Vol. 17 No. 32
Damaging, Not Crippling
Farmers Digging Out;
Some Help Available
Lancaster County farmers
have been hurt by the recent
floods and rains, and some have
been hurt badly. According to
county agent Max Smith,
however, the County as a whole
will not suffer a staggering
agricultural loss.
Smith said crop and erosion
losses could run into the millions.
Many terraces and some fences
would have to be rebuilt. Some
barn and equipment damage was
reported, but it doesn’t appear to
be as extensive as it could have
been.
Virtually no livestock was
reported lost, a fact which some
feel is almost miraculous.
This year’s barley crop ap
pears to be the most heavily
damaged of all. Some growers
Erosion, especially on farms without conservation plans, was an unfortunate
consequence of the storms torrential rains.
Local Members Win 67 FFAWeek Medals
Local supplies of gold, silver
and bronze medals soared as
FFA members came home from
FFA Week, held at Penn State
this past Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday. A total of 67 medals
and 15 honorable mentions were
garnered by the local youngsters.
Mike Martin from the New
Holland Chapter was named
president of the state FFA, and
Joe Lefever, Manheim, was also
named as a state officer.
Listed below are the contests,
number of contestants for each,
and local winners with their
medals and standings. Some of
the prize winners will be taking
part in national or regional area
contests to be held later in the
year.
Dairy, 264 Contestants Gold
Medals: Carl Yoder, Owen J.
Roberts, second; Marlin Smoker,
Cloister Chapter, Ephrata r sixth;
Wayne Kreider, Solanco, 10th;
Stanley Guest, OJR, 11th;
Michael Buckwalter, Oxford,
13th; David Bitler, Solanco, 17th.
Silver Medals: Richard Hess,
Lampeter-Strasburg; Frank
Mast, OJR; Fred Lefever,
Solanco; Melvin Weiler, Cloister.
feel they’ll lose their entire crop,
others feel they might save half
of it.
Smith feels both the corn and
the wheat will come up. Some
tobacco was flooded, but there is
time to replant.
Disaster Comm. Meets
Lancaster County’s
Agricultural Disaster Committee
met Thursday morning for the
first time in about ten years. The
meeting was called to discuss
flood and ram damage, and to
determind what relief fund, if
any, would be available to
Lancaster County farmers.
The last time the committee
met was during the drought of the
early 1960’5.
Briefly, the committee decided
to:
Bronze Medals: Clair
Hostetter, Lampeter-Strasburg;
Donald Miller, Pequea Valley;
Ray Martin, New Holland;
Wayne Stanton, Oxford;
Honorable Mention: Paul Hor
ning, Cloister; Dennis Yoder,
Octorara.
Dairy Teams Owen J.
Roberts, first; Solanco, second;
Cloister Chapter, seventh, and
Oxford, ninth.
Poultry, 46 Contestants
Gold: Charles Kauffman, Penn
Manor, first place; Rick Gen
semer, Cloister, third; Robert
Buckwalter, Penn Manor, fifth;
Kevin Rohrer, Manheim, sixth;
Brian Weber, ninth; Mike
Charles, Penn Manor, 10th; Roy
Hoover, Grassland Chapter, New
Holland, 13th.
In This Issue
Classified Ads 28 thru 31
Editorial Page 10
4-H News 17
Market Section 2,3,4
Sale Register 26
What’s New 9
Women’s News 20,22,23
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 1,1972
1. Request authorization to
harvest or graze set aside areas.
2. Make an appeal to all far
mers to report damage to
waterways, terraces and other
conservation practices.
3. Make a rough estimate of
crop damage m the County.
4. Determine the extent of all
damages and the relief available.
Serving on the committee are
Fred G. Seldomridge, chairman
of the Lancaster County ASC
Committee; M.M. Smith, County
Agricultural Extension Agent;
Roy H. Giesmann, County FHA
Supervisor, and Dorothy Y. Neel,
County Executive Director,
ASCS.
Also attending the meeting in
an advisory capacity were John
(Continued On Page 6)
Silver: John Harmsh, Lam
peter-Strasburg; Bronze: Dave
iGerhert, Solanco.
Dairy Products, 41 Contestants
Gold: Barry Wissler, Cloister,
third; Silver: Leonard Martin,
Cloister, sixth.
Bronze: Donald Unger,
Solanco, seventh; Joanne
(Continued on Page 6)
Form Calendar
Tuesday, July 4
Independence Day!
1 p.m. Steam Whistle Blow and
Garden Tractor Pulling
Contest, Rough and Tumble
Historical Association,
Kinzers.
Wednesday, July 5
7:30 p.m. Lancaster County
Soil and Water Conservation
District meeting, Farm and
Home Center.
Red Rose 4-H Baby Beef and
Lamb Club, Farm and Home
Center.
Saturday, July 8
1 - 5 p.m. Second Annual Wheat
Harvest, Schaefferstown.
Barley was one of the crops hit worst by the rains of Agnes.
Some farms may lose the entire crop.
Fire Destroys Root’s
Fire completely destroyed 80
stands at Root’s Country Market
and Auction on Wednesday of this
week. The market, between
Manheim and East Petersburg,
has been a favorite shopping of
Lancaster County farmers for the
past 47 years. For some, it’s also
been an outlet for farm products.
Some buildings were saved by
the 11 fire companies which
responded to the call. But the
main complex was leveled.
Firemen were hampered by a
lack of water. There are no
Flames raced uncontrollably through the main building at
Root’s Country Market and Auction.
Firemen attempted to fight the blaze from above, but
were hampered by a lack of water.
$2.00 Per Year
hydrants m the vicinity of the
blaze, and only one small pond.
The closest source of water was
the little Conestoga Creek, about
a mile-and-a-half away.
Abram Root, owner of the
auction, was unable to determine
the exact amount of the damage.
He said the Auction will be open
for business as usual on Tuesday,
July 4, if the weather is
favorable. Tables will be set up
outside to accomodate stan
dholders and customers.