HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1981-07-22, Page 4BY BEY BROWN
The Procter brothers of
Brussels again demonstrated
at their annual sale of Bod-
rnin shorthorns how to mar-
ket a good farm product. In
one corner of the drive shed
visitors could watch a video
tape about shorthorns and
Bodmin farms, while outside
the door you could get liter-
ature about shorthorns or
buy a farm hat advertising
shorthorns, Ross Procter and
his daughter Ann rode their
horses Buck and Rawhide in
a splendid display of cutting
a cow out of a herd. During
the afternoon Ann offered
everyone an opportunity to
ride the horses while she led
them up and down the lane-
way,
If the sun and wind made
you thirsty, there was a
booth where you could buy
coffee, lemonade and home-
made tarts. Country music,
including step-dancing, was
provided by Jim Medd from
Blyth. A Dutch treat dinner
consisted of tender and juicy
bull steaks, new potatoes,
salad and a tart. Most every-
one knows that bulls grow
faster, are meatier and have
better feed conversion. What
Farm management
Six steps
for success
BY MEL CHAMBERLAIN,
Agricultural Representative
Dr. Hiram Drache from
Baker, Minnesota, speak-
ing to a recent Conference,
suggested six M's to suc-
cessful farm management.
Each of the "six M's" could
be a topic for a separate
article, but I'll mention them
all now and add some of my
personal questions and
points to each. To be differ-
ent start with number six.
6. Mechanization - Dr.
Drache suggested that the
optimum farm was a totally
mechanized husband and
wife. Organizing the mach-
inery systems on the farm is
a major challenge. Do the
various pieces of equipment
fit together - to they comple-
ment each other? Are you
overspending on machinery:
could good used equipment
be bought, thus reducing
your capital outlay? Do you
really need it this year or
could you put it off? The
annual ownership cost on a
piece of equipment is about •
:'5% - whether you use the
,i,achine one day or 30 days.
:5. Marketing - We hear a
't about marketing these
ays. That's good. marketing
a complex subject. You
Iced to spend a lot of time in
tudying all the marketing
aspects and possibilities for a
particular commodity
Changes in our marketing
system have traditionally
been slow -to come about.
That's good too - because the
participation of many is
necessary to develop the best
system.
Individually, producers
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must consider marketing ar-
rangements for their product
as part of their planning
process. Produce a product
for the market - don't
simply hope there will be a
satisfactory market for your
product.
4. Money - Are you getting
your money from the right
places? Are you putting it in
. the right places? Have
another look at your debt
structure. Land and building
should be amortized over a
long term, machinery and
breeding stock over a med-
ium term. Your operating
line of credit should be used
onl y for crop and livestock '
production. And remember,
bank money is generally at a
lower rate of interest than
money from farm supply
sources.
3. Management - Are you
using the available manage-
ment tools? These include
soil testing, feed testing,
production testing and a
' number of computerized pro-
grams. Do you prepare cash
flows and projected budgets?
Ask yourself these questions;
"What will it do to my cash
flow?" and "What will it do
to my net income?" before
you make a management
decision.
2. Motivation - Dr. Drache
said, "Spend no time with
the doom and gloom crowd "
a good suggestion if you
want to remain optimistic
when times are tough. Set
your goals and set them
high. A farm 'family that
discusses and sets its gOals
in life and works together to
achieve them is likely to be
successful. And this brings
me to the most important
point, point number one -
Mate.
L Mate - As Drache
stated, "the attitude control-
ler in most: families is the
wife." Do you include your
wife in goal setting and
managment decisions on
your farm? Does she under-
stand the farm business - or
if she runs the business do
you understand it? Do you
and your wife go together
when you seek advice? Many
bank managers have told me
they like to see the farm wife
present when farm finances
are being diScuSsed. I expect
your accountant and lawyer
have similar feelings. Arid I
know extension workers dol.
the sales were made to
farmers who live not far from
the Bodtnin farms, which
pleased Ross Procter, The
sale average was $834 for 68
head,
A4 — THE BRUSSELS POST, JULY 22, 1981 ---
Bodmin sale brings out crowds
the Procters are trying to Buyers were there from
show is that bull meat is also Manitoba, Saskatchewan and
superior eating. New Brunswick, But most of
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