7 breeds of swine and sheep keep him showing
By JOANNE SPAHR
YORK - Preston Bankert, ewe and ram in open sheep
Red Lion R 3, who owned the judging at this year’s York
H FISHER pSP|
ENGINE SERVICE \jtfj
ihmwouty/
special V engines/
FORD Industrial
192 Gas Power Unit
(62 HP - 2400 RPM)
SALES & SERVICE
• Wisconsin 6 to 65 H.P.
• Briggs &Stratton 2 to 16 H.P.
* Rockford & Twin Disc Clutches and Clutch-
Reductions
• Large engine and parts inventory
• F.M. and Wico magneto service
• Wisconsin flywheel alternator service
• Complete engine rebuilding
3141 Old Phila. Pike
Bird-in-Hand, Pa. 17505
ix pays off in better
dairy and beef production at lower costs,
plus savings in time and effort. This all
means more net profits for you. Stop in today
and ask about our Special Stockman's Knife
offer. Let us show you how Mol*Mix will fit your
dairy and beef operation so that you can truly “cut costs"
JOHN I MARTIN
New Holland RDI
Phone 717-354-5848
grand champion Southdown
en:
our Feeding Costs
H OUR LIQUID CONCEPT!
RED ROSE FEED & FARM SUPPLY
HORIHMIPTON F*BM BUREAU «*o™e
pE£*Si *5B? SBM4M
Fair, is a real sheep and hog
showman - he shows four
breeds of swine and three
breeds of sheep at every fair
he attends. So far this season
that list has included (along
with the York Fair), the
Solanco Fair, the Maryland
State Fair, the Huntingdon
County Fair, the Allentown
Fair, and the Montgomery
County Fair at Gaither
sburg, Md. And, this isn’t the
first year he’s been keeping
this schedule, either. He
started out about 37 or 38
years ago showing hogs, and
making the fair circuit has
been in his blood ever since.
In a recent interview,
Bankert offered some in
formative insights into
traveling on the show circuit
- insights that fair spec
tators, and reporters, don’t
often consider.
First of all, Bankert says
that, today, a showman has
to exhibit several different
breeds to “keep his head
above water.”
With the cost of gasoline,
tires, and truck parts, a few
liquid
liquid supplements leader
// ■
/ *
f
animals in one breed just
don’t make enough money to
cover expenses. And, of
course, the trucks wear out
eventually and new ones are
needed.
Last year was Bankert’s
year to invest in a new
vehicle, so he purchased a
31-foot double deck trailer as
a portable home for his 45 to
60 hogs and 25 to 35 sheep he
hauls to each show,
depending on the amount of
classes in those shows. That
expense, of course, really
cut into profits.
Bankert also noted that the
sheep and hog breeders don’t
sell as much breeding stock
as they used to.
“The old timers say...that
they had nearly every
animal sold after each show,
and that they had to go home
for a whole new string
almost every time,” ex
plains Bankert, but that’s
not the story today.
“Now we don’t sell as
much stock as we used to,”
he admits. Bankert figures
that the reason for the
downward sales pattern of
breeding stock is due to
fewer and fewer farmers
and producers visiting the
fairs now that the one-time
farm events are becoming
more and more com
mercialized.
COMPLETE
FARM PAINTING
We Use Quality
PAINT
AERIAL UDDER
EQUIPMENT
• Modern and Efficient
Method
• Reasonable Prices
• Spray-On and Brush-In
Method
• Sandblasting If
Necessary
FOR FREE ESTIMATES
WRITE:
ESN SPRAY
PAINTING
(Daniel S Esh -C. Ralph Miller)
SPRAY-ON AND
BRUSH-IN PAINTER
Box 350 A
Ronks, PA 17572
or call this number
717-687-9155
INDUSTRIAL
COMMERCIAL
RESIDENTIAL
Lancaster Farmini
Preston Bankert, Red Lion R 3, and his daughter
Michele, prepare their champion Southdown for
competition at the York Fair. Southdowns are only
one of three sheep breeds Bankert shows, as well
as four breeds of swine.
“It used to be that every
farmer went to the county
fairs,” says Bankert, “but,
I’d bet that now only about
one per cent bother.”
But even though the show
circuit isn’t a real big money
maker for Bankert and his
family, there are positive
aspects that keep him at it
year after year.
For one thing, it’s in his
blood, now.
He started out ap
proximately 37 years ago
with about 12 Hampshire
swine when “one breed was
all you needed.” He had good
stock, winning almost
everything in that one breed.
Then, as his expenses grew,
he decided on another breed
of swine - Yorkshire. Con
tinuing in this pattern, the
money from those top
winnings was still not suf
ficent to pay for expenses, so
he gradually built up his
stock to include Southdown
Saturday, September 17.1977
sheep, Hampshire sheep,
Suffolks, Spotted Swine, and
Landrace.
And while there may be
little left-over money, there
is still the satisfaction of
showing animals that are top
quality as well as earning a
pile of ribbons to show for it.
“It’s also a good op
portunity to promote meat
and wool,” he noted.
Bankert’s little daughter
Michelle, who also shows
sheep, has strung up an
exhibit the length of her pens
to tell non-farm consumers
what it takes to raise and
care for an animal as well as
the products derived from
each.
So, another generation of
Bankerts is on its way to
becoming avid circuit
travelers. Most likely, if
you’re a sheep or swine
enthusiast, you’ll see
someone from this familj at
one of the upcoming fairs
this season.
115