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CE 038 966

Dairying. People on the Farm. [Revised].Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. Office ofGovernmental and Public Affairs.Nov 8129p.; For related documents; see CE 038 960-969.Special Programs, Office of Governmental and PublicAffairs, USDA, Room 536-A, Washington, DC 20250. Aslide/cassette presentation developed to accompanythis unit is available from the Photography Division,GPA, USDA, Washington, DC 20250 ($29.50).Guides Classroom Use Materials (For Learner)(051)

MFO1 /PCO2 Plus Postage.Agricultural Education; *Agricultural Production;Business Skills; Career Choice; *Career Education;*Dairy Farmers; Economics; Farm Accounts; Farmers;*Farm Management; Farm Occupations; Government Role;Interdisciplinary Approach; Job Skills; LearningActivitiesI *Life St lei *Occupational Information;Rural Youth; Secondary Education; TechnologicalAdvancement; Vocational Education

ABSTRACTThis booklet, one in a series about life on modern

farms, describes the daily lives of two dairy farm families, theSchwartzbecks and the Bealls of Maryland. Beginning with earlymorning milking, the booklet traces the farm families through theirdaily work and community activities, explaining how a modern dairyfarm is run. Although this booklet focuses on dairy farming, itincludes discussion of major topics that are common to all of thebooklets: (1) farming as a business, (2) the impact of technology onfarming, (3) the increasing specialization in farming, (4) the roleof government in agriculture, (5) the diversity in farming, (6) theinterdependence between agriculture and the rest of the economy, and(7) the way of life of farmers and their families. The booklet isillustrated with black and white photographs. (KC)

************************************************************************ Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the be that can be made *

* from the original document. *

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PEOPLE ONTHE FARM:

DAIRYINGGetting calves and heifers intheir places is ail in a day'swork for Nona Schwartzheckon the f.irrn she tend husbandJoe own west of Baltimore

Opposite pageNona starts her clay gettingmilk for calves t,sually lonclbefore dawn That's the office-milk parlor she s entering

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DAY BEGINS

The countryside was as c'qrkas a cave except for the eerieglow from the lights around themilking_parlor on Joe and NonaSchwartzbeck's dairy farm. Itwas 4 a.m and time to start milk-ing cows.

It would be 2 hours tieforedawn and it was already 75degrees in the milking parlor. AsNona in her coveralls andBarney Stambaugh; a part-timehelper; silently moved cows intothe waiting area, a staridUpelettric fan blew air over thebacks of the huddled Holsteins.

Inside. his muscles stiff frOMlast evenings softball game, JoeSchwartzbeck poured his firstcup of coffee for the day andmoved toward the pavedwalkWay between the twoelevated lanes of the milkingparlor. Yawning, he turned fourdials. and a ration of feed fell

through chuteschutes ihtb feedingpans inside each of four stalls onone side of the parlor. Then heslid open a door for the Waitingcows.

Blinded at first by the brightlights; white walls; and stainlesssteel of the milking parlor thefirst cow hesitated, then plungedclumsily forward into the stallwhere she would breakfaSt ohcorn, barley, and proteinsupplement while being milked.

Three others followed her inand moved to their individualfeed bins beside her, As the firstbatch of four cows; out of the 86which would be milked thatmorning, arranged themselvesand began eating; Joe and Nonabegan to wash the cows' udderswith a solutibri Of iodine in warmWater They dried them and atta-ched automatic milking cups.

Another 4 a.m. to_7 p.M. dayhad begun on the CarrollCounty. Maryland: farm of theSchwartzbecks, just as others

had began for 365 days a yearfor the past 7 years. There wouldbe many years of such daysahead as the young coupleworked to_pay off a quarter of amillion dollars of debt andhbpefully to leave a dairy farm totheir children,

Across America. irithatyearof1975, there were another 300,000dairy farmers starting their daytoo: though each had chosen amilking time best suited to his orher circumstances. Not far awayfrom the Schwartzbecks; forinstance; Rudeli BeatistartedMilkind at 2:30 ajn.(By 1981,the number of dairy farmers hadshrunk to 200 ;000 in America).

Within hours, some 42 milliongallons of milk and milk prod-ucts would be delivered tochildren and their pa_rents incities, lar_ge and small, acrossthe country.

"It's going to be a scorcher,"Joe said "Hot weathertearsuptheSe cows. But after all. when

11111..

it's a hot day, I don't feel muchlike eating either."

PRODUCTIONBEGINS

As soon as the suction cupswere attached to the teats ofeach cow's udder, milk began tospurt into clean glass weigh jarsfastened to each stall; and thejars started to fill up with foamymilk.

With these weigh jars; costing$360 apiece, Joe could tell at aglance how much each cow isgiving and whether she mightnot be feeling well or cominginto heat. "Besides," Joeexplained, "it gives you a goodfeeling to see a cow give 63pounds." Sixty-five pounds, orabout 30 quarts, is the top of thescale. Some cows giye more.

As the first four cows werebeing milked, Joe dialed feed

into bins on the other side of hisherringbone milk parlor andopened a second door foranother fo_ur_cows to enter.

It took about 11 minutes for anaverage group of four high-production cows to be milked.Most of the time, eight cowswere being milked at oncefouron each side of the parlor. Aseach four completed their morn-ing "assignment," they werereleased from their stalls andurged firmly but respectfully tomove out of the parlor and into aholding barn next door. Theremore feed awaited them, thistime mostly silage and a "topdressing" of grain for the highproducers.

mon girls, c'mon Gerty,Joe urged the departing cows.Almost simultaneously; he threwswitches to send the warm milkswiftly from the weigh jarsthrough a glass pipeline to acooling tank in the adjoiningroom.

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Some time before the sunrose; the first 46 cowsthe highproduction grouphad passedthrough the milking parlor.

Joe's systemand others likeitis designed to allow one manto milk his herd without help,though ';oria or hired men helpregularly. Joe decided to switchfrom a stanchion system whenhe decided to enlarge his herd.In a stanchion system; the cowsare held in individual stalls andthe farmer must bring themilking machine to each cow:That system requiresconsiderable labor and Joemight have been forced to hiremore workers to handle themilking with a larger herd.

Under the new setup, whichJoe built the previous summer ata cost of 828,641, one workercan milk 86 cows in 2 hours.When Nona or some part-timehelp is available; the chore iseasier.

A full-time employee, Harold

In well between milking stalls.Nona discusses with Joe howMuth milk each cow -isas measured in weigh jars fill-in_g with milk. Inquisitive cathopes_there'll be some milk forher too:

Opposite page:Floor between stalls of her-ringbone milking parlor whereNona and Joe are standing isheated in winter. ParlOr hasfour stalls on each side. Mul-ticolored paint spattered onconcrete to brighten milking_parlor Shows up as black spotsin photo.

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Holman (nicknamed Mr: Gus);arrived at 6 a.m. that day to startfeeding the heifers young cowswho have not yet borne a calfand so aren't giving milk).

"Mr. Gus is one in athousand." Joe said. "He knowshow to work: He used to farmwith horses. If you hire 'commonhelp'_they can bankrupt you inno time.

"You get a guy who beats andbangs on_the cows and yo_u'_re introuble. You've got to treat acow right: If you take care ofher, she's going to do a little bitextra for you."

As the cows were milked; itwas quiet in the milking parlor,with only a radio and the soundsof cows eating rations and giv-ing milk to interrupt the predawnsilence. Man and wife spoke verylittle. The elevated position ofthe milking stalls gave themilkers a good view of eachcow's underpinnings and Joe

noticed a cut on one of thecow's legs. He made a mentalnote to keep that cow separatedin the holding barn for treatmentlater.

THE "SECOND STRING"STARTS THROUGH

The last cows through themilking parlor were the "tail -enders;" as Joe called them: Innormal milk production, a cow'smilk flow is greatest soor aftercalving; then gradually becomesless or stops just before calvingagain. The "tail-enders," then,were generally those cows aboutto calve:

Modern farmers like to breea acow as soon as possible aftercalving to increase the amountof milk she gives over herlifetime and the number ofcalves she can bear. If a cow

hasn't dried up just beforecalving, farmers often give her afew days' rest. Some feel that amonth or so rest period isvaluable but others see that as awaste of time.

After the "tail-enders" had leftthe parlor, Joe washed, sani-tized, and rinsed the equipmentautomatically;washed down themilking parlor, and headed tothe house for breakfast. It was 7am. A lot of city folks were justgetting up.

The milk from last night's andthis morning's milkings would beheld in a tank at 38° F. until themilk tank truck arrived at about8:30.

Over a breakfast of creamedchip beef on wafflespreparedby Nona, who had left themilking parlor long enough totake care of the calves and cookbreakfastJoe talked about thechores that needed to be donethat day.

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Over a year's time, such jobswould fall into this chain ofpriorities: take care of the ani:mals thrbUgh medication,cleaning up after them; feedingthem; and so on; then; makesure there will be enough feed inthe days ahead (by plowing,planting, harvesting; etc.,depending on the time of theyear); and finally make sureeverything on the farm is ingood shape for the work ahead.

In addition to these activities,of course, Joe and Nona knew.

that at 4 p.m: the cows wouldhave to be milked all over again.Its a twice=a=day, 365-days-a-year operation. Nature made itthat way.

In their spacious brightkitchen, SOO, 33, and Nona, 30,recalled with obvious delightover breakfast the only vacationthey ever had. They spent -3 daysin Minnesota 2 years earlier;when Joe was selectedMaryland's Outstanding YOUrigFarmer of the Year.

DAIRY FARMERS ARETIED DOWN

Dairy farming can berestrictive. And fewer and fewer fami-lieS want to be tied down.

For that and other reasons, thenumber of dairy farms in theUnited States in 1980 was lessthan_halfof what it was 30 yearsearlier. From 1950 to 1978, thenumber of faeit- with any milkcows on them at all droppedover 90 percent-from morethan_31/2 million to less than336,000. Yet America's needswere met. Fewer farmer&wereneeded to provide milk.

The dairy scene_ is changingall over the Uhited States_

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takes more cows to supportdairy farm family today than itdid "in the good Old dayS." FOr-tunately, one person can takecare of many more cows withtoday's equipment. Metharii2a=7tiOn and the employment of full-time help are relieving some of

the confinements of dairy farm-ing. On the Schwartzbeck farm;Mr Gus has been known to takeover the evening milking_ choreSO Joe and Nona can get anearly start on an evening out.

DAIRYING ISA TRADITIONON BEALL FARM

Rudell Beall; who lives about20 miles from Joe and Nona, hasbeen farming since the thirties.The farm has been in the familysince the American Revolution.

Rude II milks 200 cows; that is,he is the president of a familycorporation that milks 200 cows.But tnree families make a_livingfrom those 200 cows: Rudell andJoyce, -his wife, along with thefamilies of their two boys,Robert and Clark. Of course, ittakes everybody in the threefamilies to manage the affairs ofthe farm, which has 700 acres

Average number of milk cowsand milk production,1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, and 1970-80

Year

Averagenumber ofmilk cowson farms

ThoU

productionPercow

Lb

Total

Mil lb1950 21,944 5.314 116.6021955 21,044 5.842 122.9451960 17.515 7.029 123.1091965 14.953 8.305 124,1801970 12,000 9.751 117,0071971 11,839 10.015 118,5661972 11,700 10.259 120,0251973 11.413 10.119 115,4911974 11.230 10.293 115.5861975 11.139 10.360 115.3981976 11.032 10.894 120,1801977 10.945 11.206 122.6541978 10.803 11,243 121,4611979 10.743 11.488 123.4111980 10.815 11.875 128,425

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MILK COWSMILLION HEAD

1950 1955 1960 1965

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1970 1975 1980

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After milking, it's time_forbreakfast with rest of family,Gus, 10, and Shane, 6. Break-fast was prepared by Nonaafter other chores. Gus andShane, ultimate beneficiaries ofall the work, help in manychores on farm. At same time.Barney Stambaugh. part-timehelper, cleans out holdingbarn.

Community interests as well asfarm needs send Nona intonearby towns frequently. Herhome, believed to be 19th cen-fury farmhouse: lacked modernwiring, even hot water whenshe and 'Joe bought it in 1968.They've restored its old-timedignity._ Judy _Boom; purebredBasset hound, proves there'salways room for more on thefarm, especially purebreds.

Opposite page:Hauling hay to the cows is justone of endless activitieskeeping hired man Harold (Mr.Gus) Holman busy all day.

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(half of it rented)."Sixty to 80 cows just won't

provide for three families;"Rudell comments. "When I was12back in the thirtiesIhelped dad build a barn for 20cows that we milked by hand.Dad supported our family onthese 20 cows. By 1940; wethought we needed 32 cows. Butwe couldn't handle that numberwith hand milking; so we boughtelectric milkers:7

As Rudell took over more andmore of the operation of thefarm; he increased the numberof cows and the amount of landhe needed to grow feed for thecows: His sons became able tohelp; so by 1965 he had 100cows, but he had to put in amilking parlor to handle them:

"Now we have 10 times asmany cows as we had in the thir-ties and basically three menhandle themjust as dad and Iand a hired man did with 20

cows:"- The Beall _story is not unusual.For years it has been "sink orswim" in the dairy business:Those who survived learned toswim; that is, they learned hewto manage larger and largerherds to make a living;

While the number of dairyfarms in the United States isdecreasing; the size of the herdsis increasing. The averagenumber of cows on a dairy farmhas increased more than 700percent in the last 30 years._In1980; the average commercialdairy herd had an estimated 40cows: Only 5:4 percent of US:dairy farmers had 100 or morecows, but they produced a thirdof our milk that year

Better feeding; betterbreeding, and bettermanagement have increased theoutput of the average cow_too.Since World War II; milk yieldsper cow have more than

BEST MAY AvivIABLE

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doubled, reaching more than11,800 pounds (about 5,500quarts) in recent years:

The Schwartzbeck and Beallherds are larger than most butthey aren't the largest by far. IttCalifornia, there are several

Of the 335,270 U.S..farmoperators reporting cows in 1980;more than 60 percent reportedless than 30 cows, and most hadonly one to four cows: About 5percent reported 200 or more.

In 1980; farms selling the great-est dollar amount of dairy prod-ucts were those with 50 to 99 milkcows. These farms averag_ed$116,000 in total cash receiptsfrom milk.

About half the totai number ofdairy cows were on farms havingfrom 30 to 99 cows.

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herds of more than 2;000 cowseach and_folks are rhilkihg 22hours a day (and cleaning up fortwo more). In Florida, someherds_exceed 8,000 head. In the1978 farm census, 844 herds had500 or more milk cows:

Obviously. life on farms withthis number of milk COWS isdifferent from life on theSchwartzbeck and Beau farms.

AFTER BREAKFASTJOE AND NONA TURNTO OTHER WORK

After breakfast Joe and Nonawentback to their variouschores. But this time; Nona leftthe farmstead. As catalog andfood booth chairman of theCarroll County Fair, which wasto open the next week; she hadto distribute the fair booksaround the countryside.

whq hates houseworkwhen its "fit" to be outside; leftan automatic dishwasher at workin the kitchen beSide the cOldtccoordinated stove andrefrigerator,

Joe headed for his holdingbarn whoeb two cows with cutlegs awaited his attention: Joedoes as much of his own veteri-nary work he can balancing_the cost of a veterinarian againstnot only his skills but his time.He might have other work todo the hay rh(ght be at acritical stage and need hisattention more thanthe cow.

In the barn, a hired man fash=ioned a rope sling for a cow'srear right leg; threw the end ofthe rope over a stanchion pipe,and pulled the tow's leg up forJoe to administer medicine: Joesquirted some black liquid out ofa can onto the inflamed ankle,_then applied gooey medicationfrom a jar: He called the cow's

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name softly to calm her fearsshe'd been fidgeting in theStanchionas he rubbed on theointment:

"I wonder what this stuff is,"he pondered aloud, ''powerjuice? I know it works because Iused it on myself."

Seeing those two men caringfor an individual cow, gentlycalling her name as ananesthesia, it was difficult to seeJoe's farm as a milk factory. Itwas simply two people trying tomake a living doing what theyknew best, taking care of theanimals they love.

Hope for profit helps themkeep cleaning up the tons ofManure that accumulate on adairy farm. Machines help withthe cleaning of a stanchion barnor awaiting area, with theloading of a wagon, and withspreading manure around on afield. But it is a never-endingjob.

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ROW DO YOU DEFINE A DAIRY FARMER?If you ask a dairy expert_

hOW many dairy farmers thereare in the United States; hemight say; "I don't know." Hecould tell you how many dairycows there are and how manyfarms have cows on them.

But a "dairy farmer ?"Experts themselves can'tagree on what a dairy farm is.

Should a dairy farm be anyfarm that hag a dairy cow onit? Probably not: Yet; we canfind out how many of thosethere are.

Should it be any farm thatsells dairy products? Perhaps.But some farms that rely onother produttS, such aslivestock or grain; for most oftheir income sell dairyproducts on the side.

You can find out how manyfarms sell daily products.

The Census Bureau says:"TO bey classified as a

particular type, a farm musthave sales of a particularproduct or group of products

2'5 Millions of farmers

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Farmers1.5 reporting

sale of dairy_ products

amounting in value to 50percent or more of the totalvalue of all farm produCtS soldduring the year."

So; the Bureau lists cash-grain farms, tobacco farms,cotton farms, vegetable farms,and so on.

But when it comes to dairyfarms, the Bureau modifies itsdefinition. It says: "A farmhaving value of sales of dairyprpducts amounting to lessthan 50_percent of the totalvalue of farm products sold isclassified as a dairy farm, if:

Dairy products SO Id accountfor more than 30 percent ofthe total value of productssold.Milk cows represent 50percent or more of totalcows.The value of dairy-productssold plus the value of cattleand calves sold amount to50 percent or more of thetotal value of all farm prod-ucts sold."

All farmersreporting cows.

But some experts find faultwith thoSe figUres.

In a study called "The U.S.Dairy Industry Today andTomorrow," (Michigan StateUniversity research report275), C. A. Hoglund says themore realistic figure inshowing trends in the numberof dairy farms is the one forherds of 10 or more cows.

He illustrateS thit in thechart below.

In People on the Farm; thenumber of dairy farrriS isbased on the Census Bureaudefinition.

No matter how you definedairy farmsand whO gUataritees that the number of dairyfarMs equals the number ofdairy farmersthe trends areunmistakable. There are fewerand fewer of them.

U.S. FARMERS REPORTINGMILIMOWS AND SALE OFDAIRY PRODUCTS

1 0Farmers with 10or more cows

1954 1959 1964

REST COPY AVAILIBLE

1974 1978

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Chopping hundreds of acres ofcorn into tons of silage to bestored in huge open trench silois big fall activity on a dairyfarm: Mr: Gus is overseeing:Silage will provide year'ssupply of forage for cows. Mr.Gus and Joe pause in their vehi-cles to watch wagon loadingand unloading operations.

In the winter, the job ofcleaning up is multipliedbecause the cows aren't put outto pasture as they are in thesummer. They are held in onesmall area most of the time.

"Like the kids," says Nona,somewhat regretfully, "they'reinside most of the time in thewinter."

In the winter on a dairy farm,as JOe describes it; "there isn'tmuch to do except clean up,feed up. and bed down (lay outclean straw for the animals torest on)." But of course; thatdoesn't include machinery repairand other "fence-mending" jobsaround the farm; not to mentiontwice-a-day milking, and so on.

SPRING IS A BUSY TIME

A winter's day on a dairy farmwould probably be a full day'swork for a lot of folks. But in thespring things really get busy on

a dairy farm; and they stay busythrough fall,

In the spring, there's cornplanting. The start depends onthe condition of the ground aswell as the best time for corn togerminate in that particular areaCommercial fertilizer (theamount depending on soil tests)and a herbicide might be appliedat the same time.

Haymaking starts late in thespring on the Schwartzbeckfarm too.

In May; Joe starts looking overhis hay fields of alfalfa, timothy,and clover. If the hay is matureenough to cut, he analyzes thesky. Will the weather stay dry for2 more days so he can get thehay into the barn? If the hay getswet after it's been cut, it will losea lot of its nutrients. Cows needgood hay. If Joe decides this isthe day to cut the hay, every-thing on the farm is droppedexcept the milking and therequired cleaning up. Joe, Mr.

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Gus; and all the help they canmuster will start cutting hay inthe morning after milking andcontinue until it's don

The next morning, if Joe findsthe cut hay dry, it will be rakedinto rows. If it were bated whentoo wet; it could heat up andspoil. If there still has been norain by the day after cutting, themen will bale the hay in theafternoon and haul it into thebarn as rapidly as possible.

This drama will be reenacted12 or 15 times before summer isover. Hay is necessary. Haying istricky.

Corn also has problems withthe weather. The fields may betoo wet to plant early enough inthe spring so that the cropmatures fully before frost in thefall. Or a summer_drought mightstunt its growth. Too much raincould encourage disease ordelay harvesting. Then there'sthe bugs and "down" marketsand...well, that's farming.

Jo-:, planted 260 acres of cornin 1075 He cut 100 acres of it forensilage (a succulent meal ofornstalk and ears and all-

cLit green and stored to feed thecows from September to Sep-tember) The rest of the acreagehe let mature to harvest for gain.

Joe needed 7.800 bushels ofcorn a year to feed his herd in1975 If everything went rightt-psualljt this means theweather). Joe hoped to "make"100 bushels to the acre; that is;his fields would produce thatmuch If he got the 7.800bushels from 78 acres. thatwould leave him 8;200 bushels tosell on the open marketusuallyto others in the United Statesand overseas who need corn forfeed.

WHEN IS THE BESTTIME TO SELL?

Eveiy day Joe wonders whenhe should sell that "extra" corn;He can even sell it before heplants it (by contracting aheadwith a local elevator owner orfeed mill). Or he can sell it any-time during the crop year, as hewatches it grow, watches whatthe weather is doing to corncrops in other parts of the world,and watches what the prices aredoing in Chicago (which prettymuch sets the market locally).

If he makes 100 bushels to theacre and if he can sell the pro-duction off 82 acres on themarket at $3.17 a bushe11 thenJoe can pay off the $26,000 notehe signed earlier in the year tobuy seed and fertilizer. And if allthose good things don'thappenif for instance, his yieldshould run 70 bushels to theacrethen Joe will have to digup the difference from his onlyother sources of income: themonthly milk check and the saleof animals.

In 1974, the sale of milkbrought the Schwartzbecks agross income of $110,000. In

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addition. they sold one cow forS11.000 (a rare animaltheusual milker brought only about$450 that year) and a few malecalves at negligible prices, bring-ing their total income for theyear to about S121;000.

Some years there won't be any"extra" corn for Joe to sell. Theweather (or perhaps a devastat-ing corn virus) will have such_abad effect on his crop that he'llneed all the production of hiscorn acres for ensilage and feedgrain. But there'll always be the

fertilizer bill to pay;And someyears he may even

have to buy corn: In 1974, it sohappened he_swapped the"extra" corn for the soybeanmeal he needed.

Joe also sowed 70 acres ofbarley, which provided him withanother type of grain he neededfor his herd. In Maryland, barleyis sown in the fall (betweentwice-daily milkingswhen theground is right), and harvestedin the summer (betweenhayings).

JOE AND NONA'S INCOME ANDEXPENSES, 1975

IncomeDairy ProductsGrainPremiumsHay & StrawMachine HireOther IncomeCattle RaisedDairy CattleSteers

$132,471.4010;073:20

825.50167.58

1,077.26961.65

1;550:007,354.821,095.63

TOTAL: $155,577.04

TOTAL EXPENSES$172,505 23

TOTAL INCOME$155,577.04

LOSS $ 16;928;19

Does not include Joe andNona's labor and management

This is not a cash lossbecause of allowance fordepreciation and otherconsiderations

Expenses

*Labor $15,255.00Repairs

Buildirgs 1,803.79Repairs

Machinery 6,025.58Interest 20;250.39Rent Pasture 3;235:25Feed Purchased 22,682.08Seeds 846.50Fertilizer & Lime 37,237.72Machine Hire 940.00Supplies

PurchasedBreeding FeesVeterinaryGasoline & OilTaxesInsuranceUtilitiesAdvertisingTruck & AutoProfessional FeesHerd TestingHolstein Assoc.Propane Gas

5.329.882,174.613,247.083,312.191,329.124,481.593,681.93

343.01155.00580.00764.68523.20528.30

Depreciation 36;000.00Misc. Expenses 1;532:34Office Supplies 245.99

TOTAL: $172,505.23

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Joe makes sure 38percent pro-tein feed_boing_onloaded_fromtruck of Floyd Devilbiss, facingcamera, hits auger that willcarry it to nearby storage bins.Joe arranged for delivery fromcooperative in nearby _UnionBridge, Md. Later, Joe's face,caked with dust, She effectsof working with feed.

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THE COWS ARE THECENTER OFATTENTION

There are things to workand worry abouton Joe andNona's dairy farm, aside fromgrowing, harvesting; storing;mixing -feed: and feeding thecows. They have to keepproduction records: .take thecows to breed shows...buythem ...sell them..._see to theirbreeding through artificialinsemination

Like most other dairymen, Joebelieves strongly in improvingdairy stock through scientificbreedingthe careful matchingof hereditary traits to _obtain thebest animals. This not only helpsJoe as a farmerby gettingmore milk per pound_of feedbut it also helps the dairyindustry as a whole because thefeed supply goes farther.

Thanks to better breeding,__feeding, and recordkeeping, theaverage milk cow today produc-es more than twice as much milkas her counterpart did afterWorld War II.

_A cow on Joe's farm gives16,100 pounds of milk a year, onaverage. That's 35 percent abovethe national average of 11.875pounds for 1980.

Joe knows what his herdproduces because a supervisorfrom his local Dairy HerdImprovement Association(DHIA) drops by:every monthunannounced to measure eachcow s production for that day.

There are more than 1,000DHIA's; involving some 63;000dairy herds. Annual productionper cow in DHIA herds averagesabout 14,500 pounds; or about afifth more than _the average forall cows in the Nation.

Joe's DHIA, run by farmers inhis area; helps him keep track ofeach cow's production, Put_italso helps him monitor feedrequirements Joe knows howmuch income each cow con -_tributes to the farm and whether

she's worth keeping based onsuch factors as feed costs._ Heknows which cows to use for"breeding up" the quality of hisherd:

A good producer with a good"family name"one with a goodpedigreecommands respecton a farm (an extra pat; somenice words, ..whatever keepsher happy).

Joe had one old cow that gave28;000 pounds one year. Corn-pare that with the nationalaverage! "They told me shewouldn't be able to produce anymore calves," Joe said. Nowwhen a cow can't have calves,that means the milk flow stopsand; of course; she'll have nomore_offspring to carry on herbloodline.

Joe put the old producer inwith the herd producing lessmilk, where he lets a purebredbull run free as a "husband,"

"That younger bull in the lesserproducing herd has producednear miracles," Joe said: "We'veachieved some pregnancies thatdidn't seem possible withartificial insemination."

That cow became pregnant.

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINA=TION PLAYSA BIG ROLE

Most breeding on the farm isdone by artificial insemination;as is true nationally. And most ofthe genetic progress in dairybreeds has been made throughthe use of genetically superiorbulls.

Joe keeps semen from severalbulls in a small capsule-shapedmetal container in a room nearthe milking parlor. The bullsrepresented have a variety ofinherited characteristics plusgood records.

Near a display case with blueribbons ("All Maryland AgedCow,' and "Member, All Ameri-can Get of Sire"), Joe withdrewfrom a container an ampule of

frozen semen, kept at 320degrees below zero by liquidnitrogen;

An amoule from a good sirethat has snce died might beworth $4J0," Joe explained. "Ionce traded two ampules for twoheifers (Joe's been paying $500to 9600 apiece for heifers)."

Though the genetic worth ofsome famous old bulls was greatin their_day. progress in theupgrading of dairy cows hasbeen so rapid that the geneticworth of those old bulls wouldbe just average for their breedby today's standards.

In the barn, Joe inserted apastic tube into the cow's uterusand squeezed the ampule toinseminate the cow. The cowwas not disturbed: Once; Joesplit _one costly_ampule and gaveit to two cows. He called it agamble; but it could pay off big:In 1974; he sold a cow with agood production record andgood family lines for $11,000.But; after all; a good tractorcosts more than that.

Dairying_ as in all farming,takes money to get the job done.In 1975_, Joe paid out more than$170.000, including deprecia-tion, That doesn't allow for thevalue of family labor.

Productibn costs on the Beallfarm are correspondingly higherand reflect inflationary increasesover the years. Rudell pointed tohis tractor barn and said: ''Thattractor cost me $6,000: That one;$8.000, Thaton_e. $10,000. Theone my son is driving right therecost $16,000. We need all ofthem..."

Firm or product names used in thispublication are solely for the purposeof providing specific information;Mention of these names does notconstitute warranty of a product bythe U.S. Department of Agriculture oran endorsement of it by the Depart-ment to the exclusion of otherproducts.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE13

Day-old calf is fed colostrum,_its own mother's extra rich andprotective first milk, by youngGus in maternity barn beforehe and brother Shane_transportcalf to nursery Colostrum con-tains important disease-fighting antibodies Shanedrives small tractor which haulsGus and calf to theirdestination

14

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Ck'1141.

I

At calf nursery, Gus rushes toopen gate for calf who is jump-ing out of specially designedtrailer. Heifers, which arebovine "teenagers" midwaybetween calf and full-grown_cow, greet new calf before Gusand Shane lead her off tonursery.

111111W11.1111VAIIIIIIIIVANir r

let.W1.101Mh,

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15

Modern dairyingruns onmachines that need care. Joebangs on feed system's three-way control valve to free floW.Later he found feed frozen inpipe and cleaned it out. Otherwinter work includes hard-facing plowshares by arcwelding.

Opposite page:Anticipating next season's fieldwork, Joe inspects springs onNo-Til corn planter in shed.

EQUIPMENT IS A BIGINVESTMENT

Joe SchWatt2beck_has fivetractors and sometimes all fiveare operating at the same time:two or three helping to Chbpcorn and haul silage, anotherscraping manure from cow hold-ing lots; and still another haUlingmanure away.

There are also thousands ofdollars tied up in other equip=meni in the SchWattheck farm: aNO:Til corn planter, seven haywagons; three silage wagons, afield chopper, a bloWet to taise

into the silo, a Haybine, adisc harrow, a springtooth cul-timulcher, a hay baler, a staketruck, a pickup telick,a sprayer,a manure loader, a manurespreader; two hay rakes, an ele-vator for hay, a grain elevator, agrain dryer, a grain drill and afeed mixer wagon to feed cowsoutside.

16

"You can get $100,000 inequipment real quick," RudellBeall commented; patting themetallic side of anew feed mixerthat could save hiM nearly halfthe cost of his feed bill over theyears: Rudell figured he couldsave that much by doing themixing himself rather than haul-ing his home-grown feed to amill and paying for the mixing.

Joe and Nona don't have allthe equipment they could usejust that which they can usemost profitably. For instance,they need a combine for thecorn they let mature to grain; butat this stage in theirdevelopment they trade the useof their No-Til planter for the useof their neighbor's combine.

BUILDINGS ARE ABIG INVESTMENT

In additon to money tied up in

machinery, dairy farmers have avast investment in buildings,though Joe built pradtidally all ofhis buildings either by himself orwith help: His buildings includenot only the combinatiOn Milk:-mg parlor-office-milk coolingbuilding but a stanchion holdingbarn for 49 cows, a storagebuilding for machinery andsome hay, a shop in which torepair machinery, bullpens tohouse two bulls, a free stall barnfor some 80 cows (including fournice big maternity stalls; wherethe cows give birth to calves), aloafing shed for heifers andcalves to keep them out of theweather, a baby_calf house forcalves 1 day to 8 weeks Old, asilag_e bunker (a long, low, three-walled area that Joe can packwith up to 1,200 tons of ensilage), three upright cylindricalsilos; and some feed bins. Andlast, but not least, they include abig old farm house with a

9

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modern interior and a fresh coatof exterior paint.

The average total investmenton a U.S. dairy farm today isabout $430,000, including$80,000 each in livestock andmachinery; another $250,000 inland and buildingsand stillanother $15,000 to $20,000 incrops and inventory. That's theaverage. The Schwartzbecks andBealls have a greater investment.

Altogetherland, buildings,animals; and equipmentJoeand Nona figure they had$300,000 invested in the farm in1975 and a much greaterinvestment in 1981.

If they sold out in 1975, Joesaid, they could probably havegotten $450;000 to $470;000:And they were $215,000 in debt.

The suburban homeowner canunderstand their situation.Inflated prices have increasedthe value of urban residentialproperty too, but an individual's

older debt might shrink in rela-tion to the new inflated value.Yet, if the Schwartzbecks (or thehomeowner) were to sell andthen try to buy equivalent prop-erty, they'd have to pay the cur-rent higher price.

Joe and Nona took _a chancewhen they went into farming in1968. Both had been brought upon a farm and loved that kind oflife. Joe had learned theproblems of modern farmmanagement by dairying on hisown for 6 years on the land thatwas formerly his father'slandwhich was sold earlier and heldfor subdividing. Before that Joehad worked on his father's farmsince he was 15, though it meantmissing getting involved withbaseball, his second love, inhigh school.

It was a tough life, but itconvinced Joe that dairying waswhat he wanted to do for alivingit he could only find the

20

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Intimefourwandowmushey(badno tiButaffai

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of land at the rightis agreed

D A FARM)Ul1D BUILD

I County; west of Bal-and Nona finally

I91-acre farm theye buildings were run.armhouse (whichbeen grand in itsling atop a knoll far:he winding road) had

or modern wiring.he farm they could

25,100. Joe and NonaFederal land bank

) buy the land; and to:ion credit associa--ley to buy machineryroduction inputs.

17,

These organizations are farmer-owned financing institutionswhich borrow fundsfroiti theNation's money market's to lendto farmers.

For months they drove backand forth between old and newliomes-47 miles each wayuntil they could make their newhome habitable. OptirriiStibally,they named it Peace and PlentyFarm, the name of Joe's father'sfarm:

v_ Not everyone can gci to theFederal land bank and get themoney needed to start a farm.Years of experience, a dairy herdof 60 grade cows (not registeredpUrebreds), and a logical planwere needed to convince the landbank Joe could make it.

Since then the amount ofmoney needed to start dairyfarming has tripled.

In 1975, Joe thought it wouldtake a minimum of $200,000 inland and about 40 good milkcows to start to support a family,"if you don't want too muchmachinery." His place wouldhave cost a buyer nearly half_a_million dollars ih_1975. By 1980,costs had increased still further:

Experience and a lot of moneyare two requirements fOr anyoneconsidering dairy farming now.It helps if a person grows up ona farm and inherits it. Fe Vier andfewer people -each year can meetthOse qualifications.

By paying themselves little ornothing a year, by payinginterest on their indebtedness,and by nibbling away at theprincipal on theirmortgage, theSchwartzbecks ultimately expectto be able to pass on a consid-erable equity to their children_depending on the weather,_goodmanagement, and adequateprices for their milk.

They thought-they might haveto incorporate, though, tominimize the effect ofinheritance taxes on the estatethey worked so hard to build.Still, there are pitfalls in thatdevice. When Rudell and JoyceBeall decided to incorporate,

18

they found that a lbdal landtransfer tax would have costthem $10,000 to $15,000, so theyincorporated everything but theland.

DAIRY FARMERSMUST KNOWMANY SKILLS

Rudell and Joe agree that afarmer today has to be a lawyer,a bookkeeper, a veterinarian, amechanic, and a manager, orhire the services of each: Theyalso agree that farmers havealways been "Jacks of all trades"because they have been unableto hire a great deal of expensivehelp.

AS %dell Beall said, "If I hadto hire all my work done, prettysoon you'd see a 'for sale: signout on my barn."

Farming involves less physicalactivity than years back, but thefarmer's brain works harder...and the stakes get biggerevery year. An established dairyfarmer can make one big blunder;two might very well wipe him orher out.

What kinds of decisions? Well,there's the "when -to -hay" detiESion. When to expand is another.

Let's say you need more cowsto keep the wolf away from thedoor. Can you prOVide the feedfOr the new cows? What aboutmore land? At what cosi? Canyou carry the debt lOad? WillYOU need another silo? Anotherbarn, tractor, or combine? Whendo you sell the corn? When dbyou bUy fertilizer ?_

Joe said he made a poor man-agement decision in a recentyear when he bOiight fertilizer at$179 a ton. Two months later,the price had dropped to $155.

A major decision is Seletting_asire for future cows. A cow mustbe bred not only for its ability toproduce milk according to therecord of the sire's daughtersand those of the family linebutalso for traits that make the

animal strong and salable. _

Roden said it cost him $1,500to buy two storage tanks of liq-uid nitrogen. That cost was morethan recovered because tiebought the fertilizer at $18,000and stored it until he needed it.Otherwise, he would have had topay $25,000.

Of course, you could missit," he said, meaning the righttime to buy the fertilizer.

Rudell recalls tha0earS agohe "missed it" by not offeringmore than $4,900 for 70 acresnear his farm. The owner keptthe farm and later was offered$150,000 for it.

WHY STAY IN FARMING?

Why do they do itthese dairyfarmers?

"Well, l_have my days," Joesaid. "There are some dayswhen you could walk right inhere and buy this place." Headded, "If the kids don't grow upinterested in farming, I'm bust-ing my head against a wall fornothing."

At the Beall farm; Rudell looksout over a corn field and saysthere's "a certain amount ofpride" in successful farming.

"Even a man with a lot of col-lege degrees-7Iie respects mysuccess," Rudell continued."When someone says 'who'spickup is that?' I can say 'mine.'When someone says 'whose newcar is that?' I can say 'mine.'

If you:can't have some ofthose things, what's it all about?

"That's pride."There's a broad streak of

independence up the back ofAmerica'sfarmers too. One oldcodger recalls he had workedhis way up to become managerof a large automobile_parts busi-ness while still a youth; but hereturned to farming.

"You have to make up_yOUrmind_whpther you want to workfor yourself or for someoneelse," he explained. Mostfarmers have decided to work for

Joe's first coffee break arrivedabout 5 a.m. on steps leadingfrom office to milking parlor.Nona took her turn with thecow& Later in the day there'stime for a little fun on the tireswing in front of their home.

19

Silhouetted against evidence ofhiS growino_net worth holdingbarn, left; offite-milking pzrior,center maternity barn, rightrear; and feed equipment Joepauses after morning's milkingto philiosophize; "If the kidsdon't grow up interested infarmingthem I'm bustihg myhead against the wall fornothing :'

themselveS.Some comment acidly that

they are; after all; working forthe Government. Others saythey are working for the feeddealer. But they enjoy theirindependence, and they fight tokeep it that way.

Still,_Government plays a rolein their lives; ..often quitedirectly.

GOVERNMENTAND DAIRYING

One role of the Government inthe lives of the Schwartzbecks;Bea Ils, and other dairy farmers isthe Dairy Herd limprovementPrOgram.

Government scientists exam-ine records from the program,_and Cbdperative Extension Ser-vice experts help dairy breedersacross the country identifysuperior built by keeping track

20

Of their daughters' production.It is teamwork like thiS

between scientist and farmerthrough Extension and otherservices that has advancedAmerican agriculture.

It was an agricultural teacherin a country high school whomade the difference in %dellBeall:s career. The late DonaldWatkins, -who also taught theSchwartzbecks; created anorganization of 14 fatervers In theneighborhood when Rudell wasjust starting out on his own._

The organization Was the Busi-ness of Farming Club, whichmet-to-discuss and examine thelatest advances in farm eqUip-ment and systerria. Ita_Membersturned Over to Watkins, on aconfidential basis; their workplans for his evaluatibri. Watkinswould then discuss the goodentities, as well as the bad; with-out identifying Individualfarmers. The whole group bone-

fited from these sessions;Says Rudell: "He devoted his

whole life to helping farmera inthe area."

There are other Governmentinvolvements in dairy farthing.One is the milk order.

MILK MARKETINGORDERS

America's stake in the con:tinued well-being of its farmers,so that consumers will be--------assured of an adequate supplyof food, is the principle underly-ing the Federal milk marketingOrders.

Each milk marketing order,issued by the Secretary of Agri-culture after a public hearingand producer approval, estab-lishes minimum prices thathandlers must pay producers orassociations of producers basedon the way the milk is used. The

23

price-takes into account not onlysupply and_demand conditions,but also economic considera-tions. such as distance tomarket.

Class I uses of milkthehighest pricedare usually fluidproducts. Once the demand forfluid products has been filled,

1~ the remaining milk is made intoclass II and class III products.

Class II uses are usually forsoft items, such as yogurt, cot-tage cheese, and ice cream.Class III uses are usually forhard products, ircluding cheese,butter, ar,d nonfat dry milk.

Although the different classesof milk bring different prices,all,prodi:cers in a market, such asthe southern part of a State, whoparticipate in the Federal milkmarketing order program, get thesame uniform (blend) price fortheir milk:

SUPPORT PRICES

Another aspect of Governmentinvolvement in the dairy industryis the support price for manufac-tured milk:

Under the support price pro-gram, the Government buyscarlots of butter, natural cheddarcheese, and nonfat dry milk atannounced priceswhich arecalculated to enable processorsto pay farmers the announcedsupport price-7-between $13.10and 90 percent of panty.

Most of the butter and cheesebought goes for the schoollunch program_and a programfor the needy. The nonfat drymilk also goes for domestic andforeign food assistanceprograms.

What is parity? It's a percent-age figure that compares thefarm price for milk with the costof what the operator pays to runthe farm: A period of years isselected (o represent a "fair"situation for dairy farmers andthat period is said to provide100 percent parity. If the farmprice of milk and production

costs both go up 50 percent thenmilk is still at 100 percent of par-ity. Bat if farm milk pricesincrease only 2) percent fromthe base period; and the farmer'sproduction costs increase 50percent, then milk is at 80 per-cent parity.

Every month; statisticiansgather information across thecountry on prices farmers payand receive...for every dairyproduct...to set the basis forcalculating the parity price forall milk and the parity equivalentprice for manufacturing grademilk.

Why the parity syStem? TheGovernment wants to encourageproduction of adequate suppliesat prices the consumer canafford.

IMPORT QUOTAS

Congress reposed importquotas for dairy productsnamely, cheese and butterbecause imports tend to reduceprices at the farm level. Whenthe Secretary of Agriculturedecides imports are too high htells the President. The Presi-dent can impose fees or quotason imports.

However; the President mightfirst ask countries to slow downshipments voluntarily.

The Government also can-le4duties wher a country shipsdairy producteto1is at cutrateprices possible throughsubsidies paid by a foreigngovernment.

OTHERGOVERNMENTROLES

Joe Schwartzbeck RudaBeall, and their fellow dairyfarmers are affected in otherways by governments at local,State, and nation:-11 levels. Localtaxes on farmland affect them.So do zoning and other land useregulations.

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Perhaps the most importantlocal government actions thateffect Joe, nuclei', and all theother dairy farmers in the coun-try are the health regulations ofthe cities where they sell theirmilk.

City inspectors visit producersto check on sanitary conditionsfor milk handling. They takewater samples. They make strictdemands. Farmers must obey tostay in business.

More and more important todairy operators are the regula-tions for waste disposal. Theproblem of handling manure isnot as simple as putting thewaste on fields. Sometimes largelagoons are required along withother disposal structures. Largerestablishments truck the manureaway.

Another role of the government affecting dairy farmers isthe cooperative. Farmers createa cooperative to buy their milk.The cooperative finds a way tomarket the milk and dairy prod-ucts in the cities. The farmersown the cooperatives and sharein their successes. Joe'scooperative also owns milk retailoutlets.

JOE AND NONA AREBUSY IN COMMUNITY

Joe and Nona Schwartzbeckkeep busy in the organizationswhich so closely affect theirlives: their cooperative, theCarroll County Fair; twoHolstein breed clubs, aprogressive farmer's club and aMaryland Farm Bureau's youngpeoples group. The FarmBureau is an independentgeneral farm organization, thelargest farm organization by farin the Nation.

They like to be social and goout evenings. But the milkingsthat end at 7 p.m. and begin at 4a,m. every day of the year re-strict the time they haveavailable for such activities.

Mechanization helps, but

21

today's typical dairy farm,though far different from thefarms of past generations; is stilla long way from being a factory.Asked if he would compare hisfarm to an industrial factory, Joereplied: It should be run likeone but we can't I shc"iid get aregular markup, say 10 percentover cost, but I can't: I'd like towork my men only 40 hours aweek and_give them 2 weeks'paid vacation a year but I can'tafford to operate like that."

_Despite decreasing numbersof farmers, dairying remns ahighly competitive business:There are no restrictions;licenses, or franchises to keepanyone from getting into it; and;while only the best managerssurvive, the effect of many tryingto succeed results in veryaggressive competition: Andthey're all selling exactly thesame productmilk, not somepatented variation or new model:

WHAT MAKESTHEM UNHAPPY?

Joe and Nona are outspokenabout things that bother them:They were asked: "What makesyou-unhappy?"

"Rain, when the hay's rakedand ready to be baled;" Joe said."Weather can make you or breakyou. A twister ruined a couple offields of corn on our farm a cou-ple years ago and it was rough

22

cutting that up.""People talking about unem-

ployment when there's plenty ofwork to he done," Nonaobserved, "that's what_rnakes meunhappy. There's_Mr. Gus work-ing as hard as he does and payinghis taxes while ether folks aredoing nothing but drawingunemployment."_

They are equally outspokenabout what makes them happy.

"Sitting up on a tractor andwatching the silage going intothe silomoving onthat's whatmakes me happy;" Joe said. "Ilike looking at a field of barley inthe wind. In the fall, when I'mcombining, I like looking backand seeing the auger half filledwith corn.

"A heifer calf (that is; onewhich can grow up to be a_milkcow later; rather than a bull)every other birththat makes mehappy."

Nona has a "thing" againstfake flowers, so she keeps alarge flower garden near thehouse and fresh flowers in thehouse. And_she likes the peaceand quiet of the country:

"Gus and Shane have friendsout to the house; but they'reinvited," she emphasized. "I havesome friends in big city subdivi-sions where the neighborhoodkids are running through theirhouse all the time. I don't thinkI'd like that:"

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FAMILY IS IMPORTANTTO THEM

She likes the independence offarming and what it does for thefamily.

"We do a lot together as a fam-ily," Nona said. "I think familiesare kind of _getting pushed intothe background these days; andI don't like that trend."

The children have plenty ofroom to play in the spacious oldfarm home of the Schwartz-becks. Daily family life centersaround the huge kitchen, whichis equipped not only with all thelatest devices of modern livingbut some reminders of the past,such as a large fireplace with anold copper apple butter kettleinside it._ There's even room for asmall office desk for Nona.

Surrounded by an acre ofneatly clipped lawn and well-tended gardens, the Peace andPlenty Farm home provides theperfect setting for the kind of lifethe Schwartzbeeks enjoy.

So, Joe and Nona keep dairyfarming and sending milk intotown. So do the Bealls and manythousands of other dairy farmersacross the United States:

"I wonder what-wouldhappen," Rudell Beall pondered,"if I didn't send my 8,000 poundsof milk a day into thecity. I _

wonder what would happen if weall went out of- business andthere was nowhere else to go tobuy milk."

INTERESTED INDAIRYFARMING?

What does it take to getstarted in dairy farming?

Money.Ability to borrow._Experienbe.`kiting people reared on a

farm often start on the homefarm or on a farm_ nearby.___Often they get help from theirfamilies; such as financialhelp; favorable rental ar-rangements, or free use offarm machinery.

Some nonfarm beginnersmay also get financialassistance from relatives orothers, or from earnings inoff-farm work. Financial helpfrom private sources can-do-much to provide a good start:

Beginning farmers with littleor no experience may start byworking as farmhands. Theycan learn by doing andobserving; without having tomake managerial detiSibriS orput up capital. Although theyusually can support a familyon the wages; they probablycannot accumulate much cap=ital. But the experiencegained will be an asset whenthey go out -to rent a farm orapply_ for a_farm loan.

Beginners often rent ratherthan buy their first farm. Rent-ing requires less capital andless risk for the operator. As atenant, the operator makesday-to-_day decisions on hisown.The landowner usuallyapproves such decisions asthe kinds and amounts_ ofcrops and livestock to beptO-Ouced, and the use and careof land and improvements.

Many important managerialdeciSions are made jointly bytenant and landowner:Sometimes they may ownliVeStbbk together.

Other ways beginners cankeep the amount of capital toa minimum withdiit greatlytedUCihg their incomesinclude:

Buying used machinery atfarm sales or from dealersHiring custom machinesto pick corn, harvest smallgrains; and fill silbS.Exchanging work withneighbors for seasonalwork requiring additionalhelp.

Beginners may buy some ofthe land they farm and rentthe rest. This part ownershiparrangement has betbreiecommon even among estab-lished farmers.

Some operators start fartri=itV part time on a small farm.They continue in nonfarmwork as a primary source ofincome long enough to gainexperience and accumulatecapital for a full-time farmingbusineSS.

RULES OF THUMB

Dr. Terry Howard, professorOf dairy sciepce in the Exten-sion Service at the Universityof Wisconsin; has some rulesof thurrib for prospective dairyfarmers.

"They must generate $1.80in operating income for every$1 of cash expense. Theirherds should produce anaverage of at least 14,000 to16,000 pciliridt of milk peryear per cow.

"Farmers must invest$225,000 to $275,000 in land,

2f

cows, building; and machin-ery, For every family unitwhich survives on the incomefrom the farm, there should beat least 35 to 45 cows beingmilked. Assuming that theunit is going_to produce mostof its own feed, a farmerwould need to control,through ownership or_renting,a least 130 to 150 crop acres,depending on the land'scapabilities.

"It boilS down to a grossincome of $80,000 to $90,000a year for a farm operated byone person, based on aninvestment of $1,200 to $1,600per cow in buildings and $800to $1,500 per acre in land.

APPLICATIONSJUDGEDON OWN MERITS

The Farmers Home Admin-istration (FmHA); whichmakes ownership loans tofarms, says a one-persondairy operation should have50 to 100 cows each produc-ihg 13,000 to 15,000 poundsof milk a year.

A dairy farmer can get bywithout growing feedthough the farmer shouldgrow roughage; silage; andhayif the feed is boughtWhen the price is right, and ifon -farm storage is provided.

It takes 30 to 40kcows to payeach hired hand. For every 50milkers, there should beanother 50 replacementheifers,

In addition to local lendersand Fm Ha, major lendersinclude the Federal landbanks and the productioncredit associations, all ownedby borrowers.

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RESOURCES NEEDED, 1979

Land

Totallaborused

Capozi.

No ofdairyfarms

sampledAverage

acres

AveYagecroplandharVested

MachineryLand and &buildings equipment Livestock Crops Total

Ac'reS HOUrS Dollars Dollars Dollars D011ars Dollars

New York 610 411 228 5,554 180,787 66.475 94;471 25,325 367,058

Wisconsin 347 382 263 4,907 117,509 73,684 92,910 44,825 328.928

RETURNS FROM FARMINS,, 1979

No. ofdairy Gross Net Return to

farms Total farm Operating farm operator &

e sampled capital income expenses income Interest family lab&

Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars Dollars

New York 610 367,058 174,284 123,591 50,693 23,526 27,167

Wisconsin 347 328,928 140,231 77,423 62,807 11,301 51,507

TRENDS AND PROJECTIONSYear

1970 1975 1q1,10 1985'

Population (million) July 1' 201.9 213.8 225.6 236.3

Milk production (billion pounds) 117.0 115:4 128.4 130.8

Per capita civilian consumption__Total milk equivalent (pounds) 561 540 542 550

Milk cows 12;000;000 11;139,000 10,815,000 10,085,000

Number of operations with milk cows (thoUSand8) 647.9 443:6 335.3 260.0

Milk production per cow 9,751 10,360 11,875 12;970

Cows per operation 18-5 25.1 32.3 38.8

Eating from civilian supplies.Forecast.

Prints of these photographs may be obtained from the Photography Division, Office Governmentaland Public Affairs, Room 4407; U.S. Department of AgritUlture,_Washington, D.C. 20250: Limitednumbers are available free to news media. Others pay a small fee Revised November, 1981

t_ GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1982-356-242

What'sHappened to theSchwartzbeeks?

Since People On the Farm:Da Irking was published inMay 1976, the family and farmof Joe and Nona SchWart±:beck of caeeoll County, Mary-land, have continued to growin every respect.

In September, 1981, GUScelebrated hiS 16th birthdayand expected to get hisdriver's license in the nearfuture. He was a senior inhigh S-ch0-01 and lookingforward to becoming a farmer.His brother; Shane, was 12,and in the seventh grade. Hisheifer won three shows;including the State fair, andwhen he took one of thegeese frOrn the family pond tothe county fair; it was judgedthe grand championwaterfOWI. HiS folks say he isalways inventing devices: auseful skill on the farm.

Both youngSterS partici-pated in tractor driving con-tests at the county fair. At 14,Gu-s won the junior

The bbyS were spendingevery weekend in 1981raccoan huntrig near thefarm. Their father however,dOeSn't like plunging throughcreeks and bramble busheS inthe dark in order to hunt.

JUdy BOOrn, the purebredBasset hound; died of old age.There is still a cat namedPeatheS hanging around theMilking parlor

With the continuing help ofMr: Gus; Joe and Nona milked106 cows in 1981, "becausethe monthly bills demand it;"as Nona said. They wouldrather milk just 75 good pro-Miters and cut down on thework.

Indeed; the cost of runningPeace_ and Plenty Fermi hadtripled in 6 years.

Every item on their expensesheet for 1975_could betripled,_Joe_.:,aid, except theinterest. In that category;despite high interest rates in1981; Joe and Nona were pay-ing less than triple becausetheirloans_were based onearlier rates.

At the same time,JO0 andNona'sincome doubled to$320,000 in 1980: So had Ih_e_irdebt;_reaching about $400,000in 19$0.

But the Schwartzbeckswere expanding. They boughta nearb_y 1467acre farrriin1979.There they grew cropsand fed 60 Holstein steers;planning to sell them for usein the expanding fast -foodMarket.

Joe and Nona keep up withscience. With the aid of aspecialist from a private firmin Pennsylvania; theyconducted four_embryotransplants on their farm in1980.

Four fertilized eggs fromone of their best producingcows were implanted inSchwartZbeck heifers.

In January, 1981, thecalveswere born, and Joe and Nonatook one-of them to thenational _Holstein7FriesianAssociation sale in Baltimore,Where they sold her for$8;000: Since each pregnancycost Joe and Nona $70.0 theyfigure they more than doubledtheir investment in cash andstill had three calves on thefarm. They planned moreembryo transplants:

Also new on the farm areBig Jim and what Joe calls"low income housing;" BigJim is a silo as big as a rocketpoised on a launching padbehind the barn. Thirty feet in

diameter and 80 feet tall; BigJim stores 1;200 tons of cornsilage; replacing the Open.=airbunker silb that once occu-pied the east end of the barn-yard: There's a maternity barnwhere the bunker was.

The "loW income housing"is 12 calf hutches; which looklike rather large dog houseS.Joe_and_Nona decided to giveeach of 12 calves its own"home" with its individualfeeder and an open to thesouth. The aim is to cut downon disease with fresh air andseparation ofthe animals. Itseems to work.

By 1981. Nona had quad-rupled the number of flowersshe grew around the hbUSe.When winter fiirteS het tobring them in the house; shecan hardly see out the win-dows, she said, so sheplanned to install a green-house for them next to themilking parlor.

Still -busy in the community,she was in line to be presidentof _the county fair in 1982.

Nona fell off a ladder in theCalf house the week beforeThanksgiving_DaOn 1980 andbroke some ribs. But she stillcooked Thanksgiving dinner:

She doesn't have time to getall her work done, so when areal estate broker -called tosay the county was interestedin buying their farm for alandfill. she didn't want to be1i-0th-et-ed.

"I've got too much of my_blood; sweat, and tears in thisfarm to sell it at any price,"she told him: End ofconversation.

They've turned down anOffer of more than a milliondollars for their farm.

"So what if we never get outof debt?" Nona asked: Welive good: We live as a family."

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