50
—Uncattor Farming, Saturday, Nov. 8. 1975
Ji
A USDA inspector she protects the consumer
Protecting the consumer is Julie Houck’s job, and she
works with a great deal of dedication and enthusiasm.
Julie, who lives at Gap RDI, is a federal food inspector
for the United States Department of Agriculture and is
assigned to the Victor F. Weaver Poultry Plant in New
Holland.
In this era of the consumer, all food processing plants
have federal inspectors whose Job it is to be certain that
the products are processed according to very exact
federal standards. The whole purpose of the inspection
process is to assure the consumer a quality product.
JuUe puts it this way. “The main purpose of Inspectors
is to protect the consumer and make sure they get a
wholesome product out of healthy animals." As she talked
about her specific duties, she reiterated frequently that
the consumer is being assurred a quality product.
Being a federal food inspector is not so unusual in itself
but Julie is a senior inspector with eight men working
under her. She said supervising men offers no problem
because “they respect you if you know your work." Julie
herself is supervised by a veterinarian, a man.
Julie’s workday often begins as early as 5:15 a.m. or
5:30 a.m. She is not required to be there until later, but she
says she often goes in earlier “in order to do the job right.
I don’t like to be rushed.” She admits that she works hard,
but says, “Dedication is 50 percent of the job.”
There are many specific jobs which she and the other
inspectors perform regularly, ranging from doing an
antemoretem, which means observing the live birds in
coops, to checking samples of carcasses for defects.
The quality assured product which is produced at
Victor F. Weaver’s for instance must comply with certain
federal regulations. They have been licensed to meet
certain standards and proceduers, Julie explains, and the
inspectors simply make sure this is what actually hap
pens.
It is difficult for an outsider to comprehend the exact
work of an inspector, but some specific instances point out
the types of things they do in the course of a day. For in-
Julie checks breasts at the salvage table as part
of her inspection work.
Court
A number of young people from all over the
nation will be heading toward the center of the
country this week to participate in the National
FFA Convention. And while they represent many
different areas of agriculture and agribusiness, the
one mam interest they have in common is the
Future Farmers of America organization
The convention is held annually in Kansas City,
Missouri, and offers a full slate of judging events,
public speaking contests and agricultural com
petitions. State teams which have been previously
selected for outstanding performances compete
against one another for prizes and national
recognition
But beyond the competition, the convention
annually offers some of the best and most inspiring
speakers in the United States Last year for
example, Gerald Ford, the president of the United
States, addressed the youths as a keynote speaker
This year Nelson Rockefeller, the vice-president
of the United States and Johnnie Bench, the noted
football player, along with the Honorable John
By Sally Bair
Feature Writer
uA
Corner
Pa. FFA’ers receive nat’l honors
By Melissa Piper
stance, sanitation is checked dally, and Julie la directly
responsible for checking it thoroughly once a week, a
moisture test is also taken once a day to make sure tne
poultry comply with regulations. .
All equipment must be checked before it starts for tne
day. “Therefore I am always there before the men, Julie
says.
At various times the inspectors take the temperatures
of the birds and the water being used in processing - again
there are specific standards. In her conversation Julie
drops worlds like rpms, oscillation, AQL and drip-line
speed. They may sound strange to an outsider, but Julie
makes them sound quite reasonable and comprehensible.
As senior Inspector one of Julie’s jobs is to make sure
there are always eight inspectors on the job. That means
finding a replacement if someone calls in sick. Her work
with the inspectors is “to monitor them and help with
problems,” she says. The veterinarian checks out
questions raised by the inspectors, and Julie says that in
her position she works with management on problems
which crop up.
Despite the activities of actual inspection work, JuUe
also spends “a lot of time on paperwork. In fact she
estimates about 20 percent of the work is paper work.
Julie is a native of nearby Chester County where she
was bom and raised on a general farm. She began
working in a poultry plant as a trimmer, and then became
a food inspector on a parttime basis. The training she got
was “on-the-job." Then she said, “I took the civil service
Homestead Notes
test for full-time employment as an inspector and was in
the right place at the right time.”
She said she made the move from poultry plant work to
inspector basically because “it paid better.” But, she
added, “It was fulltime -1 was helping the consumer and I
needed the steady work.”
She has been an inspector for three years but was
elevated to her present position in August. Early in 1975
Julie was awarded the Federal Women’s Award, which is
given “to a woman doing outstanding work in her field.”
Julie was nominated by her supervisor and was one of just
three wsmen in the area to be nominated. The award
carries with it a cash prize of $2OO and a plaque.
Julie received formal training in her work at a school in
Texas which she attended for a week. There was both book
work and lab work, and she was graded on her per
formance.
She is a member of the American Federation of
Government Employees which is affiliated with the AFL
CIO and is chairman of the union representatives. She is
also secretary of the safety committee.
Julie has begn married for six years to Ross Houck,
whom she met on a blind date. She praises him a lot as
she talks about her “crazy” schedule. “I couldn’t possibly
work this way if it weren’t for my husband. I give him a lot
of credit. He always pitches in if I get behind.” They have
one son, -Ross, Jr., who is in kindergarten.
Julie is no stranger to hard work. When she was a
teenager, her father was injured and could no longer
work. At 16 she worked as a waitress to earn extra money,
and she worked as a library aide in the Neighborhood
Youth Corps for three years during her high school years.
She is a 1969 graduate of Coatesville Area High School.
She attends Meadville Mennonite Church.
Conally will be heading the list of speakers for the
FFA’ers
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the
convention however, is the presentation of national
awards Those young people receiving the
proficiency, chapter, and community service
awards realize their efforts throughout the year or
years by receiving the honored recognitions.
Since the beginning of the Convention 48 years
ago, Pa. has always been well represented at the
national event. Over the years, many chapters and
individuals from the state have received out
standing national awards for their projects and
community service
Receiving national awards for their chapter’s
community service projects under the Building Our
American Community program this year are
Northern Lebanon High School with a Silver
Emblem and Cloister Chapter, Ephrata with a
bronze award
Seven youths from the southeastern portion of
Pa will also be receiving their American Farming
Julie plays with one of her English setters.
Although she is a very active homemaker during her off
duty hours, Julie describes herself as “an outside per
son.” She said she loves outdoor sports - baseball and
volleyball, and plays outside with her son. She also ex
pressed her belief in being physically fit, and has an
exercise program which she does daily.
And Julie is one wife who dosen’t mind when hunting
season comes - she goes along. She said she really enjoys
small game hunting and deer hunting. But she draws the
line at going to deer camp with her husband - “I don’t
think that a camp is a place for a woman. I like to hunt
with my family.” She added that when she hunts deer she
wants “one with antlers or none at all.”
She said, “My father influenced me with my hunting. I
used to help him skin his game.” She has shot squirrels,
rabbits and pheasants and says, “With the price of food it
is only good economy to serve those animals in the family
meals. If you leam the trick of cooking game you get
really good results.”
A pride of hers is a 1917 Springfield given her by her
father. Her husband does woodwork and redid the stock on
the gun.
Julie says she does a lot of cooking in the evenings, and
says, “I love to cook, but basically simple and the old way.
I like experimenting with food. But I cook everything from
scratch.”
She may be an outside person, but she has some very
inside hobbies. “I do a little bit of crocheting and I help do
quilting. I make flower arrangements and I love to read.
A very special interest of Julie’s is raising English
setters who also help with the hunting.
Julie has several long-range plans about her work and
where it might lead her. First of all she says she hopes to
get experience in different areas of federal food in
spection, perhaps with red meats. Another area which
(Continued on Page 52|
degrees in Kansas City. These FFA’ers have earned
at least $lOOO by their own efforts in agriculture or
agribusiness and must have demonstrated out
standing abilities in leadership and community
activities. Only one tenth of one percent of the FFA
membership is selected for the degree.
FFA'ers in Lancaster Farming’s prime coverage
area receiving the American Farming Degree are:
Richard Kurtz, Elverson (BerksCo.); Greg Landis,
Millersviile (Lancaster Co.); Alan Miller, Red Lion,
(York Co); Rick Pfautz, Ephrata, (Lancaster Co.):
Gary Stauffer, New Holland, (Lancaster Co.);
Frank Stoltzfus, Elverson (Berks Co.) and Larry
Wenger, Myerstown (Lebanon Co.).
If agriculture is to have a future then it certainly
lies in the hands of young people such as these.
Their efforts a'nd service to agriculture and the
community certainly deserves national recognition.
As Pennsylvanians’ we should be quite proud of
these FFA members and the contributions they
have made in keeping agriculture alive and well in
this state.