Business and economics

The picture of the dairy industry is changing fast with new technology, consolidation and volatile global markets.  Gary Sipiorski, Vita Plus dairy development manager, said this will have big impacts for custom harvesters too.

For starters, it means the financial clock is ticking, Sipiorski said during his presentation at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting.  He challenged attendees to develop an action plan to beat the clock.

David Krekeler, partner in Krekeler Strothers, S.C., said many of the principles in The Art of War by Sun Tzu can be applied to custom harvesting.  Just as Sun Tzu said, “The art of war is of vital importance to the state,” Krekeler said getting paid for your work is of vital importance to stay in business.

“All it takes is one or two people to not pay you and then you’re in debt,” Krekeler told Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting attendees.

By Jenny Kilpatrick, Premier Insurance Solutions, LLC insurance agent
As a crop insurance agent in Wisconsin, each year I talk with producers about which crops they want to insure.  Corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and established hay are most frequently mentioned, but producers often forget about their valuable forage seeding crop. 

A dumpster on a dairy farm wouldn’t normally turn heads, but a new type of dumpster is doing that very thing.

This dumpster’s sole purpose is to recycle used ag and silage plastics. Revolution Plastics, headquartered in Stuttgard, Arkansas, offers producers an environmentally friendly option to dispose of the plastics on their farms.

By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist
Wildlife pests found around bunkers, piles and bags are not only an unsightly nuisance, but can also wreak havoc by spreading serious disease threats to livestock and even humans.

By Randall Greenfield, Vita Plus dairy specialist

Question:  What makes the most financial sense?  Building a bunker or drive-over pile to store my forages?

Answer:  This question inevitably comes up when considering storage options for ensiled forages and grains. The answer, of course, is always “it depends.” For any specific situation, the ultimate solution could be different than the next. For the purpose of this article, however, I’ll make some generic comparisons.