FARMERS' MARKET TODAY!!

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It's Recyclables Day.

65.5 and cloudy.

The WKTV forecast: "A humid start this morning, but some relief from that humidity is expected as we head into the middle of the day.
A cold front continued to chug in from the west this morning. This front will cross Central New York in the middle of the day, around noon. A few thunderstorms are possible, but most of us are expected to stay dry. Winds will shift from southwest to northwest, and the humidity will drop by the afternoon. Expect a partly to mostly sunny finish to the day, with high temperatures in the low to mid 80s. Mainly clear tonight, with overnight lows near 60.
Starting out dry with some sunshine tomorrow, but a warm front will bring in more showers and humidity by the afternoon. Clouds and a few showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue into Friday. Neither day looks like a washout, but be prepared to deal with some wet weather."

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Hey, Brian: here's the answer:

"Archeologists from the New York State Museum work at the site of the former Deansboro Cheese factory next to route 315 in Deansboro, Tuesday, August 18, 2009."

-- from this morning's issue of the Observer-Dispatch:

"Cheese Factory Foundation unearthed in Marshall."

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FARMING COSTS, continued from yesterday.

Yesterday I quoted from a letter written to me by Mabel Bushee:

"I will use a conservative and simplified expense account for a 100 cow dairy without any mortgages or notes on equipment. 100 cows giving 20,000 pounds of milk each, per year, would give a farmer 2,000,000 pounds of milk a year. By dividing this number by hundredweight (100 pounds) we get 20,000 hundredweight. Multiply this number by $10.00 milk gives the farmer $200,000 per year."


But read on - you'll be dismayed by what happens to that income! She writes:


"As to hundredweight of milk - a gallon of milk weights in at 8.6 lbs. A dairy farmer is paid by dollars per 100 pounds of milk. The reason for this is that milk is taken from the cow by machine, and transferred through a pipeline to a cooling, refrigerated type storage tank called the bulk tank. Tanks come in various sizes - from 1,000 to 10,000+ gallons. Each tank is calibrated by pounds so that when the milk is picked up by the milk truck it can be recorded in pounds of milk in the tank.

"Therefore, 100 pounds of milk will be equal to 11.62 gallons. The milk price to farmers you read or hear about ($10 to $12 per one hundred pounds) is a gross price.

"Consumers (don't forget we farmers are also consumers) do not hear about costs that are deducted from the farmer's price before he even receives a check, such as .25 to .50+ cents per 100 pounds for hauling, stop fees (a fee charged the farmer to have the milk company pump milk out of the bulk tank even though the farmer paid to keep the milk cool and it is his electricity used to pump the milk into the milk truck), a stop fee (a fee charged every time a truck picks up milk), a charge for advertising the finished product (how many other producers of a raw product have to pay for advertising the end product?), co-op dues (so much per 100 pounds if the farmer belongs to a milk co-op), a fuel surcharge for trucking and may also include health insurance through a dairy association, diary supplies, etc.

"For easy figuring I will use $10 per 100 pounds of milk. This 11.62 gallons of milk, or 100 pounds, in the grocery store at $3.50 a gallon brings the price of 100 pounds of milk to $40.67. Taking the same 11.62 gallons of milk per 100 pounds at the farmer's price of $10 equates to .86 cents per gallon. NOTE: I looked up our average price of milk for 1976 - it was $9.75. Also put in some of the 1976 prices for other expenses.

"This ($200,000.00) seems like a lot of income - but subtract some basic expenses per year. $9,000 electricity (1976 - $1200), $3,000 farm insurance, $1,000 vehicle insurance (1976 - $850 - farm and vehicles combined), $10,000 taxes - school and county (1976 $1500). This brings us down to $177,000.




We still have to feed the cows. If the 100 cows eat an average of 15 pounds of grain per day, that is 1500 lbs. a day times 30 days, times 12 months equals 540,000 lbs or 270 tons at $300 a ton (1976 $160), making a total of $81,000. The cows need salt and minerals to keep them healthy and keep producing milk (similar to humans taking their one a day vitamins). This may run anywhere between $200+ per month, making a total of $2400. Breeding and semen expenses will add another $15+ per cow, more if she doesn't breed on the first attempt. $1500. Now we are down to $92,100.




With animals there are always vet bills - from pregnancy checks, twisted stomachs, hardware, pneumonia, retained placentas, vaccinations, etc. and hoof trimming (similar to cutting your toenails). These figures do not include the vet expenses nor the costs incurred for raising replacement animals. The time a calf (baby) is born to the time the heifer (female cow) freshens (has a baby) is anywhere from 20 to 24 months. The average cost of raising each is between $1200 to $1300. Hopefully the calf crop will be at least 25 to 30 heifer calves per year, making a $30,000 yearly expense*.


Milk house expenses of soap, acids, sanitizers, hoses, milk filters, udder towels, teat dips, inflations (should be changed every 60 days) etc. still have to be subtracted. These will run, very conservative, at least $200 per month, adding another $4,800 to expenses. Fuel for the milk house hot water heater and tractors, combine and other equipment adds another large expense. In the 1976 with $10 milk, fuel averaged .398 cents a gallon. Today, at prepaid prices it averages $2.89, making a total of approximately $9000 to $10,000+ per year. Total now $78,300.



"Still have other crop expenses such as seed, fertilizers, crop spray, equipment maintenance parts (plow points, shins, frogs, moldboards, etc.) The average cost to produce an acre of corn is approximately $300 - $350 compared to about 1/3 of that price in 1976. This includes preparing the ground, corn seed, lime, fertilizer, insecticide, planting, and spraying for weeds and harvesting. Therefore 150 acres of corn will cost about $45,000. But there is more - hay has to be harvested. Again we have equipment maintenance costs and seeding costs as alfalfa is usually re-established every 3-5 years. As with corn seed, grass seed has tripled in price. 50 acres of alfalfa will easily cost $350-$375 per acre, making a total of $17,500.

We now have $15,800 left.

"We still have not expensed out baling twine, hydraulic oil, regular oil, and other numerous smaller expenses, nor have we bought any personal items, such as groceries, clothes, health insurance, car payments and many other expenses that are incurred by the average homeowner. Don't forget this did not include vet expense or herd replacement costs."

*If she HAD subtracted $30,000, she have been left with:

minus $14,200.00.

That sheds a whole new light on the subject of "Farming," doesn't it!

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NOW BLOOMING

Three useless wildflowers!

Long tendrils of "Wild Cucumber."

Banks of feathery Wild Bamboo

Prickly Teasel.

Actually, this was used centuries ago by the Greeks to "tease" woolen fabric and by ladies (as well as some gentlemen) to "tease" their hair.

At one time Teasel was a cash crop in this part of New York State.


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FOR THE RECORD








Have a good day, everyone!