Eastern Plateau Region Farm Business Summary, 1969

Conneman, G. J.

Eastern Plateau Region Farm Business Summary, 1969

Abstract

This report is a summary of the 1969 farm business records of 87 dairy farms in the Eastern Plateau region of New York. These farmers are cooperators in the Extension Service farm business management program in Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, and Tompkins. There are approximately 40 counties in New York State in which such projects are operated in cooperation with the College of Agriculture at Cornell. Farmers participating in the farm business management program keep financial and physical records of their farm business. Throughout the year Cooperative Extension Agents assist the farmers in keeping, closing and using their records. At the end of each year, the records are summarized by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Cornell and meetings are held to analyze the records and study the principles of farm business management. Between 1960 and 1968 the number of dairy farmers in New York State decreased from approximately 40,000 to about 25,000. Projections based on this trend indicate that the number of dairymen in 1980 will be approximately 13,000. One of the major factors that will determine whether a dairyman of today is a dairyman in 1980 is his ability as a manager. Some dairymen will expand, others stay at about the same size and still others will quit farming. It is a challenge to each dairyman to decide upon the best course of action for himself and his family. A study of your business records and budgeting of some possible changes for the future will help you to make this decision. The primary objective of these business management projects is to help cooperators do a better job of keeping and using records, and thus improve their skill as farm managers. This report has been prepared in workbook form for use in a systematic study of individual farm business operations. The 1968 data from 568 New York dairy farms and the 1969 data from the 87 Eastern Plateau Region dairymen can be used for comparison. The summary and analysis presented in this booklet should also be useful to farmers in this area who are not enrolled in the business management projects. Others connected with the agriculture of the area, such as teachers of agriculture and farm credit representatives, should also find it useful in teaching farm management and analyzing farm businesses.

Description

A. E. Ext 70-554

Date Issued

1970

Publisher

Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

Types

report