—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 4,197 i
34
Pencil
By DIETER KRIEG
LEBANON —The pencil is
the most important piece of
equipment a fanner can
own, and also the least ex
pensive, says Dennis
Brubaker, 20, who will
receive the American.
Farmer Degree in Kansas
City this coming week.
According to Brubaker, a
full-time agribusiness
employee and part-time
farmer, too many fanners
don’t regard the pencil as an
important management tool.
“They let the salesmen do
the figuring, and a salesman
will figure it bis way, not
yours,” the young man
observed.
Brubaker, one of five
children born to Mr. and
Mrs. J. Carl Brubaker.
American Farmer Degree recipient Dennis Brubaker of Lebanon says the pen
cil is the most important and cheapest piece of equipment a farmer can have.
Brubaker is a part-time farmer, feeding out 1500 pipgs per year, while also
holding a full-time job at a Lebanon County feed mill.
SHAVER IS TOP PROFIT LAYER
IN THE 1978 PA. RANDOM SAMPLE TEST
Shaver
Starcross2BB $5.06 248.5 3.71
Babcock
B3OOV
DeKalb
XL-Link
Hisex
White
Hubbard
Leghorn
•HAVKR
DPI
is a farmer’s most important equipment
Lebanon R 7, lives with his
parents on their 100-acre, 60-
cow dairy farm. He works
full-time as a feed mixer at
Mark Hershey’s mill, and is
also involved with some of
the chores on the farm, in
cluding his own pig-fattening
operation.
Receiving the American'
Fanner Degree - the highest
award bestowed on mem
bers of the FFA - rates as
one of the highlights of
Brubaker’s membership in
the association. Noting that
he would have liked to have
earned the coveted degree in
the area of agricultural
production, he concedes that
such an expectation would
have been unrealistic since
he is only a part-time far
mer. He figures his work and
responsibilities at the mill
Profit Eggs Per
Per Bird Hen Housed
$4.47 239.8 3.96
$4.50 240.6
$4.70 248.9 3.93
$4.70 249.3 3.94
GREIDER
FARMS, INC.
Mt. Joy, PA
717-653-1855
tennis Brubaker: Ammpiwi Farmer Dei
played a larger role in-his
having earned the distino.
five degree. It is bestowed
upon only a select few of the
FFA’s membership, which'
stands at more than 500,000,
nationally. A prerequisite
for the award is that the
candidate must have
received his-state degree.'
Brubaker received his - the
Keystone Degree - in 1974,
during his junior year at
Cedar Crest High School.
A 1975 graduate of the
school’s vocational
agriculture program,
Brubaker served his FFA
Chapter as secretary, vice
president, and president He
was also active in individual
and team contests.
One of Brubaker’s most
significant achievements
came in late 1975 when he
Pounds Feed
Per Doz.
24 oz. Eggs
3.99
Laying House
Mortality
4.0%
8.0%
6.7%
9.2%
7.6% __
•HAVIR
Bm
Se»
S 0
won first place in a tractor
driving contest involving'
contestants from' 13 states.
That took place in
Springfield, Mass. In ad
dition, the young man has
excelled in public speaking
and soil judging and has
earned a mechanics award
building a truck body, in
cluding sides.
The FFA, says Brubaker,
has been a source of en
couragement for him,
especially when it comes to
developing leadership
abilities.
Believing that the FFA five children. An older
can do much for those who brother, Kirby, "22, is an
care enough to make x the accountant. Ronald, 18,
most of it, the young works with his father on the
Lebanon County fanner home farm. Jere, 17, is a
stresses that FFA’ers and 4- senior at Cedar Crest High
H’ers alike should “keep _ School and part-time
their feet on the ground.” He mechanic at a nearby Ford
advises that members _ dealership. Sharon, 13, is in
should work Cowards goals the Bth grade.
and success with their lives,
not just awards.
Brubaker spends much of
his time and efforts at the
mill, where his respon
sibilities include feed
mixing, noting ingredient
winner
inventories, and dispatching
trucks. He has been em
ployed there since shortly
after his graduation from
high school. As a part-time
farmer, Brubaker feeds out
1500 pigs per year. He has
been doing that for a little
over -a year* He had
previously worked with
breeding stock, having had
as many as 30 sows. v
A member of the Midway
Church of the Brethren,
where be is president of the
choir and a former president '
of the youth group, Dennis'
Brubaker is the second of
Although he is uncertain
as to what his future holds,
the 20-year old American
Fanner Degree winner has
some firm opinions about
agriculture. Strongly
favoring the concept of
*• l „ >4,
*
' *( ) 1
Today, wherever modernization with Free Stud
Housing provides a very satisfactory day-to-day
operation, Rigidply Laminated Rafters are the
preferred choice. They provide much more space
for the money plus fast, economical erection.
Proper ventilation is provided without fans, pre
venting condensation and helping reduce odors.
Sunlight and ventilation combine to provide a de
sirable working environment, heat and light for
winter months and a healthy place for animals.
privately-owned, in
dependent family fanning
operations, he opinioniz&s
that large agribusiness
interests are eroding that
.type of farming. He would
also like to see less govern
ment involvement and in
terference-with agriculture.
He believes that if a farmer
kees a sharp pencil at hand,
and uses it, his opportunities
for profits and .private en
terprise will be increased.
All things .
considered ' TwtfaU
HEREFORD S£JF
FOR ASSISTANCE
IN LOCATING
HEREFORD BULLS .
OR FEMALES
No Cost..No Obligation
Contact your American
Hereford Association
Field Representative
RIGK HICKENBOTTOM
715 Hereford Drive
Kansas City, Mo. 64105 ,
816/842-3757
AREA
New York, Pennsylvania,
New England
C'
ra