14—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 22,1979
IFYE visits
MT. JOY Some might
call it fate, while others
might say that their meeting
was just a lucky stroke of
friendship. But, for Christine
Erb and Noriko Mizuno, the
few minutes they spent
talking in an airport in
Japan made an impression
on the two young women that
would span the ocean.
Both Chris and Nonko
were participating in the
International 4-H Youth
Exchange, or IFYE
program. Chris had
travelled to Japan and
Noriko was on her way to the
United States when they
met. They both had a lot in
common because they were
from poultry farms.
After that brief encounter,
Ncriko flew to the U.S. and
spent her time from June to
August visiting poultry
farms in Louisianna. During
her two month stay there,
she adopted the nickname
“Niko”.
When she left Louisiana,
Niko travelled to Michigan
to see the poultry operations
there. But, she pointed out
that these are generally big
corporation farms. Even
though she asked a lot of
questions, she felt she
needed to learn more about
the poultry business in the
States.
That’s when Niko wrote to
the National Headquarters
of the 4-H Council and asked
to visit the Erb farm. “I
wanted to work and learn on
the farm,” she said, '‘and I
told them that the Erb’s had
both poultry and cows on
their farm so I could learn by
doing.”
The 4-H headquarters
agreed, and Niko arrived at
the Erbs two weeks ago,
arriving a few days ahead of
Christine. But, since Chris’
arrival, the two young
women have been sharing
life (Mi the Erb farm and
sharing experiences in both
Japanese and English.
Niko said that she was
surprised at how open the
American people are. She
said that in Japan the people
are more shy and reserved.
“You don’t smile or talk to
strangers.”
She also observed that
“The American people have
automation and food all
ready.” She said that she
noticed farm families having
microwave ovens and easy
to-prepare food.
In contrast, the Japanese
“work and don’t know how to
enjoy life”, according to
Niko. She said that the mid
west farmer she visited
worked hard during the
harvest, but took time to
play tennis in the evenings to
relax.
She also noted that the
Japanese eat a lot of fresh
vegetables and raw fish.
This means that the wife
must go to market every
day. Canned food is seldom
used for preparing meals,
and they do very little
freezing. And Japanese
cooks don’t have
microwaves because they
are too expensive, she said.
Niko’s father owns a
poultry farm in Japan. They
raise 30,000 layer chickens
and 6,000 chicks with the
help of three full-time people
and three part-time people.
Wilbur Erb pointed out that
this is a sharp contrast to
their farm where one family
takes care of 50,000 chickens.
In the Mizuno operation,
the chicken houses have only
one tier of cages as opposed
to the three tiers found in the
Erb houses. The Mizuno’s
gather their eggs by hand
instead of by conveyor belt,
and they don’t have
automatic feeders.
Niko said that she felt their
houses back home needed
some changes. “Chickens
need real sunshine and fresh
air,” she said, “like the
houses I saw m Louisana.
Wilbur Erb quickly ex
plained how the open-house
concept used in the southern
states would not work here in
Pennsylvania because of the
cold winters. It would adapt
more easily to where Niko
lives in central Japan
because their climate
compares to Virginia and
North Carolina.
Northern Japan, around
Tokyo, has weather similar
to Pennsylw ' and the
~Niko and Chris busily sort the eggs as they come off the conveyor belt. The
automation in the layer houses is something that Niko said she feels is needed
on Japanese poultry farms.
Lancaster Co, poultr
southern tip of the island is most areas of the U.S.,
like Florida. One difference probably because of the
though is that the entire ocean surrounding Japan,
country is more humid than (Turn to Page 39)
Noriko Mizuno has spent six months in the U.S.
under the i.F.Y.E. program. Japan's national
government’s 4-H program is known as the Rural
Youth Development Association.
, L , *****
farm
Niko requested to visit the Erb farm so that she
could learn more about U.S. poultry farms by
Ktr II
Bottom
(2) No. 6 Feeders
(2) No. 5 Feeders
(2) No. 4 Feeders $ 185 Ea
(1) No. 3 Feeder $ l5O Ea.
This price is just for the Smidley Hog
Feeders in stock.
*270 Ea
*225 Ea