Clinton Co. beef producer named Master Farmer
MILL HALL - A Clinton
County beef cattle producer,
who combines business
expertise with management
efficiency m operating one of
the state’s more successful
farming enterprises, has
been named a Master
Farmer for 1980.
Ralph E. Dotterer, of R 2,
Mill Hall, senior partner in a
1500-head feeder cattle
operation, will receive the
coveted award January 13
during ceremonies in
Harrisburg.
Dotterer also will be in
ducted mto the Pennsylvania
Master Farmers’
Association whose mem
bership consists of all for
mer award winners. The
program was established in
1927.
‘ ‘We originally combined a
beef operation with a herd of
80 dairy cows,” says the new
Master Farmer. In 1976 we
decided to sell the milk cows
because the two sons,
Charles and Ralph, Jr., were
BIG FARM POWER AND EQUIPMENT
, ’ - : — ll^— ————■lM
THE U
STEIGE
4-Whe
Drive
more interested in raising
beef cattle.”
With 1500 feeder cattle to
be sold during the year,
there is need for a steady
marketing outlet. A
slaughter plant in Lock
Haven buys about half the
Dotterer feeder steers.
Other animals are trucked to
the Lancaster stockyards.
“We also sell some cattle
directly to packers. And
others are sold through the
Pennsylvania Farmers’
Association on a dressed
basis,” he adds.
In just four years as a full
time cattle feeder, Dotterer
has developed a reputation
as an innovator. One of the
first tasks was remodeling
the dairy bam to make it a
useful part of the beef
operation
He took out free stalls and
graded floors so animal
wastes can be conveniently
scraped to gutters for
deposit in a storage pit. Feed
(Turn to Page Al 6)
Tractors
Ralph E. Dotterer, R 2 Mill Halt, has developed a
reputation as an innovator. He has successfully
remodeled a dairy operation to a modern beef
BEATABLE TEAM
And
AT THE FARM SHOW
ya'
IS
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3,1981—A15
feeding
mer for 1980.
KRAUSE
Disc
Harrows
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Si’
ias been named Master Far-