•Meyers known as enthusiatic farmer By JUDY MITCHELL Berks Co. Reporter KEMPTON, Pa. - Ask someone in upper Berks County to name an en thusiastic young farmer in the area and the chances are good that “Don Meyers” will be the reply. How does Meyers come to fill the “enthusiastic” bill in the minds of so many people? “I don’t know,” Don replied to that question in a recent interview with Lancaster Farming, “except that people wonder how I do •i 1 MEMO HAY, STRAW and EAR CORN SALE EVERY MONDAY AT 11 AM EVERY WEDNESDAY 12 00 NOON NEW HOLLAND SALES STABLES, INC Phone 717 354 4341 Lloyd H Kreider Auct ft In this way you will be utilizing your crops to their fullest extent, cutting other unnecessary feed costs and increasing your livestock profits. Agri-King feeding programs put it all together for you. Southeastern Penna George F Delong Regional Manager 225 West Woods Drive Lihtz PA 17543 Call Collect 717 626 0261 Chester Co Southwestern Lancaster Co William Wmdle _ Ben Greenawall RDI Atglen PA 19310 Melvin Herr RD2 Conestoga PA 17516 Phone 215 593 6143 RD2 New Holland PA 17557 Phone 717 872 5686 Ph 717 354 5977 !rn Lancaster Co Aldus R King Earl B Cinder RDI Box 67A RD2 Manheim PA 17545 Atglen PA 19310 Phone 717 665*3126 Phone 215 593 5952 North Western Lancaster Co it all.” The Meyers operation in Kempton, R 2, consists of 210 acres of farmland (50 of which are rented), 60 milking cows, and 50 head of young stock. Don has single handedly run the farm since 1968, having worked it in partnership with his father for approximately three year before that time. The Meyers’s moved to Berks County in 1965 because the family farm in Bucks County was not large enough to support the father-son partnership and additional farmland was becoming difficult to find. Don recalls that he tried hired help for about six months after he took over the farm; but when that didn’t work out, he decided “to go to machines.” According to Don, three Harvestores, a feed lot, and automatic equipment for feeding inside the comfort stall bam have helped him make the conversion from a two-man to a one-man operation. Milking still takes a big chunk out of the young farmer’s day, however, and in his wife Vernette’s opinion, “a person really has FEED IS HIGH PRICED... DON’T WASTE IT! TEST BEFORE YOU INVEST! FOR MORE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE AGRI-KING FEEDING PROGRAM, CALL YOUR NEAREST SERVICEMAN. mthern Lancaster Co Henry Delong, Jr Roger Heller Thomas Heist RD2 Box 69 RDI Robesoma PA Mam Street Peach Bottom PA 17563 Phone 215 693 6160 Alburtis PA 18101 Phone 717 548 3471 Phone 215 965 5124 Southeast! ;rn Penna Mechanized feeding equipment helps Don Meyers handle the workload on the family farm to love cows to spend six Although Vemette admits hours a day with them ” that she doesn’t share her AGRI-KING KEY TO PROFIT Northeast Berks Co Lebanon Co Marvin Meyer RD2 Box 157 Annville PA 17003 Phone 717 867 1445 t I I I I i % I I I g g S Sr James L Yoder & Regional Manager 250 Edwards Ave CL Chambersburg PA 17201 CL tall f Her M 7 ?5J 9321 HWIKW^WWWWVr There isn't any way you can feed a balanced ration unless you test your home grown grains and roughages for pro tein, calcium, and phos- phorus Then feed according to the nutritional values of your crops, in relation to the nutritionally bal anced needs of your live- stock ih & Northami South Central Penna which he converted from a two-man to a one-man operation. husband’s passion tor cows, she observes that “he wouldn’t be happy doing anything else but dairy farming.” The Meyers’s have three children; Stacy, age nine; Melissa, age six; and Brooke, who is 15-month-old. Although Don handles the morning milking chores alone, he points out that he does get a helping hand in the evenings from Stacy and Melissa. The girls, according to Dad, are a big help “washing the udders, sweeping up, and feeding some of the calves.” Although it’s much to soon to tell where son Brooke’s ■ m ATTENTION! SIGN GUARD * COW TRAINERS With breeding record holder TINGLEY FOOTWEAR Work Rubbers And Boots Compare Our Prices Work Shoes •••••••••••r*•••#••••••• AUTOMATIC HEATED CATTLE WATERERS ilon Co Why Not Try Our Livestock Medication Program & Special Prices Today. Lancaster Farming. Saturday, Feb. 5,197 YELLOW JACKET COW TRAINERS LOW CURRENT SHOCKERS ZIMMERMAN’S ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLY RU4, Lititr, PA 17543 Home Store Ph 717-733-4466 interests will lay, it’s obvious to the Meyers that Stacy has inherited her father’s en thusiasm for cows. “Stacy is our cow girl,” Vernette remarks. Besides her eagerness to help around the bam, this was Stacy’s first year in 4-H, and Vernette recalls that although “many a tear was shed” while Stacy was training her animal this past Spring, it took just one show to convince the nine year-old that showing and fitting dairy animals is going to be her thing Although handling the workload on the Meyers farm is no small feat for one man, it seems likely that Don’s attitude towards the business also contributes to his reputation for en thusiasm. Although he says he doesn’t like to paint “too rosy a picture,” Don feels that 1976 was a good year for the dairy farmer, and he is optomistic about the future of the industry. Most significant, Don considers, “is that the price of milk stayed fairly stable last year” without experiencing the usual sharp drop during the summer months. Of course, farmers then started producing more milk, Don notes, “so milk prices are now dropping some.” But although milk prices are expected to be overall slightly lower in 1977 than they were in 1976, Don is confident that prices will remain more or less stable throughout this year. Don is a firm believer in milk promotion abd is happy to report 'that “my milk association supports the dairy council,” because he notes that some do not. Eton believes advertising is important and recalls that “after the push in 1975,” the dairy council’s measurements indicated that consumption was up significantly even though “the store prices were up too” “Marketing is really important if you want to support your product,” Don remarked. Don sees marketing as more than just paiu media advertising | Continued on Page 33] 31
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