’s Poultry Inc.
Rohrer Dairy Farms, LLC
Ruhl Insurance
Emma Plastow Smith
Westfield Insurance
TILLERS: $500 - $999
Acuity Advisors & CPAs, LLP
James & Linda Armstrong
Ronald & Bonita Ranck/B&R Cattle Co.
N. Alan & Sally Bair
Bernard C Morrissey Insurance Co.
Binkley & Hurst, LP
Brubaker Farms
Bucher Associates
James & Ruth Buckwalter
Cherry Crest Farm
Cherry Hill Orchards, Inc.
Fred & Evelyn Crider
Nevin & Doneen Dourte
Dutch Gold Honey, Inc.
Grant Heilman Photography
J. Larry and Janet Hess
Meadow Lane Dairy
Miller & Siegrist Auctioneers LLC
National Penn Bancshares, Inc.
PNC Bank
Leon and Lou Ann Ressler
Rettew Associates, Inc.
Rohrer Family Farm
Simon Lever & Co.
Roger & Leslie Slusher
Spectrum Printing, Inc.
Star Rock Farms
Susquehanna Bank, Inc.
Welk Acres Farm
Windom Manor Farm
Farm & Home Foundation
GLEANERS: $100 - $499.99
Boltz Auction Co.
Timothy & Cher Breneisen
J. Clayton & Dorothy Charles
Dennis & Ellen Eby
James & Virginia Hess
James & Jean Hogue
Earl & Charlotte Huber
H. Thomas Kirk
Lancaster Electric, Inc.*
Lancor Logistics
Lamar & Sally Moyer
James & Sue Musser*
Mark Nestleroth
Donald & Virginia Ranck
Kenneth & Vickie Risser
Dudley & Beth Rohrer
Nelson & Rose Rohrer
Paul Sauder/Erlanda Farm
R. Kenneth & Sarah Shearer
John & Joan Stipe
Andrew & Lisa Terrell
John & Barbara Weidman
Paul & Karen Wolgemuth
FRIENDS: $1 - $99
Backyard Fruit Growers
Larry Burkhart
James & Gail Carson
Samuel Clement
Marie Dull
David & Stephanie Gordon
Brendon & Yvonne Landis
John & Shirley Lichty
John Martin
Douglas & Katina Musser
Stephanie Nace
Mike & Kim Pellman
Philip & Lisa Risser
Donna Robinson
Daniel & T. Grace Rohrer
Edward & C. Annette Schopf
Allen & Roseanne Shenk
William & Catherine Shirk
Angela Spickler
Jay & Miriam Stauffer
Donald & Emily Welk
Martha Zepp
*Gift-in-Kind
Continued from page 1
largest number of unique donors throughout Extraordinary Give Day. One grand prize
will go to the organization with an operating budget under $1 million and the other
to the organization with the highest number
of donors that has an operating budget of
more than $1 million.
During the 2013 Extra Give Day the Farm
and Home Foundation obtained 43 donations totaling $15,325, plus an additional
$2,310 from the stretch pool and a Golden
Ticket prize awarded during the 2013
Midnight Madness drawing. Among the donations were 12 new contributors who had
never before given to the Farm and Home
Foundation, 28% of last year’s donors.
We have set a goal this year of obtaining at
least 50 unique donations and increasing
our donor base by 12 new contributors once
again. We hope you will assist us in reaching these goals on Friday, November 21. You
may access the ExtraGive.org website from
any computer, smart phone, tablet or other
device or go to a giving kiosk that day at
Central Market and other convenient locations. If you need assistance with placing
your donation information, our office will be
happy to help you by calling 392-4911 any
day before 11/21.
We are counting on YOU to
help us make November 21 an
Extraordinary Giving Day for
the Farm and Home Foundation
again in 2014. Remember, when
you GIVE EXTRA, Extraordinary
things happen!
3
TENANT NEWS
PENN STATE EXTENSION
The Dairy Extension Educator and the Dairy
Team serve and support individual farms in
various topics ranging from human resources
and business management to information
technology and nutrient management. Many
of these topics are offered in Spanish, providing for the need to train the ever growing
Hispanic population in the county and state.
The programs offered cover not only Lancaster
County but reach participants across Pennsylvania and the world, providing producers and
industry professionals the tools they need to
make sustainable and profitable decisions. It is
therefore important to understand how what
happens around the world affects milk prices in
the United States.
Appetite for Milk
Milk is becoming one of the most volatile agricultural commodities of modern
times. There are three main reasons for
this phenomena. The first is the variance
of milk quantities available internationally
and the resulting effect on world market
prices. The second is the length of time
required to increase milk production as a
result of change; and finally is the delayed
reaction of demand to changing dairy commodity prices. Another important determinant of milk price is feed availability (and
hence cost). Feed costs increase, leading to
cost of production increase and indirectly
to land price increase. Increased demand
for grain by food, fuel, and feed has driven
prices up, and if you add to that challenges
of droughts in past years in Australia, and
some of the hottest summers on record recently in the U.S. and Russia, world supply
of grain has not kept up with demand.
In the past, milk demand was driven by
population growth. Now milk consumption
per capita in developing countries is part of
the equation that is fueling demand. Due
to consumer purchasing power, milk consumption is expectedly high in developed
countries and low in the developing ones.
For example, per capita milk consumption
in the United States is around 250 kg (550
lbs) per year, but in China and other Asian
countries it is less than 30kg (66 lbs) per
capita per year. The size of the market and
its potential for sustained growth creates
opportunities for US dairy products. Higher
incomes in these developing countries will
increase demand for animal-based food.
According to studies done by the Interna4
TENANT NEWS
DBC AG PRODUCTS
tional Farm Comparison Network (IFCN),
if China, with milk consumption around
22kg/year, increases its per capita consumption to the level of Japan (78kg/year),
the amount of milk needed to cover the
demand would be around 72 million tons
of Energy Corrected Milk. This is almost the
same volume of milk produced in the U.S.
The International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) recently released its annual
Dairy Report and ranking of countries by
milk production. IFCN reports milk production in two ways: actual milk volume
and Energy Corrected Milk (ECM). ECM adjusts for substantial variation in butterfat
and protein, using 4% for butterfat and
3.3% for protein. The number one producer of milk in the world (in Mil.Metric Tons)
is India, with 137.5, followed by the USA
with 84.3, Pakistan with 41.6, China with
33.9 and Brazil with 32.0. It may come as
a surprise to many that India is the leading
country in ECM production, but it is important to note that more than half of its milk
comes from buffalo. The USA ranks first
among countries using only cow’s milk.
New Zealand’s 9th and Australia’s 19th
milk production rankings are seen as a
key influence on international prices. Their
surplus milk affects the quantity of products they will place on the world market
such as milk powder, butter and milk fat.
IFCN also provides an estimate of the milk
delivered to consumers via the processing and distribution system. Deliveries by
the United States surpassed the combined
total milk production of the five countries
mentioned above. India and Pakistan respectively delivered only 17 and 3 percent
of their milk produced.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) believes that there will continue to be world
demand for dairy products. Milk expansion
has slowed worldwide due to various issues, including weather, causing an undersupplied situation for 2013. In 2012, the
market absorbed New Zealand’s and Australia’s milk production without lowering
prices, indicating that there is a growing
world demand for dairy products.
- Ximena del Campo
Dairy Educator
“Dairy Producers…Its
Calf Scour Season Again!”
Scouring calves, especially in today’s market, can dramatically impact profitability
today. However, even more costly is how
they can reduce future revenues.
While it is easy to just think about the impact of calf scours by assessing how many
calves died or how much was spent to
treat a calf that started scouring, the real
impact comes when you expect that heifer
to produce milk and deliver the genetics
you paid for.
Avoiding calf scours by taking a preventative approach can thus pay big dividends.
Every time a valuable heifers starts scouring, you must stop to address the problem,
after the pathogens are already in full
swing. At that point, you are already behind the curve and playing catch up! Time
and treatment costs must be invested over
several days to save the calf, as well as to
reduce the risk of spreading infection to
other calves. Successfully saving a scouring calf comes with great relief and may
be viewed as “problem solved.” However,
even that little hiccup impacts her ability
to reach the genetic potential you invested in and expect her to deliver when she
joins the milking herd.
One example of how issues early in a calf’s
life can impact her later performance is illustrated in the research paper from Cornell University, “Taking the Long View:
Treat Them Nice as Babies and They Will
Be Better Adults” (Van Amburgh, et. al., presented at the Western Dairy Management
Conference). The following statements
best summarize it: “Early life events appear to have long-term effects on the performance of the calf,” and “The bottom line
is there is a positive economic outcome
to improving the management of our calf
and heifer programs, starting at birth.”
Calf scours can have a severe negative impact on calf health and profitability at the
time, but the loss of future revenues can
be much more costly. The best approach
should be a program that addresses a
Farm & Home Foundation
DBC continued
from page 4
wide-range of pathogens (E. coli, salmonella, rotavirus, coronavirus, clostridium
and cryptosporidium) in order to be proactive in preventing the problem, versus
always playing “catch-up.”
At DBC Ag Products, it is our passion to
develop innovative, novel, all-natural
solutions that not only help avoid calf
scours (prevention) but also supply tools
to quickly address scour problems when
calves just decide to get sick (resolution).
First Arrival® w/Encrypt®, when fed to
newborn calves for 14 days, is designed
to target 98% of the causes of scours
and malnutrition, including cryptosporidium, with novel ingredients like Encrypt, targeted egg proteins and microencapsulated beneficial bacteria. Those
bacteria accelerate the loading of the
digestive system, which normally takes
several weeks naturally, helping to drive
calf performance and to help create an
environment harmful to pathogens that
can cause scours.
We developed Last Stand® w/
ImmWave® for times when calves just
decide to get sick or when a calf raiser
is challenged with scour problems after
bringing calves home as an “Emergency
Response For Severe Scours.” Individually dosed, it not only targets the cause
but contains key ingredients to help
boost the immune system and help
jump start the calf’s own ability to fight
off the disease. Dairy producers across
the country are reporting excellent results in helping to save calves, and when
used shortly after the calf starts to scour,
they see calves quickly bounce back.
For more information on how these
two tools can help you produce healthier, more productive calves and support
their ability to reach the genetic
potential you have invested in, as well
as where to purchase these products,
contact
DBC
Ag
Products
at
717-509-5724 or visit our website at
www.dbcagproducts.com.
Farm & Home Foundation
USDA’S NATURAL RESOURCES
CONSERVATION SERVICE
Conservation to Maintain
Highly Productive Agriculture in Lancaster County
handling and disposal of all manure and barnyard runoff. There are several ways to contain
or limit barnyard runoff: pipe it to a manure
storage tank, filter it through a grass filter area
far from the creek, or roof the barnyard. Roof
gutters and downspouts on the barn are also
very helpful in keeping your clean roof water
clean and out of your manure spreader. Additionally, the high production of corn and beans
may create soil erosion issues in the crop fields.
Remember the keys to soil health: keeping the
soil covered as much as possible, limiting soil
disturbance, and diversifying the crops in the
rotation. Every farm in the country must have
a Conservation Plan to address resource concerns such as poor soil health and erosion in
crop fields and pastures, water quality issues
from barnyards and silos, and stream bank ero-
Agriculture is such an important industry in
Lancaster County that it can be seen on maps
of the United States of America from the 2012
Agricultural Census. In the inventory of milk
cows, the map shows an almost perfect outline of the county, due to the concentration of
dots representing 2,000 milk cows per dot. The
census shows Lancaster County having 5,657
farms with a total of 439,481 acres, generating a total market value of nearly 1.5 billion
dollars of agricultural
Milk Cows - Inventory: 2012
products sold. All of
these numbers are
more by far than any
other county in the
state. In addition to
dairy cows, Lancaster
County also leads the
state in the production of poultry layers
and broilers, hogs,
horses, mules, goats,
alpacas, rabbits and
even bison. As for
crop production in
the state, Lancaster
County
produces
the most corn grain
and silage, barley for
grain, tobacco, and
dry alfalfa hay. It comes in second to neighsion from livestock. We all must take care to
boring York County for the production of soymaintain, and even improve, our productive
beans and wheat.
and clean Lancaster County soil and water for
our future generations. For more information
With that many livestock in the county, there is
on technical assistance and planning, visit the
great potential to generate enormous quantiNRCS Lancaster Field Office in Room 200 of
ties of manure. Too much of a good thing, such
the Lancaster Farm & Home Center or call at
as manure, can be bad if not handled correctly.
(717)299-5361 extension 3.
- Wendy J. Coons
Every farm in the state should have a Manure
NRCS Soil Conservation Technician
Management Plan that addresses the safe
Number of dairy cows
Number of poultry layers
Poultry broilers sold
Hogs and pigs sold
Corn grain harvested (ac.)
Corn silage harvested (ac.)
Barley for grain harvested (ac.)
Tobacco harvested (ac.)
Pennsylvania 532,335
25,147,630
166,691,355
4,677,032
998,376
412,695
52,853
9,532
Lancaster
110,805
10,651,369
53,586,627
1,460,771
101,005
72,539
8,904
7,004
% of state
21%
42%
32%
31%
10%
18%
17%
73%
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/
Pennsylvania/st42_2_001_001.pdf
5
MANAGER’S DESK
Farm and Home Foundation
of Lancaster County
1383 Arcadia Road
Lancaster, PA 17601-3149
Phone/Fax: 717.392.4911
Email: [email protected]
www.farmandhomecenter.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Nevin H. Dourte, President
Robert N. Barley, Vice-president
E. Scott Augsburger, Secretary
Alan W. Strock, Treasurer
Jack Coleman
Kurtis L. Groff
Larry Groff
J. Larry Hess
Lloyd Hess
Richard D. Hess
James Kettering
Audrey R. Landis
James L. Musser
Bernard R. Nissley
Bonita Ranck
Jordan M. Risser
Glenn Rohrer
Helen Rohrer
P. Kenneth Rohrer
Robin Rohrer
Lynn Royer
Midway through the autumn season,
as we reflect on our productive growing season in 2014 with its moderate
temperatures, sufficient moisture, and
absence of weather-related disasters,
we must certainly be grateful. The
bountiful harvest not only rewards our
hard work, but also prepares us for the
leaner months to come, when frigid
temperatures and various forms of wintry precipitation force us to adapt our
lifestyles. We then resort to our stored
reserves for sustenance instead of to the
garden or local roadside stands. I trust
your freezers and food pantries are as
stocked as mine with fruits, vegetables,
jams and dried foods.
At the Farm and Home Center, we are
also preparing for the bleak winter. The
12 inch February snowstorm that collapsed roofs and wreaked other forms of
havoc earlier this year, caused our aging,
flat auditorium roof to leak as never
before. After the Building and Grounds
Committee assessed the damage, their
recommendation was to replace the
entire roof before next winter arrived.
Krimmel Construction, LLC, who submitted the lowest bid, was contracted to replace the 5,400 square foot rubber roof.
Work was underway by late August and
completed by mid-September. With a 20
year limited warranty on the membrane
and a 15 year labor and material manufacturer’s warranty, we now anticipate
having a leak-free auditorium for many
years to come.
Receipts 10/01/13 - 09/30/14
When we expanded the parking lot last
summer, we did not anticipate another
major building improvement expenditure so quickly. We still have about
35%, or $79,000, of that expenditure
on our line of credit. The good news is
that we have not needed to borrow any
additional funds in order to replace the
auditorium roof. But with the outstanding debt from our 2006 Growing
Our Future expansion project, along
with the line of credit, the present
indebtedness of the Farm and Home
Foundation is nearly $1.6 million. The
faster we can retire that debt, the
quicker we will be able to fund more
scholarships and grants to 4-H and
other youth leadership programs.
The Farm and Home Foundation will
once again be participating in the Extraordinary Give Day on Friday, November 21, as it kicks off its third countywide fundraising event. You may give
online at ExtraGive.org during that 24
hour period and help us stretch your
donations to earn even more. Please
assist us as we begin our 51st year of
supporting agriculture, assisting family
living, and promoting youth development and leadership in Lancaster
County.
Please stop by sometime soon to
say hello, and have a wonderful time
celebrating Thanksgiving with your
families and friends.
Linda Armstrong
Disbursals 10/01/13 - 09/30/14
ADVISORY
Leon J. Ressler
Linda J. Armstrong, Manager
MISSION STATEMENT
The Farm and Home Foundation of
Lancaster County strives to sustain and
preserve our agrarian heritage by supporting, strengthening and promoting
the advancement of agriculture and family living in local communities through
education, leadership development and
conservation.
2
Farm & Home Foundation
TENANT NEWS
LICHTY TAX ACCOUNTING
Transferring Your Family Business
Business owners must decide when and
how to step out of their family business,
and selecting the best estate planning
tools will depend on whether they plan
to retire from the business or keep it until they die. If they have children or other
family members who wish to continue the
business after their death, they will want
to transfer it to successors at its full value.
With income, gift, and potential estate taxes, careful planning is required to prevent
business assets from being sold to pay
them, possibly leaving less for their beneficiaries. Business succession planning
should ensure the continuity of the business with the smallest possible tax consequences. Let’s examine some strategies:
A systematic gifting transfer of up to
$14,000 per recipient per year of a business interest to beneficiaries, with no tax
incurred, is permitted by the IRS. By transferring portions of their business in this
manner, owners may gradually transfer a
significant portion of their business free
from gift tax. The disadvantage of relying
solely on this method is the length of time
required to complete a transfer.
A buy-sell agreement is a legal contract
that pre-arranges the sale of a business
interest between the owners and a willing
buyer that allows the owners to keep control of their interest until their retirement,
disability, divorce, or death as specified in
the agreement. When that event occurs,
the buyer is obligated to buy the owners’
interest from the owners or their estate at
the full market value. The buyer may be
a person, a group (such as co-owners), or
the business itself. Sale price and terms
are pre-arranged, eliminating the need for
a “fire sale.” Business owners are bound
under a buy-sell agreement; they cannot
sell or give the business to anyone but the
buyer named in the agreement without the
buyer’s consent. These conditions could
restrict the owners’ ability to reduce the
size of their estate through lifetime gifts
of their business interest unless they careFarm & Home Foundation
fully coordinate estate planning goals
with the terms of the buy-sell agreement.
A more sophisticated business succession tool is a grantor retained annuity
trust (GRAT) or a grantor retained unitrust (GRUT), irrevocable trusts to which
owners transfer appreciating assets while
retaining an annuity or unitrust payment
for a set period of time. A GRAT provides
the grantor with a fixed periodic payment,
while the GRUT provides a fixed percentage of trust assets, revalued annually. Either at the end of the specified payment
period or at death, remaining assets in the
trust pass to the other named trust beneficiaries. The value of the GRAT or GRUT
is subtracted from the value of the property transferred to the trust (i.e., a share
of the business), so if the grantor lives
beyond the specified payment period, the
business may ultimately be transferred to
successors at a reduced value for estate
tax or gift tax purposes.
A private annuity is the sale of property
in exchange for a promise to make payments to the grantors for the remainder
of their lives. Complete ownership of a
business is transferred to family members
or another party, the buyer, who makes
an unsecured promise to make periodic
payments to the grantor either for the remainder of his life ( a single life annuity)
or for the remainder of his life and the life
of a second person (a joint and survivor
annuity). A “joint and survivor” annuity
provides payments until the death of the
last survivor, either the husband or the
wife. Because a private annuity is a sale,
not a gift, it allows assets to be removed
from an estate without incurring a gift tax
or estate tax. Until recently exchanging
property for an unsecured private annuity
allowed for spreading out realized capital
gain, deferring capital gains tax, but this
benefit has generally been eliminated;
consult a tax professional before making
a decision.
A self-canceling installment note (SCIN)
allows a business to be transferred to a
buyer in exchange for a promissory note,
where the buyer must make a series of
payments under that note to the owner. The note states that on the death of
the owner, any remaining payments will
be canceled. SCINS offer the benefit of
a lifetime income stream and the avoidance of gift tax and estate tax, similar to
private annuities. Unlike them, SCINS give
the business owner a security interest in
the transferred business.
A family limited partnership can also assist in transferring a business interest to
family members. A partnership must first
be established with both general and limited partnership interests, then the business be transferred to that partnership.
The owners retain the general partnership interest, allowing them to maintain
control over day-to-day business operations. Over time, the limited partnership
interest is gifted to family members,
making the value of the gifts eligible for
valuation discounts as a minority interest
and for lack of marketability. This allows
transfer of much of a business to heirs
with significant transfer tax savings.
Please consult a tax professional, as well
as an estate planning attorney, to determine which option best suits your situation and needs. Our office is in Room
222, our website is www.lichty.us, and our
phone number is 735-2027.
7
TENANT NEWS
USDA’s FSA
Farm Loans through
the Farm Service Agency
Farm Programs at the
Farm Service Agency
The Farm Bill has changed the interest
rate for participation projects with our local lenders. FSA currently offers a Farm
Ownership loan to purchase or enlarge
farms, make capital improvements, and
provide financing towards soil and water conservation and protection. If you
become a direct farm loan applicant and
you are working with a local lender who
is doing 50% or more of the project costs,
we now may offer a participation rate two
percentage points below our current note
rate, with a floor rate of 2.5%.
The new farm bill is finally here and activities surrounding it have now begun.
Here is a quick overview of some of the
programs:
The Farm Bill also increased the loan
limit for FSA’s Beginning Farmer Down
Payment Program. This program allows
beginning farmers to partially finance the
purchase of a farm at 1.5% interest if all
of the requirements of the program are
met. Beginning Farmer Down Payment
Program loans cannot exceed 45 percent
of the lesser of the purchase price, the appraised value of the farm to be acquired,
or $667,000 and is limited to a maximum
of $300,000.
In 2013, FSA developed a Microloan program. The Microloan operates the same
as a regular direct operating loan with a
limit of $35,000. The application process
is streamlined, making it easier for small
farms or beginning farmers to apply. The
rates and terms are the same as our direct
operating loan. Please call for current
rates. FLP Interest rates for October were:
Farm Ownership Loan: 3.625%
Farm Operating Loan:
2.125%
BF Down payment: 1.5%
Farm Ownership-Joint Financing: 2.5%
Contact a loan officer to learn more about
our Participation Loans, Beginning Farmer Down Payment Program, or Microloan
Program.
- Tiffany Lutz
Farm Loan Manager
6
MPP – Margin Protection Program for
dairy producers: The MPP-Dairy offers
protection to dairy producers when the
difference between the all milk price
and the average feed cost falls below
a certain dollar amount selected by the
producer.
LIP – Livestock Indemnity Program:
Provides benefits to livestock producers
for livestock deaths in excess of normal
mortality caused by adverse weather.
ARC/PLC – Agriculture Risk Coverage/
Price Loss Coverage: These programs
replace the DCP program. For specifics, visit this fact sheet, http://www.fsa.
usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/base_acre_
reallocate_arc_plc.pdf
Here is a timeline of important dates:
November 28, 2014 – Last date to enroll in 2015 &/or 2015 MPP
February 27, 2015 – Deadline to update
yield history and reallocate base acres
March 31, 2015 – Deadline to elect
the ARC/PLC program for each of your
farms.
Please call the office to set up an appointment to work through the process
with one of the staff members. You
may utilize the online tools available to
determine which program or coverage
level is best for you.
- Julie Holland
County Executive Director
OCTOBER 1, 2013 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
LANCASTER COUNTY
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Are You Planning To Build
A New Chicken House?
The Lancaster County Conservation District
Erosion and Sedimentation Department is
again witnessing an increase in the number
of plans for new layer and broiler chicken
houses. This trend is anticipated to continue
for some time to come. If you are contemplating building a new chicken house, you
should be aware that the design and approval process can take as long as one year
before you are approved for construction.
“Why?” you ask. A major reason is because
stormwater management planning is now
required for agricultural buildings. This requirement was imposed on the municipalities by the federal government, asserting
its authority over state government. The
state then leveraged the county government
through Act 167. Act 167 of 1978 requires
county governments to perform watershedbased stormwater management planning
and to develop a model ordinance. After the
state approved the Lancaster County stormwater management model ordinance, local
municipalities then had 6 months to adopt
a local stormwater management ordinance.
As of May 7, 2014, every Lancaster County
municipality needed to adopt a stormwater
management ordinance.
It is likely that the chicken house construction will also require an NPDES permit, a
permit required where earth disturbance is
equal to or greater than one acre. The NPDES permit process can take several months
to prepare the application and several more
months to process, review, and ultimately
permit the construction activity. In most instances, the NPDES permit is issued by the
county conservation district.
In conclusion, when signing a contract to
build a chicken house, keep in mind that
other farmers may be making similar plans.
Be realistic with the construction timeline,
since there are a limited number of consultants available to assist you with these planning and permit requirements.
- Nevin Greiner
Resource Conservationist
Farm & Home Foundation
GIFTS & DONATIONS RECEIVED
HARVESTER: $25,000-$49999
REAPERS: $10,000 - $24,999
CULTIVATORS: $5,000 - $9,999
PLANTERS: $1,000 - $4,999
Scott & Kris Augsburger/
Laurel Ridge Pig Co.
Daniel Baum Company
Ephrata National Bank
Judith Esbenshade
Fulton Bank
Hess’s Catering
Lancaster Co. Community Foundation
Little Britain Agri-Supply Inc.
MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACA
Risser’s Poultry Inc.
Rohrer Dairy Farms, LLC
Ruhl Insurance
Emma Plastow Smith
Westfield Insurance
TILLERS: $500 - $999
Acuity Advisors & CPAs, LLP
James & Linda Armstrong
Ronald & Bonita Ranck/B&R Cattle Co.
N. Alan & Sally Bair
Bernard C Morrissey Insurance Co.
Binkley & Hurst, LP
Brubaker Farms
Bucher Associates
James & Ruth Buckwalter
Cherry Crest Farm
Cherry Hill Orchards, Inc.
Fred & Evelyn Crider
Nevin & Doneen Dourte
Dutch Gold Honey, Inc.
Grant Heilman Photography
J. Larry and Janet Hess
Meadow Lane Dairy
Miller & Siegrist Auctioneers LLC
National Penn Bancshares, Inc.
PNC Bank
Leon and Lou Ann Ressler
Rettew Associates, Inc.
Rohrer Family Farm
Simon Lever & Co.
Roger & Leslie Slusher
Spectrum Printing, Inc.
Star Rock Farms
Susquehanna Bank, Inc.
Welk Acres Farm
Windom Manor Farm
Farm & Home Foundation
GLEANERS: $100 - $499.99
Boltz Auction Co.
Timothy & Cher Breneisen
J. Clayton & Dorothy Charles
Dennis & Ellen Eby
James & Virginia Hess
James & Jean Hogue
Earl & Charlotte Huber
H. Thomas Kirk
Lancaster Electric, Inc.*
Lancor Logistics
Lamar & Sally Moyer
James & Sue Musser*
Mark Nestleroth
Donald & Virginia Ranck
Kenneth & Vickie Risser
Dudley & Beth Rohrer
Nelson & Rose Rohrer
Paul Sauder/Erlanda Farm
R. Kenneth & Sarah Shearer
John & Joan Stipe
Andrew & Lisa Terrell
John & Barbara Weidman
Paul & Karen Wolgemuth
FRIENDS: $1 - $99
Backyard Fruit Growers
Larry Burkhart
James & Gail Carson
Samuel Clement
Marie Dull
David & Stephanie Gordon
Brendon & Yvonne Landis
John & Shirley Lichty
John Martin
Douglas & Katina Musser
Stephanie Nace
Mike & Kim Pellman
Philip & Lisa Risser
Donna Robinson
Daniel & T. Grace Rohrer
Edward & C. Annette Schopf
Allen & Roseanne Shenk
William & Catherine Shirk
Angela Spickler
Jay & Miriam Stauffer
Donald & Emily Welk
Martha Zepp
*Gift-in-Kind
Continued from page 1
largest number of unique donors throughout Extraordinary Give Day. One grand prize
will go to the organization with an operating budget under $1 million and the other
to the organization with the highest number
of donors that has an operating budget of
more than $1 million.
During the 2013 Extra Give Day the Farm
and Home Foundation obtained 43 donations totaling $15,325, plus an additional
$2,310 from the stretch pool and a Golden
Ticket prize awarded during the 2013
Midnight Madness drawing. Among the donations were 12 new contributors who had
never before given to the Farm and Home
Foundation, 28% of last year’s donors.
We have set a goal this year of obtaining at
least 50 unique donations and increasing
our donor base by 12 new contributors once
again. We hope you will assist us in reaching these goals on Friday, November 21. You
may access the ExtraGive.org website from
any computer, smart phone, tablet or other
device or go to a giving kiosk that day at
Central Market and other convenient locations. If you need assistance with placing
your donation information, our office will be
happy to help you by calling 392-4911 any
day before 11/21.
We are counting on YOU to
help us make November 21 an
Extraordinary Giving Day for
the Farm and Home Foundation
again in 2014. Remember, when
you GIVE EXTRA, Extraordinary
things happen!
3
TENANT NEWS
PENN STATE EXTENSION
The Dairy Extension Educator and the Dairy
Team serve and support individual farms in
various topics ranging from human resources
and business management to information
technology and nutrient management. Many
of these topics are offered in Spanish, providing for the need to train the ever growing
Hispanic population in the county and state.
The programs offered cover not only Lancaster
County but reach participants across Pennsylvania and the world, providing producers and
industry professionals the tools they need to
make sustainable and profitable decisions. It is
therefore important to understand how what
happens around the world affects milk prices in
the United States.
Appetite for Milk
Milk is becoming one of the most volatile agricultural commodities of modern
times. There are three main reasons for
this phenomena. The first is the variance
of milk quantities available internationally
and the resulting effect on world market
prices. The second is the length of time
required to increase milk production as a
result of change; and finally is the delayed
reaction of demand to changing dairy commodity prices. Another important determinant of milk price is feed availability (and
hence cost). Feed costs increase, leading to
cost of production increase and indirectly
to land price increase. Increased demand
for grain by food, fuel, and feed has driven
prices up, and if you add to that challenges
of droughts in past years in Australia, and
some of the hottest summers on record recently in the U.S. and Russia, world supply
of grain has not kept up with demand.
In the past, milk demand was driven by
population growth. Now milk consumption
per capita in developing countries is part of
the equation that is fueling demand. Due
to consumer purchasing power, milk consumption is expectedly high in developed
countries and low in the developing ones.
For example, per capita milk consumption
in the United States is around 250 kg (550
lbs) per year, but in China and other Asian
countries it is less than 30kg (66 lbs) per
capita per year. The size of the market and
its potential for sustained growth creates
opportunities for US dairy products. Higher
incomes in these developing countries will
increase demand for animal-based food.
According to studies done by the Interna4
TENANT NEWS
DBC AG PRODUCTS
tional Farm Comparison Network (IFCN),
if China, with milk consumption around
22kg/year, increases its per capita consumption to the level of Japan (78kg/year),
the amount of milk needed to cover the
demand would be around 72 million tons
of Energy Corrected Milk. This is almost the
same volume of milk produced in the U.S.
The International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) recently released its annual
Dairy Report and ranking of countries by
milk production. IFCN reports milk production in two ways: actual milk volume
and Energy Corrected Milk (ECM). ECM adjusts for substantial variation in butterfat
and protein, using 4% for butterfat and
3.3% for protein. The number one producer of milk in the world (in Mil.Metric Tons)
is India, with 137.5, followed by the USA
with 84.3, Pakistan with 41.6, China with
33.9 and Brazil with 32.0. It may come as
a surprise to many that India is the leading
country in ECM production, but it is important to note that more than half of its milk
comes from buffalo. The USA ranks first
among countries using only cow’s milk.
New Zealand’s 9th and Australia’s 19th
milk production rankings are seen as a
key influence on international prices. Their
surplus milk affects the quantity of products they will place on the world market
such as milk powder, butter and milk fat.
IFCN also provides an estimate of the milk
delivered to consumers via the processing and distribution system. Deliveries by
the United States surpassed the combined
total milk production of the five countries
mentioned above. India and Pakistan respectively delivered only 17 and 3 percent
of their milk produced.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) believes that there will continue to be world
demand for dairy products. Milk expansion
has slowed worldwide due to various issues, including weather, causing an undersupplied situation for 2013. In 2012, the
market absorbed New Zealand’s and Australia’s milk production without lowering
prices, indicating that there is a growing
world demand for dairy products.
- Ximena del Campo
Dairy Educator
“Dairy Producers…Its
Calf Scour Season Again!”
Scouring calves, especially in today’s market, can dramatically impact profitability
today. However, even more costly is how
they can reduce future revenues.
While it is easy to just think about the impact of calf scours by assessing how many
calves died or how much was spent to
treat a calf that started scouring, the real
impact comes when you expect that heifer
to produce milk and deliver the genetics
you paid for.
Avoiding calf scours by taking a preventative approach can thus pay big dividends.
Every time a valuable heifers starts scouring, you must stop to address the problem,
after the pathogens are already in full
swing. At that point, you are already behind the curve and playing catch up! Time
and treatment costs must be invested over
several days to save the calf, as well as to
reduce the risk of spreading infection to
other calves. Successfully saving a scouring calf comes with great relief and may
be viewed as “problem solved.” However,
even that little hiccup impacts her ability
to reach the genetic potential you invested in and expect her to deliver when she
joins the milking herd.
One example of how issues early in a calf’s
life can impact her later performance is illustrated in the research paper from Cornell University, “Taking the Long View:
Treat Them Nice as Babies and They Will
Be Better Adults” (Van Amburgh, et. al., presented at the Western Dairy Management
Conference). The following statements
best summarize it: “Early life events appear to have long-term effects on the performance of the calf,” and “The bottom line
is there is a positive economic outcome
to improving the management of our calf
and heifer programs, starting at birth.”
Calf scours can have a severe negative impact on calf health and profitability at the
time, but the loss of future revenues can
be much more costly. The best approach
should be a program that addresses a
Farm & Home Foundation
DBC continued
from page 4
wide-range of pathogens (E. coli, salmonella, rotavirus, coronavirus, clostridium
and cryptosporidium) in order to be proactive in preventing the problem, versus
always playing “catch-up.”
At DBC Ag Products, it is our passion to
develop innovative, novel, all-natural
solutions that not only help avoid calf
scours (prevention) but also supply tools
to quickly address scour problems when
calves just decide to get sick (resolution).
First Arrival® w/Encrypt®, when fed to
newborn calves for 14 days, is designed
to target 98% of the causes of scours
and malnutrition, including cryptosporidium, with novel ingredients like Encrypt, targeted egg proteins and microencapsulated beneficial bacteria. Those
bacteria accelerate the loading of the
digestive system, which normally takes
several weeks naturally, helping to drive
calf performance and to help create an
environment harmful to pathogens that
can cause scours.
We developed Last Stand® w/
ImmWave® for times when calves just
decide to get sick or when a calf raiser
is challenged with scour problems after
bringing calves home as an “Emergency
Response For Severe Scours.” Individually dosed, it not only targets the cause
but contains key ingredients to help
boost the immune system and help
jump start the calf’s own ability to fight
off the disease. Dairy producers across
the country are reporting excellent results in helping to save calves, and when
used shortly after the calf starts to scour,
they see calves quickly bounce back.
For more information on how these
two tools can help you produce healthier, more productive calves and support
their ability to reach the genetic
potential you have invested in, as well
as where to purchase these products,
contact
DBC
Ag
Products
at
717-509-5724 or visit our website at
www.dbcagproducts.com.
Farm & Home Foundation
USDA’S NATURAL RESOURCES
CONSERVATION SERVICE
Conservation to Maintain
Highly Productive Agriculture in Lancaster County
handling and disposal of all manure and barnyard runoff. There are several ways to contain
or limit barnyard runoff: pipe it to a manure
storage tank, filter it through a grass filter area
far from the creek, or roof the barnyard. Roof
gutters and downspouts on the barn are also
very helpful in keeping your clean roof water
clean and out of your manure spreader. Additionally, the high production of corn and beans
may create soil erosion issues in the crop fields.
Remember the keys to soil health: keeping the
soil covered as much as possible, limiting soil
disturbance, and diversifying the crops in the
rotation. Every farm in the country must have
a Conservation Plan to address resource concerns such as poor soil health and erosion in
crop fields and pastures, water quality issues
from barnyards and silos, and stream bank ero-
Agriculture is such an important industry in
Lancaster County that it can be seen on maps
of the United States of America from the 2012
Agricultural Census. In the inventory of milk
cows, the map shows an almost perfect outline of the county, due to the concentration of
dots representing 2,000 milk cows per dot. The
census shows Lancaster County having 5,657
farms with a total of 439,481 acres, generating a total market value of nearly 1.5 billion
dollars of agricultural
Milk Cows - Inventory: 2012
products sold. All of
these numbers are
more by far than any
other county in the
state. In addition to
dairy cows, Lancaster
County also leads the
state in the production of poultry layers
and broilers, hogs,
horses, mules, goats,
alpacas, rabbits and
even bison. As for
crop production in
the state, Lancaster
County
produces
the most corn grain
and silage, barley for
grain, tobacco, and
dry alfalfa hay. It comes in second to neighsion from livestock. We all must take care to
boring York County for the production of soymaintain, and even improve, our productive
beans and wheat.
and clean Lancaster County soil and water for
our future generations. For more information
With that many livestock in the county, there is
on technical assistance and planning, visit the
great potential to generate enormous quantiNRCS Lancaster Field Office in Room 200 of
ties of manure. Too much of a good thing, such
the Lancaster Farm & Home Center or call at
as manure, can be bad if not handled correctly.
(717)299-5361 extension 3.
- Wendy J. Coons
Every farm in the state should have a Manure
NRCS Soil Conservation Technician
Management Plan that addresses the safe
Number of dairy cows
Number of poultry layers
Poultry broilers sold
Hogs and pigs sold
Corn grain harvested (ac.)
Corn silage harvested (ac.)
Barley for grain harvested (ac.)
Tobacco harvested (ac.)
Pennsylvania 532,335
25,147,630
166,691,355
4,677,032
998,376
412,695
52,853
9,532
Lancaster
110,805
10,651,369
53,586,627
1,460,771
101,005
72,539
8,904
7,004
% of state
21%
42%
32%
31%
10%
18%
17%
73%
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_2_County_Level/
Pennsylvania/st42_2_001_001.pdf
5