Don Rhodes named State FFA Star Farmer
By DIETER KRIEG --both morning and evening
NEW OXFORD Being a and 58 tra uied in artificial
senior in high school and msenu nation. Someday, he
coming very close to bemg a sa^s ’ be’d hke to have his
full-time Jarmer °™ dair y operation for
distinguishes Donald P. about 80 cows
Rhodes from many other
young men his age. The
Pennsylvania FFA
Association, of which he is a
member, last week named
the 17-year old Adams
County youth their State Star
Farmer. It is-the highest
FFA recognition attainable
on the state- level. The
presentation was made
during the organization’s
50th mid-Winter convention,
held in conjunction with the
Farm Show. The site of the
ceremonies was the Forum
of the Education Building in
Harrisburg
The son of Mr. and Mrs.
P. Rhodes, New
' f Oxford R 2, the young award
recipient credits his parents
for the start he has in far
ming and offers further that
he is thankful for the help
they have provided all along.
He owns 10 registered
Holstein cows and 13 head of
youngstock. He said he got
started at about age 10 or 11
with money he was earning
while working on the home
farm. He has been actively
involved with Holstein dairy
cattle ever since. At present
he takes care of most all of
the management involved
with the family’s dairy herd.
He milks the 22-cow herd
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A student at New Oxford
High School, Rhodes is part
of a farming enterprise
which encompasses ap
proximately 500 acres, 173 of
which are owned. The award
recipient participates in all
phases of the business, a
portion of which belongs to
his older brother, Ted, who
specializes in beef
production.
Donald’s farming
programs over the four
years he has been m the FFA
have included dairy heifers,
dairy cows, a beef herd,
com, dairy calves, and hay
crops. This past year he
registered 50 acres of silage
com and 30 acres of mixed
hay in his FFA record book,
as well as the entire milking
dairy herd.
Donald has shown some of
his dairy cattle at county
fairs, the district FFA show,
the Pennsylvania Junior
Dairy Show, and the Farm
Show. Last August he was
named champion showman
at the Southcentral District
FFA Dairy Show in Ship
pensburg. He placed second
in fittmg at the same event
and won three blue ribbons
for his entries.
The young award winner’s
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Iroao
ambition is to someday have
an 80-cow comfort-stall bam
in which he can manage his
own herd of registered
Holstems. “I would like to
establish a pretty good hero,
and sell breeding stock and
show animals,” he com
mented.
“You can take a lot better
care of your cows in in
dividual stalls,” he.said, as -
he continued to outline his
future plans. He’d like to
become a full partner on the
home farm. His father,
although active on the farm,
holds down a second job as a
mail carrier.
Donald chose the dairy
business, he says, because
he was brought up around
dairy cattle. “I have always
liked working with them,"
he said. “I think there’s a
pretty good future in it if you
can establish yourself and
get started.”He chose to join
the FFA because “I thought
it would help me a lot to
establish my own dairy herd
and to leam a lot about
agriculture.”
Currently serving as
president of both his local
and county FFA chapters,
Donald attended the
National FFA Convention m
Kansas City for the past two
years. His achievements
include Star Chapter
Greenhand, beef production
awards, dairy production
awards, the Adams Apple
Degree, and Keystone
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Farmer Degree. As winner
of the State Star Farmer
Contest, he rs now in the
running for additional
honors later this year. He
will represent Pennsylvania
in September for the title of
Star Farmer tor the North
Atlantic Region. He’ll be
competing against Star
Farmers from 16 nor
theastern states.
Aside from his FFA
leadership positions, Donald
Don Rhodes was named the Pennsylvania FFA Star Farmer last week. He is a
full-time student and farmer in Adams Cou
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 20,1979
is also serving as vice
president of the Student
Council this year. In prior
years he was president of his
freshman class, and vice
president of both his
sophomore and junior
classes. He is a member of
the United Church of Christ
of Biglerville.
Some of the contests in
which the award recipient
has participated are public
speaking, project books,
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dairy judging, land judging,
and livestock judging.
Competing against Donald
this year for the State Star
Farmer title were: Kennard
Henley 111 of Cochranville
Rl, representing the eastern
region; Edward F. Husted,
Jr., Knoxville Rl,
representing the nor
thcentral region; and
Donald E. Cummings,
Claysville R 2, from the
western region.
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107
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