VCL.24No.4fr'
We’re never too old or, apparently, too young to
learn about handling hogs in a showring. With all
the aplomb of a seasoned veteran, two-and-a-half
year old Jason Wisser stepped into the ring to help
Chinese ag group tours farms
By SALLY BAIR
Staff Writer .......
LEBANON
Southeastern Pennsylvania
was the scene this week for
some international
diplomacy. It was not as
dramatic as shuttle
diplomacy or the Camp
David meetings, but the
impact of the grass roots
diplomacy may have a more
profound impact on
changing individual's hves.
A delegation of twelve men
and two women from the
People’s Repubhc of China
visited agricultural en
terprises in Berks, Lan
caster and Lebanon Counties
In this issue
Editorial 10
Maryland Fair 45
Classifieds 46
Homestead Notes 82
Kendy’s Kollumn 82
Junior Cooking 84
Lehigh Co. hog roundup 85
Farm Women Societies 87
Recipe Swap 88
Home on the Range 88
Montgomery Co. market
lambs 101
Joyce Bupp 108
Brown Swiss 111
Christine Gitt 112
Mike Welsh 115
Ladies have you heard 116
Lane. Co. DMA 122
York Co. DfflA 127
Berks Co. DHIA 131
Ephrata Yf 134
Chester Co. DfflA 144
Public Sales Registar 150
Visit Berks. Lebanon, and Lancaster
as part of a dairy
mechanization tour which is
designed to take specific
information back to China.
Interest of the Chinese was
intense. They asked detailed
questions of each host, and
took copious notes. Many
were seen making intricate
diagrams of some of the
interesting systems they
encountered. Little escaped
their notice.
According to Xing
Chunhua, director of the Red
Star Commune from which'
ten of the group came, the
central purpose of the visit is
to learn “the mechimzation
of dairying. We are very
interested in milking
machines and parlors,
particularly the various
forms of parlors.” Within the
Red Star Commune, there
are nine dairy herds with 300
cows in each dairy. The
animals are Holstems and
crossbreds which average
about l,2(Hj pounds of milk
per day, with about a 3.4
percent test. The Red Star
Commune is not entirely
unknown to some people
from this area because it
was visited by local
residents who traveled to
China last winter as part of
the People-to-People
agricultural tour.
Xing, speaking through an
interpreter, added, “The
farms here are mult-faceted,
so we see many things. We
think the family farms were
very well managed. Ob-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 1,1979
his dad, Larry, of New Tripoli Rl, show the judges
what kind of hogs they had. Jason was a hit with
spectators during swine competition Wednesday
at the Allentown Fair.
viously, the level of
mechanization is high.”
Xing noted that agriculture
in China is very labor
intensive, saying that the
work averages four cows per
man, although it is not
divided as strictly at that.
Liu Ming, director of the
4-H, FFA contests
at Allentown Fair
The Allentown Fair
opened oirWednesday of this
week for a seven-day run of
iood, fun, ferris wheels and
farm competition.
There was a steady stream
of visitors through Ag Hall,
and according to a number
of Fair regulars, more than
the usual number of visitors
to the livestock area.
Lancaster Farming was
there for Wednesday’s
showring competitions.
Some of those results appear
below, others will be along
next week.
There was spirited
competition in the hog, dairy
and beef shows, but there
were a number of other
competitions not usually
seen at other fairs in the
area. Champion rabbits,
guinea pigs and pigeons
wore their honors on their
cages. There were plenty of
sheep at Allentown, and
probably more goats than
Beijing State Farm Ad
ministration Bureau, echoed
similar comments. “Family
units here are well managed.
We feel we’ve learned a
great deal. We’ve seen
farms with 20,000 head,
(Turn to Page 19)
you’re likely to see in one
place until next year’s
Allentown Fair.
In the 4-H dairy com
petition, the winners by
breed were:
BROWN SWISS: Bryan
Urmy of Coopersburg
captured nine of the 15
awards for the breed, with
his senior champion and
reserve animals going on to
win grand and reserve
honors. Gary Urmy had the
top intermediate calf, Later
named junior reserve, edged
out for junior champ by
Bryan’s junior calf. Gayle
Urmy showed the top junior
yearling. Other winners
included Scott Houseman
with the top four-year-old,
and Mark Wicks with the
best five-year-old animal.
HOLSTEINS: Connie
Ohlinger won eight out of 15
awards m Holstein com
petition, but lost the grand
(Turn to Page 20)
Lehigh profits up;
Coop now planning
Consumer ad push
There’s a new look to the
balance sheet at the Lehigh
Valley Cooperative Far
mers, and in the next few
weeks, there’ll be a new look
at the coop’s packages, as
well. More than 250 mem
bers were at the Lehigh
Valley annual meeting in
Allentown Tuesday night, to
hear some heartening news
from president Robert
Barry.
“Lehigh, this year, is a
winner,” Barry said. “It has
taken us longer than we had
expected to get to this point.
When I came here, we
thought we could do the job
in two years. We
miscalculated. It took us
five.”
The coop had sustained
heavy losses in the years
betweenl974and 1977. In one
15-month period ending in
March of 1974, the'losses
totalled some $5 million.
Today, the picture has
turned completely, around,
Barry told his audience. In
the fiscal year ending
January 31, 1960, Lehigh
officials expect to earn well
over a million dollars on
sales of some $l5O million.
Crucial to the turnabout
has been the coop’s strong
private label business. The
bulk of Lehigh’s milk and
dairy products are sold in
cartons and packages
Lehigh Valley Cooperative Farmers are getting a
new look, both in the organization and in the
packaging.
$7.00 Per Year
bearing the names of other
retailers.
That will not change,
Barry told the meeting, but
beginning September, the
coop will begin an ambitious
advertising program aimed
at promoting the Lehigh
name to consumers in its
marketing area.
That program will cost
some $2 million over the next
three years. It will be aimed
(Turn to Page 32)
HdUoweU calls
ag districting
“key element 99
for land use
HARRISBURG - Penn
sylvania Agriculture
Secretary Penrose Hallowell
called the concept of
Agricultural Districting a
“key element” in state ef
forts to preserve farmland,
during testimony before the
Senate Committee on
Agriculture and Rural Af
fairs this past Tuesday.
Commenting on Senate
Bill 277, the Agricultural
Districting Bill, Hallov°ll
said, “Agricultural Districts
established in the com
(TurntoPa*;e27)