VOL 23 No. 2 Gilbert Watts Livestock Assn. Man of Year By JOANNES?AHR MECHANICSBURG - A 1918 Penn State graduate renowned for developmg one of Pennsylvania’s finest herds of registered Angus cattle was honored on Tuesday evening as the 1977 Livestock Man of the Year at the annual awards banquet of the Keystone In ternational Livestock Ex position held at the Crossgates Inn, Mechanicsburg. Gilbert S. Watts, of Logan Spring Farm, Bellwood Rl, started out in the cattle business in the early 40’s and went into the purebred Angus business in the early 50’s. Since that time he has been known for his Angus program which included' genetics performance testing before it was done extensively m the Com monwealth. Presently, Watts raises 60 Angus cows on his 200 acre beef operation, feeding out the young cattle. Utilizing a very severe culling and selection program, Watts produces seed stock. Proud of his herd but modest about his successes, (Continued on Page 30) Two youths recognized at PLA dinner By JOANNE SPAHR HARRISBURG - A suc cessful Juniata County 4-H member and a former state FFA officer from Lancaster County were honored here on Tuesday evening by the Pennsylvania Livestock Association as outstanding youths in the Com monwealth. Mee Cee Baker, 16, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Baker, Port Royal, earned the award for her 4-H involvement. Her achievements mclude three county beef champions in 1975,1976, and 1977 as well as three county swine champs in ’72, ’74 and ’76. A Penn sylvania 4-H swine proficiency award winner, she has shown animals at the Farm Show and Keystone International Livestock Exposition. In her home county she is a member of the 4-H beef club and the county council, where she has held the office of president in both. She is a member of the 4-H Report to State team, and will be the co-chairman of the Pennsylvania Association of Farmers (Continued on Page 24) Members of Solancois delegatioMo the Golden Anniversary Convention of the Future Farmers of America iunfurl “Old Glory” and the special an niversary flag for their Chapter. Randy Ranck, fifth from left, was Pennsylvania's chief delegate to the Ephrata dairy team second in nation By DIETER KRIEG KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A two point margin is all that divided the Cloister Chapter from highest honors m the National FFA Dairy Cattle Judging Contest. Results which were made public here on Friday morning indicated that the trio of Lancaster Countians were second in the nation. They were narrowly beaten by a dairy judging team from Minnesota. The performance by team members Sheryl Bollinger, John Weiler, and Curtis Martin stands as the best effort of any Pennsylvania team represented in Kansas City for the FFA’s Golden Anniversary activities, which conclude here today. The team has the further distinction of having done better than any Penn sylvania FFA dairy cattle judging team in the history of the contest. The best previous effort was turned m by a Solanco team a few years ago. Dr. William Fredd, who has been at Solanco for 20 consecutive years, coached that meritorious trio. This year, Solanco’s Farm management team excelled. They placed sixth and earned silver medal honors. Awards were presented Friday morning in the Municipal Auditorium, here, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 12,1977 Solanco sixth in farm business Sheryl Bollinger with more than 20,000 FFA members and guests looking on. All 50 states and Puerto Rico were represented hiring the five days of Golden Anniversary ac tivities. Sheryl Bollinger, the In this issue Farm Calendar 10 Editorial Comments 10 Homestead Notes 42 Joyce Bupp 46 Jr. Cooking Edition 47 Home on the Range 48 Farm Women convention 52 Kendy’sKollumn 54 Ida’s Notebook 57 Keystone sheep shows 58,109,112 VConvention in Kansas Cityiand is also the im mediate past president of the Pennsylvania FFA Chapter. Fiftieth Anniversary activities conclude in Kansas City today. Curtis Martin daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Bollinger, Lititz Rl, led Ephrata’s dairy cattle judging team by placmg as sixth individual, nationally. She is a senior at Ephrata High School and current treasurer of the FFA club there. “She’s the first girl to Top Holstein bulls 60 Chester 4-H dairy banquet 90 Berks DHIA 92 Keystone swine show 99 Lane. Holstein banquet 100 Berks baby beef banquet 103 Life on the farm 106 Veal grower 107 LCFA farm tours 108 ACA Farm Line n? be on any judging team for Ephrata,” added Ayres. Curtis, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Martin, Ephrata Rl, is a 1977 graduate of the school and a former vice president of his chapter. He npw works on his father’s dairy farm. John, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Weiler, Stevens Rl, is a former president of the Cloister FFA Chapter and also a recent graduate. He’s currently employed by Atlantic Breeders Cooperative. “Oral reasons is what made our team,” said coach Lew Ayres during an in terview here. He was con fident all along of being near the top in the final standings. The official judges for the contest were James Ed wards of Kansas State University and Ed Fellers, a Kansas dairy fanner. “I’m real proud of these kids, they really worked hard,” Ayres commented upon hearing the news of the team’s achievement. Naturally enough, however, they had hoped for first place, and to be edged by just two points was cause for mixed emotions. John Weiler Ephrata’s team, which was first in the state during FFA Week at Penn State this year, and third the year before, has been in training throughout the school year. $6.00 Per Year NEPPCO convention is tomorrow LANCASTER - “Up the Down Cycle” is the theme of the last NEPPCO convention ever to be held in the world. After this year, NEPPCO will be merged with the Poultry and Egg Institute of America (PEIA). The last NEPPCO con vention, which gets un derway here tomorrow afternoon, with Family Day will feature a number of attractions, including two packed exhibit halls, a drawing for an all-expense trip to South America and presentations by poultry industry leaders. All ac tivities take place at the Host Farm, east of Lancaster on Route 30. Dick Jackman, one of America’s most brilliant speakers and convention keynoters will lead off the program on Monday mor ning with a provocative address titled “Make Room in Your Mind for the Things of Tomorrow.” Following Jackman’s talk, attendees will have the choice of two concurrent workshops - one on the subject of “Managing (Continued on Page 31) Lancaster Co. Century Farms honored By SUSAN KAUFFMAN Staff correspondent LANCASTER - Twenty four Lancaster County Century Farms received certificates Thursday evening at a banquet sponsored by the agriculture committee of the Lancaster Association of Commerce and Industry. Several hundred people were on hand to witness Kent E. Shelhamer, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, present these certificates. The state Department of Agriculture has started a program honoring farm families who have filed applications validating that their farm has existed at least 100 years m the same family. A second requirement is that a direct descendent of the purchaser still resides on the homestead. The homestead must also consist of at least 10 acres or gross a minimum $l,OOO annual farm income. Shelhamer prefaced the individual presentations with a statement, “Tonight we can look at the important and prominent part agriculture has played in (Continued on Page 32)
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