Article: High price of fertilizer drives business change: A cattle farmer turned Lawn Doctor franchise owner recalls $200-a-head losses because of the dramatic rise in costs.

Byline: Adam Wilson

Apr. 12--Dennis C. Baldwin views the rising cost of fertilizer with relief, despite spending tens of thousands of dollars to open a commercial lawncare business. That may seem an odd sentiment for a businessman, who as a Berks County owner of a Lawn Doctor franchise, buys fertilizer by the 22-ton truckload. But Baldwin said the financial impact of a $150 perton increase in fertilizer costs would be far greater had he not changed careers 10 years ago after two financially uncertain decades of raising beef cattle in Robeson Township. "Those last few years, I had about 40 cattle and I was losing $200 on every single one I owned," ...

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