—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, June 5, 1976
92
Dairyman happy with his career \
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By DIETER KRIEG
GRAYSVILLE Bob
Oliver and his family have
an optimistic outlook for
agriculture. The business is
becoming more and more
competitive which creates
some pressures but
there’s much satisfaction
derived from over-coming
the challenges of managing a
farm. The Huntingdon
County dairyman should
know. His management
programs have undergone a
lot of changes since he
started farming on his own m
1960.
Prior to his going on his
own, he had worked several
years for his father. Taking
those years into con
sideration, (to make it an
even twenty) here’s a
glimpse of what has gone on
at “Oliver Farms.”
The herd has increased
nearly five-fold from 23
milking cows in 1954 to more
than 100 today. Along with it
have come improvements in
production per cow and the
inevitable “remodelings” of
the imlkhouse. The Olivers
were among the first to in
stall a bulk tank 22 years
I ,
ago, and have traded old
ones in for larger models for
several times already. This
year will be another year for
such a change as Oliver
prepares to have a 1500-
gallon tank installed to hold
the approximately 5000
pounds of milk his cows
produce daily. In 1976 he
expects to come close to
marketing 1.5 million pounds
of milk.
The changes here as on
thousands of farms across
the country have come as
a result of economic
pressures, individual
planning, advancements in
technology, and just plain
modernization. The two
farms, which consist of 250
tillable acres in Spruce
Creek Valley, are operated
by the 41-year old Oliver, his
wife, two children, and a full
time assistant, Terry Foster.
Efficiency has had to be the
name of the game as
production costs rise and
receipts lag a little behind.
With 15 years of solid farm
management experiences
under his belt, Oliver says
he’s had some regrets about
the way economic pressures
"Oliver Farms" is sheltered by Tussey Mountain and stately evergreens.
have forced him to change
and grow. But much of it was
due to his own planning and
he says that if his farming
operation hadn’t grown, he
might have gotten
discouraged. Like in most
businesses, it’s natural to
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For post-emergence weed control on com...
Donverheibicide...
...alone or tank-mixed with 2,4-D
(depending on your weed problem);
...to control tough, late
germinating broadleaf
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...to cover misses of
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herbicide application,
...to get control
where weather or
other factors moke
earlier application
impv^oj.^ie,
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SMOKETOWN, PA
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expect some growth and
advancements.
Adaptations at “Oliver
Farms” have not been
limited to the dairy herd.
They’ve also been evident in
field work and all-around
efficiency. The common
plow, for example, one of the
pieces of equipment so
closely associated with
agriculture, is fading out of
the picture here and on many
other farms across the
country.
These changes, of course,
...to moke sure that late weeds cannot
mature to become the nursery for next
year's weed crop.
PH. 717-299-2571
haven’t come cheap. Con
sider Oliver’s new dairy
bam an 80 by 160 foot
structure with 124 stalls.
Oliver built the new bam,
one silo, automated feeding
I Continued on Page 99)
Ask us for application
details about Danvei
herbicide... from
Velsicol.
Note: Before using
any pesticide, read
the label.