B2—lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 8,1980 Cattle rustler teaches farmer to registry BY JOYCE BUPP Staff Correspondent LINEBORO, Md. The plot is a classic one of Grade B western movies. Rustler sneaks under cover of darkness into cattle herd and makes away with animals... rustler gets caught...rustler gets suspended sentence, at the end of a rope tied to the nearest big tree. The good guys generally win in cowboy movies. In real life, though, the Donald Baker family, Shaffer Mill Road, doesn’t see it that way. “The law protects the criminal,” says a disgruntled Baker. Baker, his wife Ruthetta, and their three daughters and a son, operate EayKroll dairy farms, a uniquely located 145-acres of rolling farmland in two states and three counties. Perched on the Mason-Dixon border, the Baker’s farm is in Pennsylvania’s York County, and in both Carroll and Baltimore counties in Maryland. Their dairy operation includes a herd of 90 Ayr shires and Holstems, about three-quarters of the animals registered. Early Thursday morning, August 30, 1979, a baby purebred Holstein calf was discovered missing from a hutch it shared with a pen mate near the milking bam. It was a damp, foggy day, and the Baker’s figured the calf had crawled from the pen and wandered out to hide in tall grass nearby. “But as soon as I walked into the barnyard, I could sense that something was wrong,” Baker recalls. “The cows seemed terribly ner vous and jumpy.” Then Baker spied truck If only they could talk: Norma Jean Baker holds cows rustled from the family’s Lineboro dairy farm Patches the Holstein, and Donald is at the halter of ' n August, 1979. Betsy the Ayrshire, the two registered milking i hotos o f your cattle Take tracks in soft ground just outside the concrete exercise lot adjoining the milking parlor. The family finished up the morning milking and armed with DHIA papeis, again ran the herd through the parlor, taking cattle roll call. Two head were missing. Once the site of the local grain mill and the center of surrounding commerce, the Baker’s Ray Knoll farm sits at a crossroads off to the right, enabling their rustler to make a quick getaway in one of several directions through rolling hills and a maze of twisting country roads. are convinced its the best calf care system, especially with the telescoping wooden fronts they've custom built. <y- x get perfect pictures Betsy, a prized Ayrshire, just fresh and still showing signs of afterbirth, was a former 4-H project favorite. Patches, the Holstein, had freshened in June and was milking near the top of the herd. “I couldn’t have picked two better milking cows from the herd to take myself,” grimaces Baker, who agreed to share his story in the interest of livestock owners, especially those with registry cer tificates. Calls went out to both the Maryland State Police and to (Turn to Page B 4) See your nearest HOLLAND Dealer for Dependable Equipment and Dependable Service: Alexandria. PA Clapper Farm Equipment Star Route BX4-669-4465 Annville. PA BHM Farm Equipment, Inc RD 1 717-867-2211 Bernvilte. PA Stanley A Klopp, Inc. Bernviile, PA 215-488-1510 lerville. PA Nelson Farm Supply, Inc Biglerville, PA 717-677-8144 Carlisle. PA PaulShovers, Inc 35 East Willow Street 717-243-2686 Catawissa. PA .'.braczmskas Farm Equipment, Inc RD 1, 717-356-2323 Chambersburg. PA Clugston implement, Inc RD 1 717-263 4103 Davidsburg, PA George N Gross, Inc R D 2, Dover, PA 717-292-1673 Flizabethtown. PA Messtck Farm Equipment, Inc Rt 283 - Rheem's Exit 717-357 1319 Gettysburg, PA Yinglmg Implements RD 9 717-359 4848 ireencastle. PA Meyers Implement's Inc 400 N Antrim Way PO Box 97 717-597 2176 Halifax. PA Sweigard Bros R D 3, Box 13 717-896-3414 Honev Brook. 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