i6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 18, 1973
2 Solanco
(Continued From Page 1)
Vermont. To finance the pur
chase of the cows and additional
machinery and equipment
needed to operate his own farm,
Aaron went to the Production
Credit Association which loaned
him the necessary money. To
keep his investment in
machinery low, Aaron continues
to share machinery and farm
work with his father who lives
nearby.
According to Charles Lebo,
Assistant State Supervisor of the
Pennsylvania Department of
Education, Aaron is well on his
way to becoming firmly
established in farming. After a
recent visit to the Aaron farm
Lebo reported that the young
farmer has established an above
average Jersey herd and “is
continuing to imporve all facets
of his dairy management
program.”
In addition to bis active role in
the FFA Aaron has been active in
other community organizations
including the Jersey Cattle Club,
the Solanoo Young Farmer Club,
the Youth Committee for the
County Fair and the
Presbyterian Church. Last year
he was nominated by the local
Jay-Cees for the Outstanding
Young Farmer award.
As for the future Aaron says, “I
look forward to farm ownership,
either buying my own place, or
taking my father’s place when he
wishes to retire.”
Dale Bollinger is also a dairy
farmer, and has been running the
family farm since his senior year
in high school. It was then that he
bought the cows and equipment
and rented the land from his
father, Hiram Bollinger, Jr.
Bollinger and his wife, Cynthia,
say they’re both committed to
farming in Lancaster County.
Asked if he’d consider moving to
Canada, ’South America or even
Centre County for more land at a
lower price, young Bollinger
replied, ‘‘l’ve thought about
moving out of the County, but I
think I’ve got better ground here,
the markets are close, and I know
how to farm here. I may move to
a different part of the county to
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get more land, but I want to stay
in the area.”
Getting more land is' one of
Bollinger’s primary concerns for
his farming future. He farms a
total of about 70 acres, some of
which he rents from neighbors
and the nearby Tanglewood Golf
Course. “I’m glad I can rent the
land,” he said, “but it’s nothing I
can count on. The golf course, for
example, could decide _to build
houses on the land I’m using for
corn. And I need that com.”
To build a viable one-man
enterprise, Bollinger figures he
should have about 100 tillable
acres and 50 cows. Presently,
he’s milking 28 head of Holsteins,
about 20 of which are registered.
His herd average this year is
running about 12,500 pounds of
milk and 3.8 percent fat. This is
down somewhat from last year’s
average of 13,000 pounds.
“The price of protein feed
really hurt us this year. Changing
formulas put the cows off their
feed for awhile, and that brought
production down,’’ Bollinger
commented.
The young dairyman is
shooting for a herd average of
15,000 pounds and 900 pounds of '
fat. He hopes to upgrade his herd
by breeding his best cows to good
bulls and raising his own
replacements. “It’s going to take
a few years to get to where I want
to go,” he said wifha smile. Right
now there are 10 replacements on
the farm in addition to the
milking cows, and a few bulls
being grown out for beef.
One of the first things Bollinger
did after taking over the farm
was to install contour strips. He
said he saw a dramatic reduction
in sedimentation after the strips
were in. About 42 acres are
planted to corn, with the strips in
alfalfa. Bollinger also has nine
acres of wheat this year, which ,
he said, have already been sold.
As much of the corn as he can,
Bollinger cuts for silage. The rest
is picked for grain.
Bollinger said his FFA and vo
ag training have been definite
assets in the pursuit of his far
ming career. In high school, he
was active in FFA activities, and
held several offices. He was
named a Keystone Farmer in
1970, and also that year was on
the state dairy judging team that
competed at the Virginia State
' Thomas W. Aaron has been
named to receive the 1973
Eastern Region Star
American Farmer Award. He
will pick' up his award in
October at the National FFA
Convention in Kansas City.
Fair. Bollinger is also a member
of the Holstein Association, is
secretary of the Solanco Young
Farmers and Is a member of the
Pennsylvania Farmers
Association. ?
Mrs. Bollinger, Cincy, is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G.
Daniel Baughman of
Georgetown. Both her parents
are teachers, but they also own
the Nickel Mines swimming pool
where Cindy works in the sum
mer. She teaches swimming and
also serves as a life guard.
. Although she grew up in a town,
Cindy said she prefers farm life.
CALEB M. WENGER, INC.
R. D. 1 DRL'MORE CENTER, QUARRYVILLE, PA. PHONE 548-2116