BELLEFONTE, Pa. — The Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania is recognizing the need to help dairy producers find new strategies to increase their income with a special workshop beginning at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 5 in Martinsburg, Pa.
The morning educational program on “How to Make Money at Dairy Farming” will be followed by an afternoon tour of the Kulp Family Farm near Martinsburg.
Key to profitability
Michael Hosterman, ag business consultant with AgChoice Farm Credit, will kick off the day’s session by outlining five areas that are key to profitability in dairy farming.
He’ll also discuss ways the keys are within the control of the dairy farmer.
Good times and bad
His presentation will be followed by the panel of producers talking about Good times and bad“Strategies for Thriving in Good Times and Bad.” The panel features dairymen Sean Jones, Lester Jones & Sons Inc., Massey, Md.; John Knopf, Fa Ba Farms, LLC, Canandaigua, New York; and John Mueller, Willowbend Farm, Clifton Springs, New York.
Future
To round out the program, Hosterman will be joined by fellow industry experts Michael Peachey from Acuity Advisors and CPAs and Jeff Mamett of Pfizer Animal Health as they offer some predictions about how the future will look for farmers.
Phil Kulp will give an overview of Kulp Family Farms and then after lunch everyone will head out to tour one of the state’s dairy success stories.
The Kulp family used careful strategies and a bit of good fortune to grow their dairy operation over the years to its present size of more than 2,000 cows.
The $25 per person fee for PDMP members is designed to make it possible for a farm’s entire operation team to attend. To help producers who do not hold PDMP membership, the organization continues its offer allowing a nonmember to attend one Issue Forum at the member rate. The standard non-member fee is $75 per person.
Online registration is available at PDMP’s website, www.pdmp.org.
