Thank You Post

I want to thank my friends the Conants at Riverside Farm in Richmond for letting me come to the farm and gather information for my math notebook. Since moving to Vermont I have always been curious about the in's and out's of their farm and I am so glad that I finally found a way indulge my curiosities.

I also need to give a HUGE thank you to my husband Tom for taking several hours out of his Sunday to explain all of the different math that is included in his job as a crop advisor. He was very patient and quite a natural at teaching!

Nutrient Management Planning

In today's environmentally conscious society farms are held to a high standard of environmental stewardship. Most states require dairy farms to meet these standards by following nutrient management plans. Nutrient management plans take into account all nutrient inputs (commercial fertilizer and grain) and outputs (manure, waste feed and animal mortality). The nutrient management plans purpose is to calculate and determine the amount of waste produced on the farm and then show that the farm has the land base to allocate those waste in an environmentally sound manner. The overall goal of the nutrient management plan is to limit the effect the farm has on the environment.

Soil Texture

There are many different types of soils across a single farm. Different soils have different characteristics that play a role in everyday decision making in terms of crop production. Most farms know what soil types they have in each field, but if they don't know the soil type they can determine it by taking a sample, putting it in a jar of water, shaking vigorously to mix up then estimating the percentage of each soil type as it settles to the bottom in layers. Using the soil texture triangle below the farmer can determine what type of soil they are working with.

Pest Management

A pest on a farm can be identified as weeds, insects, birds, bears, or anything that can negatively impact the crop. Farmers use economic thresholds to determine pest management strategies. If the pest is at a point where pest management costs equal a loss in income due to the damage from the pest they are at economic injury level. If pests are above economic injury level then it makes economic sense to invest in pest management. If pests are below economic injury level the farm will get no return on the pest management.

Pumpkins for Sale

In the fall at Riverside Farm they sell pumpkins and squash. Like sweet corn they have to base their prices around the cost of production. The pumpkins and squash are sold by the pound. They use a large scale to weigh the produce and determine the price of each item.

Sweet Corn Sales

In addition to growing corn for feed at Riverside Farm they also grow sweet corn to sell. Sweet corn is sold by the dozen/half dozen or per ear. The farm has to sell sweet corn at prices that are high enough to cover their costs of planting, growing and harvesting. During the 2007 season the prices were: $5.00/baker's dozen, $2.50/half dozen and $.35/ear.

Payroll

A farm is like any other business, they must keep track of employees hours and pay them accordingly. The farm's book keeper keeps track of the hours that are worked, writes the paychecks and balances the farm's checkbook every week.