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Vol. 18 No. 39
I FARM TRENDS I
A summary of market
and commodity news
tor the past week
Livestock Brices - Is the Bubble Breaking?
Market news out of the Midwest as well as locally shows a
definite slowing down in the advances of prices paid to
farmers. The bubble may not have burst, but it’s not getting
any bigger. Hog prices on Midwestern markets were down
$3-$4 from the previous week, with highs at week’s end of
$54 to $55 a hundredweight. Wednesday's local hog sales
were off about $3.50 from the week before, but porkers were
still bringing a healthy $5B to $59.
Commodity Markets Down
Profit taking and consumer resistance to high food prices
gave the ag commodities markets a quick one-two punch this
week. Off slightly during the week were quotations on iced
brqilers, eggs, frozen pork bellies, hogs and cattle futures.
Most observers felt that the current market weakness does
not portend a plummet in prices to match the tremendous
increases of recent months. They do feel, though, that in
many instances, markets have reached the top and may be
easing back somewhat in the next few weeks.
Local Steers Hit Another Record
This week a load of steers brought $65.75 a hun
dredweight at Vintage, but some observers felt this price
was inflated by light volume. Fewer than 300 fat steers
passed over the scales on Tuesday. While many of the big
buyers were absent, enough of the smaller buyers were
there and wanted the animals badly enough to run the prices
up. Lancaster Packing Co., one of the buyers that wasn’t
there, reported this week that it had shut its doors and sent
employees home until after the celling on beef prices is lifted.
Charles Golin, company president, said his 35 employees will
be back tawork in September. Chris Kunzler, president of
Kunzler & Co., has managed to shift workers around to other
jobs while the beef freeze is in force. He said his company is
out of the beef business, too, until the freeze is off.
Lancaster County Week in Kansas City?
Thomas Aaron and Dale Bollinger journey to Kansas City,
Mo., in October to pick up their American Farmer Degrees
As we were going to press, word of another award came in,
this one to Dr. Robert Herr, head of the vo-ag department at
Garden Spot High School in New Holland. Herr will be get
ting an Honorary American Farmer Degree. Congrats to all!
Guernsey, Holstein
Groups Hold Meets
Two Lancaster County dairy
breed groups held their annual
field days this week. On Tuesday,
the Guernsey Field Day was held
at Romella Farms, Strasburg
RDl,' and on Thursday the
Holstein Field Day was on the
Ernest J. Sauder farm, 924 Silver
Spring Rd., Lancaster.
At the Guernsey event, a
judging contest in the morning
was won by David Harnish, a
retired dairy farmer who com
piled more points than anyone
else entered in the contest. His
prize was a model Guernsey cow.
Other winners in the men’s
division were second, Gilbert,
Linde, Oxford, and third, Robert
McSparren, Peach Bottom RD2.
by Dick Wanner
Top three winners in the
women’s division, in order, were
Joyce Wagner, Quarryville,
Cheryl Balmer, Lititz and Louise
Witmer, Willow Street.
!n the youth division, the top
three winners were Susan Wit
mer, Willow Street, Jeffery
Smith and Mildred Linde, Ox
ford.
Brian Shimp, Strasburg, won
the calf drawing and received a
Guernsey calf from the farm’s
owners, Robert, Larry and
Melvin Brenneman. The calf was
awarded with the understanding
that it will be shown.
The daylong festivities were
highlighted by a speech on the
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 18, 1973
Aaron Named Regional Star Farmer. . .
Farmer Degrees
In October, two young Lan
caster Countians, Dale Bollinger
and Thomas Aaron, will receive
American Farmer degrees at the
yearly National FFA Convention
in Kansas City, Mo. And one of
them, Thomas W. Aaron, will be
recognized as the Star American
Farmer for the Eastern Region.
Talent, Queens
Contests Climax
Achievement Day
Day-long activities Thursday
climaxed a busy year of activities
for most of the Lancaster County
4-H clubs as members, leaders,
family and friends met at the
Farm and Home Center for 4-H
Achievement Day.
Two major events, a talent
contest and crowning of a junior
and senior 4-H Queen, were on
tap for the evening program
following a busy day of judging.
Monetary prizes were awarded
top category winners and talent
contest winners.
Sandy Arnold, 16-year-old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee
Arnold, 1038 Church Street,
Landisville, took the top prize in
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In This Issue. . .
Markets 2-4
Sale Register 40
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 44
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 26
Berks Co. Dairy
Princess Results 13
Nut Growers Agenda 29
DHIA Report 18
Recipe Exchange 31
Hog Round-up Results 23
4-H Calendar 35
State 4-H Days 23-25
Lebanon Co. Fair 5
Farm Women Calendar 33
Farm Calendar
Saturday, August 18
6 p.m. - Lebanon Valley Poultry
Queen Contest, Boscov’s.
7 p.m. - Pomona Grange Picnic,
Holtwood Athletic Park.
Pennsylvania Certified Farm
Markets Association Week,
August 18-26.
National Hay Association Con
vention, Hilton Inn, Troy,
Mich., Aug. 18-21.
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2 Solanco Grads
To Get American
Only four Star American Far
mers are named each year and
one of them will also be named
Star Farmer of America at
Kansas City.
Both Bollinger and Aaron are
1970 graduates of Solanco High
School. Aaron and his wife, Susan
own an 80-cow Jersey herd and
maintain a successful farming
operation on 145 tillable acres in
Drumore Township. Aaron is the
son of Mr. and Mrs. William J.
Aaron.
Aaron got his start in farming
when his father gave him a
Jersey calf for Christmas in 1961.
Since then he has built his herd
steadily. Aaron points with pride
to granddaughters of that first
heifer which are still in the herd
today.
On entering high school in 1966
one of the first things Thomas did
was to enroll in the vocational
agriculture program and join the
Solanco FFA Chapter where his
vocational agriculture instructor
and FFA advisor was William M.
Fredd. Aaron feels that the
training in vocational agriculture
helped improve his farm
management skills and taught
him the importance of good farm
records. In the FFA chapter he
served on several committees
Dale and Cindy Bollinger will be at the National FFA Con
vention in Kansas City this October where Dale will be
honored as one of only 11 Pennsylvania men to receive the
1973 American Farmer Degree.
$2.00 Per Year
and participated in local, county
and state judging contests. He
was on the parliamentary
procedure team and served as
Chapter Vice President. During
his senior year Aaron served as
Chaplain for the Red Rose
Lancaster County FFA.
Maintaining complete and
accurate records has always
been one of Aaron’s goals. In 1970
he received the Production Credit
Award for the most complete and
accurate record book in Penn
sylvania FFA. As a result of his
detailed records Aaron is able to
calculate his milk production at
over 8,000 pounds of milk per cow
and butterfat averages 495
pounds. Com yield for the young
farmer last year was 190 bushels
per acre and he harvested 4.4
tons of hay per acre.
In his first year after
graduation from high school
Aaron wentinto partnership with
his father who has 120 head of
Jerseys and farms 100 acres. But
he had a desire to start out on his
own and when he had an op
portunity to rent a farm near
home, Aaron jumped at the
chance. Aaron arranged with the
American Jersey Cattle Club to
purchase 50 head of cows from
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