—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 28,1978 32 Messicks in farm machinery business 25 years By KENDACE BORRY RHEEMS - It has been 25 years since Merville Messick has gone into the farm machinery business and this year as part of their continuing growth he and his sons, Robert and Kenneth, who now form a family partnership, have moved their business to a new location. The new Messick Farm Equipment is now located at the Rheems exit off Rt. 283, between Mount Joy and Elizabethtown. The store which officially opened Jnuary 1, 1978, fills a need to expand that the Messicks thought was necessary. They picked the spot off Rt. 283 because they liked the location, its easy access, and its closeness to their customers The facilities contain 8400 sq. ft. in the shop area and 6000 sq. ft. in the sales area. February actually marks the 25th year that Messick has been m business. A farm boy, he claimed that he got started in the farm machinery business after being asked if he’d be in terested in trying his luck. He’s been selling farm equipment ever since. Looking at the changes in farm machinery in the past Seen off Rt. 283, the new Messick Farm Equipment offers a complete fine of farm services to the area. quarter of a century, Messick believes farm operations have changed, in fact have had to change to survive because of the demands placed on farmers to produce more. “Con sumers today are deman ding more from the farmer than ever before,” he noted. “Farm machinery has had to keep up with that change. Larger equipment is being bought, and our business has to be able to service the farmer faster and better in order to serve his needs.” Messick noted that the majority of his customers would probably fall into the category of dairy, poultry, or beef cattle farmers, with forage crops being the major crop grown. The most popular items he sells are tractors and minimum tillage equipment. Today, according to the number of tractors bemg sold, most farmers seem to prefer an “average sized” tractor for their farm needs Messick seemed to think a tractor that pulls five-to-six plows suits the Lancaster County area best. The new business center Mewsick now has can offer a complete line of service to 4* - Merville Messick, owner of the business, is celebrating his 25th year in the farm equipment business. Broilers up HARRISBURG - Penn sylvania poultry production during the week ending January 14 was up nine per cent from 1977, according to the Pennsylvania Crop Reporting Service. Broiler chick placements during the week totaled 1,862,000. The placements were about the same as the previous week. Average placements m the com monwealth during the past ten weeks were eight per cent above a year earlier. We have a 8430 all-John Deere 4-Wheei-Drive in stock now From top to bottom and front to back, 8430 and 8630 Tractors are all John Deere They’re farm tractors They are designed, built, and warranted for use by farmers John Deere-designed means real farm features These are the only 4-wheelers with productivity boosting Quad-Range™ transmission, Perma- Clutch™, Sound-Gard® body, and Rack-and- Pimon wheel tread adjustment, just to name a few John Deere exclusives John Deere built means every subassembly, assembly, and major component is John Deere All pieces are built from scratch to fit, mesh, and work together John Deere-warranted means these tractors have the longest standard engine warranty in the business (all internal engine parts covered for two full years or 1500 hours, whichever occurs first) But more important, the engine and every other warranted part (except tires) are handled through the same place Right here Stop in Let’s talk 4 wheel-drive tractor for your farm LANDIS BROS.. Inc. mm 1305 Manheim Pike Lancaster, PA 17601 PH: 717-393-3906 , i In the 21 key poultry producing states, placements during the week were 68,010,000, one per cent above the previous week and eight per cent more than the same week in 1977. Average placements during the past ten weeks in the 21 states were six per cent above a year ago. Broiler-fryers slaughtered in Pennsylvania under Federal Inspection during the week ending January 4, 1978 totaled 1,470,000. the tarmer, Messick ex plained. A dealer for Sperry New Holland an In ternational Harvester, as well as True Value hard ware, he and his sons have tried to make the facility more of a one stop store for their customers. Each of his mechanics, he noted, is factory trained, and spends at least four weeks in training per year Another special service which the Messicks offer is a new item called the “Pro- Ag” seminar. For this, a farmer attends a special seminar, where his farm information, such as cropping data - acres, r CURTIS BREEDING SERVICE FARMER BREEDER MEETING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3,1978 8:00 P.M. FARM & HOME CENTER LANCASTER, PA FEATURED SPEAKERS: Ted Krueger in charge of dairy sire purchasing Dr. Nesbitt Flemming in charge of semen processing EVERYONE WELCOME Refreshments Served I •>C * Drainage Pays High Returns Typical Investment Annual Return Land Drainage 21-46% (d) Farm Buildings 3-23% (d) Farm Land 11% (e) Stocks 7.4% (0 Bonds 6.1% (g) COMPARE Even with the conservative figures shown above, it’s obvious that land drainage should top farmers’ lists of investment priorities. COCALICO EQUIPMENT CO. drainage & excavating \li CA/ RD#3 DENVER, PA. 17517 \ / (215)267-3808 crops, equipment, labor, etc., is put on paper and fed into a computer to determine the effect different farm decisions will make on the profit margin of the farm business. This service will begin to be offered in March and already four farmers have signed up to use it. As part of their celebration of opening the new store and celebrating their silver anniversary in business, Messick Farm Equipment is having a grand opening open house from February 15 to 18. Everyone is invited to attend and see the new store, and light refreshments will be served.
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