76
(ancaitpr Farming. Saturday Oct 2. 19/0
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Dale has 12 acres of potatoes as part of his farming operation
Siegfried talks about star farmer competition
By JUDY MITCHELL
Berks Co. Reporter
MERTZTOWN - Dale
Siegfried appears to be a
man of few words, but his
words were obviously well
chosen when he came up
against the intensive
questioning of a panel of
agriculture experts in
Springfield, Mass., recently,
to capture the title of 1976
Eastern Regional FFA State
Star Fanner.
Home on the farm in
Mertztown R 2, the quiet,
softspoken young man did
not remember the 15-rmnute,
rapidfire questioning of the
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seven judges as particularly
unsettling Commenting on
his experience in
Springfield, he simply
recalls that “it was fun ’’
Dale does not display the
kind of outward
agressiveness one might
expect of a competitir, but
rather a kind of quiet
assurance. With that
assurance goes a firm sense
of responsibility and future
direction.
Described as “in
dustrious” by his former
agriculture instructor,, Ben
Newcomer, Dale has come a
long way in farming since he
enrolled in Vo-Ag the
beginning of his ninth grade
year at Kutzlown Area High
School. Having started with
one dairy calf, three acres of
corn, and a quarter-acre
garden, Dale now runs a
major farm operation which
includes 16 head of breeding
swine, 152 head of fat hogs,
13 head of fat cattle, and 59
turkeys. He has 12 acres in
potatoes, 87 acres of com
gram, 51 acres of wheat, 16
acres of oats, and 15 acres of
soybeans and wheat which
was double cropped.
Asked what he thinks the
officials look for first in a
regional star fanner, Dale’s
immediate response is
“record keeping.” Although
it’s apparent by his tone that
that particular aspect of
farming is not exactly lus
favorite, Dale has earned a
number of FFA honors for
project bookkeeping, in
cluding a gold medal in the
FFA State Record Book
contest; and his diligence in
the area of record keeping
most certainly aided him in
the submission of a 20 to 30
page application which
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Does the work of five machines mower,
windrower, conditioner, rake, shredder
MILLER'S REPAIR
RDI Bird in Hand, PA
Gibbons Road Phone |7l7[ 656-7G13
Dale holds the desk plaque he competition in Springfield, Mass,
received as Regional Star Farmer at recently.
proceeded his appearance m
Springfield
Dale recalls that much of
the questioning in
Springfield centered on how
he got started in farming and
on his future goals.
According to Dale, his
swine operation, Roadlet
Farms Registered
Yorkshires, began with a
Sears Roebuck sponsored
chain pig awarded him in
1972. In four years, he has
turned that single animal
into an efficient swine
business that is currently the
most important aspect of his
total farm operation.
As for his future goals,
Dale seems to know exactly
where he is going. He
already has primary
responsibility for the
operation and management
of the Siegfried family farm
and at the end of this year,
when his parents move off
the farm, he will take it over
completely and eventually
buy it from his parents, if his
plans are completed.
Dale’s active interest in
FFA and community affairs
• together with the honors he
has accuxnmulated also
v ini
influenced his recent vic
tory', and he attributes his
success and ac
complishments to his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul
J. Siegfried, who have
guided and directed him in
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Abe Diffenbach Manager
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ORKSHIRES
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ET FARM
meqfrieo
managing the farm, and to
his advisors at Kutztown,
Mr. Donald W Remert and
Mr. Ben Newcomer, who
greatly contributed to his
knowledge and un
derstanding of agriculture.
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