Profit comes in pounds for cattle feeders

The difference between profit and loss for a cattle farmer can be measured in pounds.

And that leads to uncertainties for the future of farming and coming generations of farmers.

More than 170 people gathered at Lancaster Farm & Home Center Tuesday afternoon for the annual Cattle Feeder's Day, sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, to discuss issues surrounding the production of cattle and ways to find more economic advantages.

Gary Smith, president of Chester County Economic Development Council, spoke about the next generation of farmers, saying if trends aren't changed there will be a shortage of farmers to tend the fields and livestock.

"Where's the youth that's coming back in to take over our family farms?" Smith asked.

Only one of 12 school districts in Chester County has an FFA program anymore, Smith said, as the farmland is gobbled up by the expansion of the Philadelphia suburbs.

Smith said farming communities need to experiment to find ways to make farms more profitable and more appealing to youth.

He suggested that farmers start to look at growing specialty crops to sell in farm markets. Smith said there has been 79 percent growth in the number of farmers markets in the last 14 years.