The Gould family, owners of a Genesee County dairy farm, has used the farm business summary and analysis abilities of Cornell University Cooperative Extension’s Dairy Farm Business Summary (DFBS) Program for 32 years. Participation dates back to 1976 when John returned to the dairy after college and joined his father, Mike, as a partner in the business.

John’s parents, Mike and Rose, established what is now Har-Go¬¬ Farms LLC in April 1956 with 25 cows and 160 acres. Today, John and Sue Gould and their children, with help from John’s parents, operate the 175-cow dairy and its 625 acres. This fall, Har-Go Farms will begin shipping certified organic milk.

The Goulds began studying certified organic production as a possible change to their business months before making the final decision in the winter of 2006. The Goulds’ decision-making process employed a management approach that considers where a business is, where owners want it to be and how they will get the business to that point.

The Goulds believe production of certified organic milk will allow them to achieve their objectives: “sustainability for their business and opportunities for those who want to be involved -- both family members and non-family employees.”

Recently, John and Sue discussed with Ag Focus the important role the DFBS Program plays in managing their dairy business, planning for the future and making decisions. “If you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it” best describes the Goulds’ reasons for participating in the DFBS Program. It’s valuable as a “measurement tool that helps in efforts to determine direction,” John said.

By measuring results over time through the DFBS Program, the Goulds are able to see “where the business has been, where it’s at, where we would it like to be, and if it’s getting to where we want it to be,” he said. The program plays an important role in evaluating “our strategies for improvement by monitoring them for effectiveness.”

The Goulds’ use of the DFBS Program as a tool to measure financial and other business results is an excellent example of a management tool in action. John described how results generated from DFBS and analysis provide the basis for “generating numbers to project results that would occur if we made changes to the business.”

The DFBS is a tool to identify, evaluate and monitor business changes. Specifically the DFBS was valuable to the Goulds in their decisions to:
1. Switch from conventional to certified organic milk production.
2. Raise all their replacements on their dairy.
3. Make, or not make, a variety of capital investments in farm assets.

Time and effort are needed to complete a DFBS, John and Sue acknowledge. Assistance from Cornell University Cooperative Extension and excellent record keeping, especially by Sue and Rose, mean the family can spend two to three hours to complete the check-in form, to enter on-line data and for diagnostics, specifically accuracy check and resolution.
Over and above basic record keeping, the Goulds spend time keeping inventory and tracking milk checks for components and premiums.

The DFBS will continue to be an important tool to help manage Har-Go Farms as it fully implements the family’s decision to produce certified organic milk. “We will continue to use the DFBS to analyze past performance improvement due to changes in the business,” said John.

John Hanchar is the farm business management educator for the Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Team. To learn more about the Dairy Farm Business Summary and Analysis Program, contact John at the Livingston County office: 585-658-3250. Ext. 112. Email: jjh6@cornell.edu
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