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| Crop Update - 3/15/2007 | |||
| Back to the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Home Page | |||
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UPCOMING EVENTS REMINDER:
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Sustainable Viticulture Workbook Project - Update
We have met with growers from Chautauqua, Niagara, Cattaraugus Counties in New York and several growers from PA. for this project which is a cooperative effort of growers, processors, the Finger Lakes Regional Grape Program, Long Island Grape Program and the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program.
Going over the questions in the workbook typically takes about 90 minutes. Depending on your operation and the type of grapes you are growing doesn't make any difference either - we are interested in everyone's input, no matter how many acres you have. Once you have completed the first phase of going through the workbook and answering the questions scaled from 1 (best practice) to 4 (should look at this practice to see if it can be improved), a follow-up visit is scheduled with a member of the SWCD from your county (they have the money to help with cost sharing) to discuss how you might be able to move the practices that received a rating of 4 to a rating closer to 1 - this is the Action Plan meeting.
The workbook questions are painless, self-reflective and the comments made by growers' are very positive - including how going over the questions makes them think about their total operation, or how they might be able to do or think about something differently, etc.
We continue to hear from growers and are still asking for more volunteers to go through the workbook, answering the questions that pertain to them (and let us know what questions do not pertain to their operation). We have appointments set up with more growers through the month... If you are interested in working with us on this project please send Edith an email at emb35@cornell.edu or give her a call at 716.672.6830 so she can schedule an appointment with you.
| 2006 NY & PA Pest Management Guidelines are available on-line at: http://ipmguidelines.org/grapes/ | |
| If you prefer a hard copy version you can contact your local Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Extension office or local county extension office for partner counties (Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, NY, Erie, PA and Niagara). | |
| Download Adobe Reader - free software that lets you view, print, search, and share Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. |  |
| Grape Farm Business Management | Barry Shaffer |
Check Your Current Ratio If You Are Under Financial Pressure!
If producers are in financial
trouble, liquidity concerns are one of the first warning signs of decline.
I like to look at the Current Ratio to see if the business will
be able to pay their bills. Many growers do have net worth (balance
sheet) statements prepared yearly and that is the first step needed
to calculate the Current Ratio.
The Current Ratio
is simply the total value of all current assets @ Fair Market Value
owned on a specific date (often the last day of your fiscal year) divided
by the total value of all current liabilities on the same date. For
cash market growers this is easier to figure than cooperative members
estimating their accounts receivable (payments for previous year's crops).
I like to see a Current Ratio of 1.5 or better to be considered a green light, around 1.1 could be considered a yellow light, and less than 1 is a definite red light! Here are a couple of examples of Current Ratio calculations. Harry Harborcreek had an outstanding crop last fall, he calculates that he had on 12-31-06 $173,000 in current assets and $103,233 in current liabilities. 173,000/103233= 1.63:1 or 1.63 this is a comfortable range to be in and Harry should have no problem paying his bills including scheduled debt repayments.
Sammy Sheridan had a mediocre 2006 due to spring frost damage. His tax preparer recently presented Sammy with a net worth statement for 12-31-06. His current assets are $75,000 and current liabilities are $66,045. 75,000/66,045=1.14:1 I would characterize Sammy's position as tight unless his current assets are all cash! If his current assets consist of a lot of accounts receivable he MAY not actually get enough cash to pay his scheduled liabilities.
What happens to Sammy if things don't go exactly according to plan? Debt restructuring is a common technique or possibly fixed asset sales such as an old tractor or even a tract of land in order to bump up cash (liquidity). Astute managers should keep track of Current Ratio from year to year in order to notice any trends developing. This would be an excellent benchmark to put in a spreadsheet and graph for your farm!
| Grape Cultural Practices | Hans Walter-Peterson |
Nitrogen Costs Necessitate Efficiency
Not too long ago, the cost of nitrogen fertilizer for grape growers was pretty negligible compared to other things like spray materials, equipment parts, and labor. Over the past few years, however, prices for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have increased dramatically, to the point where growers need to reconsider just how much N they really need in their vineyards. The cost for urea, for example, is now around the $500/ton mark. Most urea is about 46% actual N (compared to about 33% for ammonium nitrate), so the cost for an application of 100 lbs N/acre would be:
100 lbs N/acre x 1 lb urea/.46 lbs N x 1 ton/2000 lbs x $500/ton urea = $54.35/acre
If you cut your N application back to 50 lbs/acre, as we recommend for growers who are on more gravelly soils, your costs would be half of that, or $27.18/acre. For a grower with 100 acres, that would mean a cost savings of around $2700. What could this money be used for instead? How about that second herbicide application under the trellis to keep the late summer weeds in check? Maybe you can put it aside to pay for a late season insecticide or fungicide application if the season warrants it. Or maybe you can use it to restore cash reserves or pay off debt that has been incurred to help get through the recent price slump.
All of a sudden that nitrogen cost doesn't seem too negligible anymore, does it?
| Weather Facts | Tim Weigle and Edith Byrne |
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| The weather proverb from the Farmer's Almanac this week is: |
| If the Sun should set in gray, the next day will be a rainy day. . . |
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UPCOMING EVENTS: |
| Andy Muza | Extension Agent, Erie County, PA Cooperative Extension | (814) 825-0900 |
| Barry Shaffer | Area Extension Farm Business Management Educator | (716) 679-3185 |
| Hans Walter-Peterson | Area Extension Grape Cultural Practices Educator | (716) 672-2191 |
| Tim Weigle | Sr. Area Extension Educator, Grape IPM | (716) 672-6830 |
| For
any questions or comments on the format of this update please contact Tim Weigle at: timweigl@netsync.net |
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The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Website is maintained by the NYS Grape IPM Program |
| 412 E. Main Street, Fredonia, N.Y. 14063 | Telephone: 716-672-5296 | E-mail: Webmaster |