VOL 18 No. 20
Bowman’s Boycott Insuranhe .»«
Retailing Bull Beef
For Surer Profits
One man’s two-fold answer to
the uncertainties of the livestock
market has been to raise choice
quality bull beef and retail sides
and quarters to a growing list of
repeat customers.
Clyde Bowman, Myers town R 2,
has been doing just that for the
past eight years. He figures he’s
giving his customers a better buy
than they can get at the super
market, while at the same time
setting his own price at a level
that guarantees a profit.
“Usually, I figure that I’ll get
an extra $3O a head by retailing
my animals instead of taking
them to the auction. Lately,
though, the auction prices have
been up there pretty well, and I’d
probably make out just as well by
running everything through the
Co. Calf Brings 9 !200 at Auction
Eleven Lancaster County
Holstein calves went under the
auctioneers gavel, for an average
sale figure of $766, at last
Saturday’s state Holstein Calf
Sale in the Harrisburg Farm
Show Arena. Dale Peifer’s $l2OO
calf was the third highesst for the
state. Topping the sale at $1975
was a consignment from the
Calvin Will farm in Berlin, Pa.
Other consignors of animals
selling for $lOOO or over were:
Sunny Craft Farm, Clarence
Stauffer, Ephrata; Bare
Brithers, Lebanon; Gor-Wood D
Acres, Gordon Wood, Mansfield;
James L. Howes, Newtown;
Harris D. Metzger, Cogan
Station; Byron E. Over, Roaring
Spring; Dalq W. Peifer, Lan
This Lancaster County calf sold for
$l2OO at the recent Pennsylvania Holstein
Association State Calf sale in the
Harrisburg Farm Show Building. The calf
was consigned to the sale by Dale Peifer,
auctions. My customers, though,
'old ones and new ones, have been
giving me more orders this year
Sian ever before, and I’ve got to
keep them happy.” ’
Bowman’s customers are
presently paying 88-cents a
pound, hanging weight, for a side
or quarter of lean, bull beef. This
88-cent figure includes custom
butchering, which is not done by
Bowman, and a weight loss of
maybe 50 pounds for bone and
tallow. Most customers pay an
additional charge for wrapping
and freezing, and end up with
about 250 pounds of choice beef
for which they’ve paid $l.lO a
pound. This means they’ve paid
$l.lO for hamburger and chuck as
well as steak and prime rib.
When asked if his customers
*sT V—' v -
caster; C.R. & Vema Rakestraw;
Montorsville; Clair M. Reiman,
Berlin; and Wilmer L. Hostetter,
Oxford.
Other local consignors were
Dale Heistand, Ernest Sauder,
Melvin Beiler, Donaly Eby,
Richard Hershey, David King,
John Metzler, Richard Landis
and Thomas Lapp.
State-wide, the sale set new
records, with 161 consignments
averaging $615.21.
Buyers from California,
Quebec, Virginia, Ohio, Con
necticut, Indiana, New York,
I6wa and Missouri purchasedllO
of the 161 consignments, the
remaining 51 going to Penn
sylvania buyers. The 1972 sale of
159 calves sold for an average of
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 7,1973
considered this a fair deal,
Bowman replied, “I can only say
that they keep coming back, and I
keep getting more and more
customers every year. And I get
very few complaints about the
quality of the meat.”
Mostly, Bowman’s customers
come to him. He relies on word of
mouth advertising and repeat
business, and it’s proved to bea
workable formula. At the end of
the year, he does send an im
printed calendar to all the people
who’ve bought from him during
the year, and he hands out im
printed pens, but that is the ex
tent of his advertising budget.
Growing bulls and slaughtering
them while they still have their
baby teeth, is an important
(Continued On Page 26)
$561.48 with the top of $1375. The
Somerset County Holstein Club
repeated as the winner of the
award for dubs with the highest
averaging consignment.
The sale was part of the
twentieth annual Pennsylvania
State,Holstein Show, where 247
head were shown before judge
Richard., Keene of Kenneland
Farms, Gilbertsville, New York.
Judge Keene selected H&R
Admiral Hurrah, a seven year old
cow owned by Robert Gitt, Penn
Gate Farms, Littlestown, Pa., as
the Grand Champion of the show.
The Reserve Grand Champion
was shown by Donald V. Seipt,
Keystone Farm, Easton, Pa
Championßull honors went to a
(Continued on Page 18)
far right Others in the photo are Nathan
Stoltzfus, Elverson, selector ; Ray Johnson,
Ft. Wayne, Ind., buyer: J. Eby Hershey,
breeder.
Clyde Bowman, Myerstown RD2, has been selling his bulls
directly to consumers for the past eight years. His formula
lor beef farming has helped insulate him from some of the
livestock producer's perrenial problems.
Pa. Farmland - An
Endangered Species
ny
Donald A. Harter, PhD
Resource Development Agent
Penn State
(Editor’s Note: In this article,
Dr. Harter discusses some of the
possible methods for saving
farmland throughout the state,
along with reasons for doing so.
A trip by air across the State on
a clear day usually provides an
unparalleled opportunity to view
the abundance of Pennsylvania’s
natural and scenic resources
Usually some of the passengers
will comment on how much open
land there is, with someone
inevitably asking “What’s all the
F&H Scholarship
Forms Due May 1
One objective of the Lancaster
County Farm and Home Foun
dation is to encourage higher'
education for Lancaster County’s
young people. ,
In this respect the Foun
foundation has announced a
number
agriculture and home economics.
Depending upon the financial
need and ability of applicants, a
maximum of ten scholarships
may be awarded.
Each scholarship award will be
for $4OO and may be used to help
defray tuition, fees, or room and
board expenses at any accredited
college or university, which of
fers a course of study in
$2.00 Per Year
concern about crowded living
space? Look at all that un
developed land and all of those
farms!”
This kind of informal survey,
however, lends credibility to the
trite phrase about distance
lending enchantment. While it is
true that most of the State
remains in forested and open
space uses, fewer than 8 million
acres are in farmland - a
majority of which is marginal for
agricultural production Only 2.5
million acres can truly be con
sidered top-grade farmland.
Few of us think of farmland as
Continued on Page 12)
agriculture and-or home
economics.
Scholarship funds come
through earnings from an
irrevocable trust fund set up by
the late Elmer L. Esbenshade,
one of the founders of the Lan
caster County Farm and Home
Foundation. The income from
this trust fund will be offered
(Continued On Page 26)
Farm Calendar
Monday, April 9
7:30 p.m. Elm- Penryn 4-H
club meeting, Penryn Fire Hall.
Fulton Grange Youth Night.
(Continued on Page 18)