Family farms find ways to save on fuel, fertilizer

As oil prices seem to hit new records just about every day, the increases affect the way everyone does business, including farms. But careful planning can help to keep profits reasonable, said local farmers.

"It's just been unbelievable," said Andrew Flinchbaugh, co-owner of Flinchbaugh's Orchard and Farm Market in Hellam Township, York County. "Historically, we haven't seen this amount of increase before."

Fertilizer prices have tripled, and the company's line of credit has had to triple to keep up with the increased prices of its raw materials, such as fertilizer and fuel.

But while those costs have increased, so have prices for its products, allowing profit margins to stay about the same, Flinchbaugh said.

Flinchbaugh has worked in the family business since he was a boy, and he became part-owner two years ago with his brother and sister after completing college.

In addition to the orchard and farm market, Flinchbaugh's grows grains and processes hogs. Its payroll includes 10 to 12 people, most of them seasonal, plus six family members, Flinchbaugh said.

The growing trend toward buying local helps his market keep its profits going, Flinchbaugh said. The market opened in 2006 and includes 8,000 square feet of retail space.

"We've been fortunate in that there is a push to buy locally," Flinchbaugh said. "As a new store we expected to see growth, but this has really helped."

Getting through the tough times is a matter of good business planning, he said.

"We've always tried to lock in prices in advance for (food and fuel)," he said. "And the diversity of our products helps in the up and down times, too."

Upgrading systems and adding more mechanization helps to reduce labor costs as well, Flinchbaugh said.

Using resources wisely is something the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau has always encouraged among its members, said Mark O'Neill, media-relations director.

"Farmers are about the most efficient people there are out there," he said. "But they have no control over the final food prices."

The higher cost of processing and transporting food has contributed most to the higher prices consumers see, he said.

The Mains Farm in Newville, Cumberland County, has been through many economic ups and downs in its 160-year history, Richard Mains said. He has owned the farm since 1956 and is in the process of handing it down to his four adult children.

His family grows wheat, alfalfa, corn and soybeans on 1,000 acres. The extended Mains family, including Richard's cousins and siblings, farms about 3,500 total acres between Carlisle and Shippensburg and also raises beef cattle, dairy cows and hogs, he said.

"Our costs have doubled from two or three years ago," Mains said. "But grain prices are going up, too. We're profitable now, but I worry about the future."

Mains buys chicken manure from a nearby farm as a less expensive alternative to trucking in traditional fertilizers in which natural gas is a key component, he said.

"A few years ago, they were practically giving (chicken manure) away," he said. "But there's more demand now as people catch on. I think we'll see more sharing of manure in the future."

Brubaker Farms in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, has found a creative way to combat increasing electric prices: it creates electricity with its new anaerobic manure digester.

The digester breaks down manure collected from its 750 cows. Then the methane from the process is harnessed and fed into an engine that creates electricity.

The farm uses about 5 percent of the energy created and sells the rest back to the grid, Luke Brubaker said. He owns the farm along with his two sons, Michael and Tony.

"We're actually generating enough energy for 150 to 200 homes on the grid," Brubaker said.

It takes about four cows to generate electricity for one home for a year, he said.

Brubaker Farms used state and federal grants and low-interest loans to pay for the digester, which cost more than $1 million to install.

Another advantage to the digester is that is separates the solids, which can then be used for cow bedding, Brubaker said. Excess bedding is sold to other farms for additional income, he said.

Brubaker has been a full-time farmer for 30 years on a family farm that was established in 1929. He has seen many ups and downs over those years, he said.

"Historically, this is just another level of costs," he said. "When fuel was just a dollar a gallon, we didn't get as much for our product. Our profit margins haven't really changed. We're just here to give it our best."