The Rural Voice, 1986-09, Page 49ADVICE
tend to be quite seasonal and on
many operations scaling back and
taking an off -farm job is a clever
management decision to make.
Rental Agreements
Try and negotiate for lower cash
rents, asking the landlord to take a
smaller share of the crop, or
perhaps even helping pay with buy-
ing some of the cropping inputs for
a larger share of the crop, are all
methods of improving farm pro-
fitability. Here again, this is easier
said than done.
Custom Work
Spreading that large machinery
investment over more acres is an
excellent method of improving
cash flow. Keep in mind that by
doing custom work the repair and
fuel bill will be greater and that the
implements will depreciate more
quickly. Yet I think that if you
own a piece of machinery which is
in demand, then it makes good
sense to do some custom work.
Crop Mix
Perhaps by changing the crops
you are growing, profits can be
altered. This year people have
tended to move away from corn if
they had a choice and shifted
towards cereals or canola. These
are crops which are Less costly to
grow. Currently there is a lot of in-
terest in hard red wheat because of
the favourable pricing scheme.
Weed Control
What is economical weed con-
trol? I have walked fields this
spring that have well over $80.00
per acre worth of herbicides ap-
plied to them. To me, this is simply
too much! A more acceptable
amount to be spending on her-
bicides is between $25.00 and
$30.00 per acre. Often inter -row
cultivation is a cheap and effective
method for controlling weeds.
Land Quality
Perhaps letting some of those
odd shaped fields or wetter rented
farms go makes sense. Given to-
day's environment there is no prize
for running the most number of
acres in the township. ❑
Ken McEwan
Farm Man. Specialist.
ATTENTION
BEAN GROWERS
BEAN KNIVES RE -FORGED
At Competitive Rates
SHARP'S CREEK FORGE
The modern "Smithy"
R.R. 4, Goderich
519-524-8096
MAI'TLl ND MANOR
FARM
PUREBRED
LANDRACE & YORKSHIRE
Doll Hci ry & fan�il�'
R.R. 1 Bluevale, NOG 1G0
Phone 519-335-3240
ATWOOD ELEVATORS
PROVIDING A COMPLETE FARM SERVICE
HARVEST: Storage, Drying and all
Grain Handling Services
LIVESTOCK: Feed grain, Soybean meal,
Concentrates and Complete Feeds
FISHER FEED MILL LTD.
Grain Elevator Div.
519-356-2432 519-291-1760
SEPTEMBER 1986 49