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This 48,000-bushel grain bin is full to the County farm of Mark Hershey, owner
top with soybeans. It’s on the Lebanon operator of a feed processing business.—
Farmer in the Spotlight . . .
Mark Hershey
Farming, Feed
Mark Hershey, owner-operator
of an unconventional feed
business in Lebanon County, is
not so much in the business of
selling feeds, as he is in
processing raw materials for
clients interested in making then
own grain rations. Farmers have
come from as far as 100 miles
away to take advantage of the
unique service which Hershey
has been providing for 13 years.
Specifically, that service is to
process soybeans which the
farmer grows himself, and will
Hkico
PIPELINE MILKERS
DISCOUNTS OF
V „ *1,500.00
IfT* CALL COLLECT
t'&sJk 301-398-3451
FREE QUOTATION ON YOUR FARM
LOCALLY MANUFACTURED
OFFERING FACTORY SERVICE AND INSTALLATION
Dairymen l Having a problem in milking equipment 7
Not satisfied how it has been handled 7 We have a
lifetime of experience in professional milking equip
ment sales and design on farms from one milker unit to
104 milker units Why not give us a call today, it can
save you money.
KESCO PRODUCTS ARE MANUFACTURED BY:
DOUG JOHNSON IND., INC.
ELKTON. MD. 21921
CALL COLLECT 301-398-3451
Ll
mix in his own feed.
As far as is known, Hershey, an
independent operator, was the
first to process soybeans in
Pennsylvania. He is still one of
only several in the state. Hershey
cooks raw beans under 100
pounds of steam pressure for 15
minutes. By doing this, the oils of
the soybeans are left intact and
the resulting product rates high
in nutrients, palatability, and
digestibility. Raw soybeans are
said to have an offensive taste,
but the flaked, cooked beans taste
DIRECT SALE
Combines
Processing
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good enough to even become a
snack for the fanner in the barn.
Protein, fat, and TON per
centages for this feed ingredient
are 38 percent, 19 percent, and
87.6 percent respectively.
Wife ninety of his own
soybeans, Hershey can sell some
concentrates in fee conventional
way; and if demands are there,'
he buys additional quantities of
grain crops either locally or from
fee Midwest. At fee present time
a bushel of soybeans is costing
him $4.80. Processing fee beans
costs $lO per ton bulk and $ll per
ton bagged.
In terms of volume, the current
year has not been one of fee best
for Mark. So far this year he has
taken in around 60,000 bushels of
beans, compared to 125,000
bushels for all of 1971. This is not
to say, however, that business is
in a slump. “Labor”, says
Hershey,” will be the biggest
inhibiting factor in agriculture
for the next 10-15 years.”
Therefore he prefers not to be
involved wife problems in finding
more good help and maintaining
additional equipment. In addition
PUBLIC SALE
SAT. DEC. 15, 1973
SALE STARTS AT 10:30 AM.
INVENTORY REDUCTION
Hardware - Lawn & Garden Equipment
Small Appliances - Snow Blowers - Mini Bikes
FARMERSVILLE
EQUIPMENT, INC.
NEW STORE HOURS: Beginning, Nov. 1,1973
MONDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY 7:00 am to 6:00 pm
SATURDAY HOURS: 7:ooam to 4:30 pm
LOCATED in FARMERSVILLE
to the feed business itself, Mark
also farms a total of 190 acres/
half of which is in soybeans, and
he has approximately 10,000
ohiokens producing eggs that are
sold on either the wholesale or
retail level.
This country was in the depth of
the Depression when Hershey
was a young man, and that
background has much to do with
the man’s industriousness and
tolerance of hard work. In 1931 he
started an egg hatching project
for FFA, and it grew over the
years until he had as many as
70,000 chickens. Various
economic developments,
however, led to a decision to cut
down on the number of broilers
and layers, and switch, instead,
to the unique soybean operation.
Somewhat concerned about
Aerial Ladder Equipped
FARM PAINTING
We Spray it on and Brush It In!
FOR FREE ESTIMATES
CALL COLLECT 717-393-6530
/ OR WRITE
HENRY K. FISHER
2322 Old Phils. Pike"
Lancaster, Pa. 17602
present trends in U. s.
agriculture, Mark Hershey
displays stroiig sympathy for the
American farmer, who makes up
only 4 percent of our country’s
population, and yet has to
produce food for much of the rest
of the world, “Farmers are just
not getting a fair shake’’, he
comments. Mark does not agree
with U. S. trade-policies regar
ding agricultural products and is
not optimistic about the possible
struggle farmers may have to
face in order to survive the
economic pressures. “If we had
full employment/’ he suggests,
“so that more capable young men
would stay on the farm, we would
be better off. I can’t blame the
young people for leaving; far
mers just can’t compete with the
offers being made in town.”