8 r Suburbia didn’t crush this orchard LANGHORNE - A Bucks County fruit and vegetable grower, who combines high quality production with direct marketing expertise, has been named a Master Farmer for 1977. Thomas W. Styer, 45, of Langhorne, owner and operator of Styer Orchards, will receive the coveted award sponsored by the Pennsylvania Farmer magazine, Harrisburg, and the Cooperative Extension Service of The Pennsylvania State University. Formal award presen tations will be made January 10 at a special luncheon in .Harrisburg. Styer will be "'inducted into the Penn ' sylvania Master Farmers’ Association whose mem bership consists of all for mer award winners. The ROHRER'S H PENNSYLVANIA DISTRIBUTORS FOR North%SSS! BEATS “WET FOOT DISEA First “proprietary alfalfa variety with resistance Phytophthora ro rot that delivers consistently goo yields. • Resistance to Phytophthora root rot (“wet foot disease”) • Produces stands where other vaneties fail • Excellent winterhardiness • Good recovery after cutting • More resistance to pea aphids and leafhopper yellowing than Vernal 01 Saranac • Yields well even when Phytophthoi not present One of the Uncommon Forages. Developed by North American Plant Breeders ALSO AVAILABLE • Vangard Alfalfa • Napier Orchard Grass •Redland Medium Red Clover Crass • Baylor Brome Grass • Agripro Soybeans • Complete line of small grains and grass seeds. • Maine grown certified seed potatoes. • DeKalb corn and garden seeds. VISIT OUR BOOTH NO. 535 & 536 AT THE PA. FARM SHOW P. I. ROHRER & PRO., INC. SMOKETOWN, PA program was established in 1927. Farming land worth $lO,OOO to $25,000 an acre may sound like a luxury few people can afford. However, untU Act 319 was passed, the farmland preservation law, Styer was paying $2OO an acre taxes on some of his land. Now. the highest tax assessment is $35 per acre. “If it weren’t for Act 319 we wouldn’t be in business,” he said. “It’s hard for people in other parts of the state to realize how valuable this law is to farmers. Without it we would be taxed out of business.” The backbone of Slyer Orchards is apples, 200 acres. But there also are 85 acres in peaches, 80 in sweet com, 70 in strawberries, 25 in pumpkins, 10 in can A Master Farmer taloupes, 10 in pears, and smaller plots of cherries, plums, tomatoes, and other vegetables. It’s one thing to produce hort crop, but it’s equally important that the products are marketed efficiently and at a profit. The Master Fanner felt marketing on the farm was the best ap proach when he took control of the operation in 1965. His farm store closely resembles the produce aisle of a supermarket. “Poeple just won’t drive out of then way if the only thing they can buy is apples,” Styer notes. There are at least a dozen supermarkets within a five minute drive of the farm market. Half of his customers are looking for low prices and the other half Plant Breeders nn PH. 717-299-2571 Thomas W. Styer, Bucks County fruit and vegetable grower, farms land valued as high as $25,00C per acre. He credits the Clean and Green ~Act for saving him from tax strangulation. 1. Aerial application now available for Pennsylvania farmers to use in their regular crop culture program. 2. Avoid soil compaction, mechanical crop damage and spread of disease by eliminating ground equipment. 3. Make the application on time and at lower cost. WE HAVE: ★ Experienced pilot with Pa. farm background, and Penn State Degree in Agriculture. ★ Modern high performance aircraft. ★ Special mobile mixing and loading equipment. ir Many satisfied customers and proven results under our Pennsylvania conditions. ir High or low rates of application to meet your needs. JOHN D. TALLMAN Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 7,1978—169 R.D. 1, Box 164 Dauphin, Pa. 17018 Phone: 717-921-2476 or 717-647-2623 want quality goods no matter what the price is. For this reason, he spends one third of his time in the fields and two-thirds on marketing problems. In addition to the various fruit sold year round, he markets about 125,000 gallons of cider each year. For the smaller and poorly colored apples, he makes candy apples. His customers munched their way through 150,000 of them last year. Styer attempts to buy as many of the food items he markets from local sup pliers. Ground beef, potatoes, dairy products, and grapes are purchased from Bucks County farmers. He imports citrus products and some frozen pies. “Last year we sold 150,000 home baked pies. The farm’s ovens have a capacity of 400 10-inch pies or 600 6-inch pies per hour. And the ice cream freezer holds 2,000 half gallons. The average weekly cone sales during the summer run about $l,OOO. We also market chow-chow, jelly, pickles, and grapes under our label,” Styer said. No farm or farm store is so good that people come by without some prompting. So Styer regularly advertises in newspapers and on radio. “I’m a firm believer that advertising should be heaviest when sales are the lightest. About 40 to 45 weeks of the year we have a special of the week or some other sale.” He has other sales (Turn to Page 172)
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