Vol. 19 No. 45
One of the more unusual sights at
the Solanco Fair was this picnic table
which became a resting place for
youngsters walking their steers.
Will Receive FFA Degree
“As long as there is enough
land, I want to farm.” Those
are the words of a young
Manheim farmer who will
soon be receiving FFA’s
distinguished American
Farmer Degree.
Dale Nolt and his wife
Sandy reside at RDI,
Manheim and have been in a
farming partnership with his
father, Martin Nolt, since he
graduated from Manheim
Central High School in 1971.
Since that time he has been
raising market hogs, steers
and chickens on a 100 acre
farm south of Manheim.
Dale explained the
operation more fully stating,
“we raise approximately
1000 market hogs a year and
have 50 sows farrowing twice
a year.”
“We also raise market
steers and grow most of the
Dale Nolt has been in partnership with his father
since 1971 raising steers, market hogs and chickens.
Solanco vo-ag teacher: Arba Henry,
left, is pictured talking to one of his
students as the show-bound steer
tugs on his halter.
Dale Nolt
com needed to fatten them
out.”
The Nolts also raise laying
chickens along with their
other enterprises.
While in high school, Nolt
was active in the Manheim
FFA serving as president in
his senior year and secretary
in his junior. He also served
on many committees in
cluding the recreation and
scholarship groups.
Although Dale did not
show his animals he did win
numerous prizes for his
project books at local and
state levels.
Nolt applied for the
American Farming Degree
under the agricultural
production phase of the
program. The award is also
based on his leadership
abilities and activities in
FFA. Dale will be receiving
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 21, 1974
the award on October 17th
during the FFA National
Convention in Kansas City.
When asked-what being in
FFA meant to him, Dale
explained that FFA held a lot
[Continued On Pace 22|
E-TownFair
Draws Large
Number of
Exhibitors
Wednesday evening
marked the opening of the
Elizabethtown Marketplace
Fair a new feature for the
people of that area since
their farm fair halted
several years ago.
While the Marketplace fair
did not have livestock
competition as will its county
counterparts, the response in
the produce and
homemaking divisions were
overwhelming.
The several tents which
had been set up to house the
exhibits were overflowing
with pumpkins, tomatoes,
peppers and many other
garden products along with
knitted items, sewing
projects and canned goods.
Arnold Lueck, Associate
County Agent for Lancaster
served as judge for the
produce while Dons
Thomas, County Home
Economist judged the
homemaking divisions.
The response in the gar
dening and homemakings
divisions were so over
whelming that the judging
had to be continued the
following day. Results of the
show were not available at
press time and will be
reported next week
New Attendance
Marks at Solanco
The 25th annual Southern
Lancaster County Com
munity Fair was officially
opened on Wednesday
evening with an address by
Pennsylvania Secretary of
Agriculture, James A.
McHale. People had been
coming to the fair since early
in the morning, though, to
enter exhibits, set up stands
and just to look around.
Attendance kept building
throughout the day, and by
nightfall, an estimated 10,000
people had come to the
biggest Solanco Fair ever.
Thursday’s attendance also
soared to new highs.
Kenneth Rutt, Quarryville
RD2, is general manager of
this year’s fair, and he told
Lancaster Farming that the
fair has really grown,
especially in the past three
years.
“The number of exhibits
has been increasing at the
rate of 40 percent a year,” he
said. “This year we had 158
entries in the dairy division.
Just a few years ago, we
just had 50 ot 60 entries.”
As proof of the dairy
division’s growth, Rutt
pointed to the longest tent
ever erected by the York
Awning Company, a 320-foot
long sea of canvas. Even that
proved to be too small for all
the dairy entries. Some of
the smaller animals were
forced to share stalls, and
some last-minute entries
were even turned away.
The Solanco experience
has been unlike that of some
other community fairs in
Lancaster County, and we
asked Rutt why they’re
succeeding where others
have failed. “We have a lot
of people here who are
willing to pitch in and help
get the job done,” he said.
“They keep talking about a
county fair, but I think we
can accomplish a lot more
with local fairs that are well
supported by their com
munities. I’d hate to give up
what we’ve got here for a
county fair.” "
In This Issue
Farm Calendar 10
Markets 2-4
Sale Register 56
Farmers Almanac 6
Classified Ads 24
Editorials 10
Homestead Notes 34
Home on the Range 39
Organic Living 41
Farm Women Calendar 37
Lancaster Co. DHIA 12
Chester Co DHIA 18
Jr Cooking Edition 40
Rutt pointed to a plot of
cleared land just off the
Quarryville Community
Park. “We just bought that
land - signed the papers on
Monday night - and we’ll
probably put. some kind of
building on it,” Rutt said.
“We’re growing, and we’re
going to contuse to grow
Bob Peifer, Kirkwood Rl, was the
top FFA tractor driver on Thursday at
the Solanco Fair. Tops in the adult
division was Ken Rutt, who also
serves as the fair’s genera! manager.
The Future of
James McHale
* by Dick Wanner
Pennsylvania Secretary of
Agriculture James A
McHale told Lancaster
Farming on Wednesday
night that neither he nor any
other cabinet officer could
say with certainty what he or
she would be doing after the
elections in November. “If
Governor Shapp is reelected,
and if he asks me to stay on
as Secretary of Agriculture,
that’s what I’ll do,” McHale
said. “I’m not going to ask
the boss to let me go, and I’m
not going to ask him to keep
me on My future is up to
him, and I’m going to do
whatever he wants me to
do ”
The secretary’s statement
came on the heels of rumors
$2.00 Per Year
because we have a lot o
interest in our fair.”
Results follow from th«
various farm events con
ducted Wednesday am
Thursday.
DAIRY SHOW
Ayrshire
Warren Schmuck showei
(Continued on Page 14|
that he had decided to
stepdown from his post he’s
held for the past four years.
McHale is a dirt farmer - a
rarity in top agricultural
posts - an NFU organizer.
His administration has been
the most rambunctious in
recent memory, and his
tactics have won him no
small measure of criticism.
His critics have not gone
entirely unanswered,
however.
“The thing I like best
about Jim McHale,” we
were told recently by one of
the state’s top farm leaders,
“is that he doesn’t feel he has
to clear his every action with
Penn State. I think the
university was beginning to
j Continued On Page 17|