—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 23,1979
20
Berks County Ag Expo a big success
By DIETER KRIEG
READING - The first
ever Berks County
Agricultural Exposition,
held at the Berkshire Mall
last week, was a tremendous
success, according to Mrs.
Robert Kopfer, who was
involved with the affair on a
daily basis.
The Fleetwood area dairy
farm wife commented:
“We’ll definitely want to be
coming back. With no
Reading Fair this year, this
Expo was our biggest touch
with the city.”
The Agricultural Ex
position featured farm
product displays as well as
fun and games for young and
eld alike. In previous years
the emphasis had been
strictly on milk, since June
is Dairy Month. This year,
however, organizers decided
to bring all phases of
agriculture into the shopping
center.
Organizers of the 6-day
long event called it the first
and largest indoor
agricultural show in the
area. Representatives from
the Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture called it
a positive step towards
promoting Pennsylvania’s
fam products. Agriculture
Department Secretary
Penrose Hallowell and his
deputy, Chester Heim, were
both on band to observe and
offer congratulatory
remarks.
Time for farmland
assessment sign-ups
FLEADNGTON, N.J. -
August 1 is absolute deadline
for filing farmland
assessment application with
the tax assessor. Forms are
available from him. If one
has been on FLA, he will get
your forms in the mail. If
applying for the first time,
one had better call him for
the form.
The August 1 deadline date
is critical. No extensions are
possible for filing beyond
that date.
If one has any questions,
he should contact his
assessor first. He’s the
The big event came to a
conclusion last Saturday
night with the crowning of
the 1979 Berks County Dairy
Princess. (See article on that
elsewhere in this issue.)
“Children especially liked
the hatched chick display,”
said Mrs. Kopfer. The ladies
were impressed with crafts,
particularly the quilts that
were made and later given
away to lucky contest en
trants. s
In his remarks during a
dinner marking the begin
ning of Berks County
Agriculture Week, Deputy
Agriculture Secretary Chet
Heim emphasized that
Pennsylvanians need to
become totally aware that
agriculture keeps the state
growing. He congratulated
Berks County groups and
individuals for their efforts.
In a question and answer
session following the dinner,
Heim said he believed it
would be more economical
for Pennsylvania to keep the
present Farm Show
Budding. He said it could be
improved and maintained
for less than a third of the
money it would take to build
a new complex. A new
building, while desirable, is
impractial at this time, he
said.
Asked about a milk
marketing security fund, the
deputy secretary revealed
“administrator” of the
program in your
municipality.
Other questions? In New
Jersey, call John VanZandt,
Coordinator for Rural
Resource Services, New
Jersey Dept, of Agriculture,
609-292-5511, or call the
Hunterdon County Extension
Service, 201-788-1338.
Bob Schutzki, County
Agricultural Agent, will
again be scheduling a
number of Farmland
Assessment Workshops.
Dates and times will be
announced.
that the Department is
proposing the fund be con
tributed to by both dairymen
and dealers.
xOn farmland preservation,
Heim noted that legislation
is being proposed and
worked on, but no final
action on the matter is ex
pected this year.
Tuberculosis and
brucellosis are on the rise in
Pennsylvania, according to
Heim, who is encouraging
preventive measures such as
vaccinations. “We thought
we were home free, but we
got a little careless. It’s a lot
more practical to spend time
and money on prevention
rather than on indemnity
programs. It’s not just good
economics, it’s also good
public relations,’’ he ex
claimed.
Heim noted that
agriculture is Penn
sylvania’s second largest
industry. He’d like to see
more of the kind of efforts
that were displayed here at
the Berkshire Mall last
week.
Among the farm leaders
who helped to develop the
Berks County Agricultural
Expo were Donald Duncan,
dairy farmer and show
chairman; Jack Kooker,
president of the Berks
County Farmers
Association; Feryl
Treichler, master of the
Berks County Pomona
Grange No. 43; and James
Haldeman, senior
agriculture agent from the
Berks County Extension
Service.
More than a dozen farm
organizations, commodity
groups, and related agencies
took part in the promotional
and educational activities.
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Many visitors to the Berks County Agricultural Exposition found the chick
display fascinating.
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