A3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 21,1981
Maplehofe Dairy
(Continued from Page Al)
sons were growing up he got the
idea that expansion into a farm
market was a logical way to keep
the family on the farm and busy
Today there are 110 cows in the
Maplehofe milking string, mostly
registered Holsteins
In addition there are 40,000
layers in production About one
third of their output is sold in the
farm store The birds are in two
cage laying houses, the older for
15.000 birds and the newer with
25.000
Each of the sons has a specific
area of responsibility Samuel is in
charge of breeding and the cows
Elvin takes care of processing, egg
grading and the heifers Merle’s
main responsibility is the store
although he also does some
milking Calvin, still in school, also
works with the egg operation
Merle’s wife Denise works
fulltime in the store and Sam’s
wife Anna Mary does the
bookkeeping for the operation
The store’s philosophies are
simple, Merle says The Clicks
emphasize quality, feeling that
brings in the repeat sales
They like to offer good prices,
but won’t sell the cheapest item If
someone is looking for cheap ice
cream, for instance, they should go
to the supermarket for a no-name
brand, Merle points out
Clicks try to keep the store as
clean as they can They feel the
shop’s atmosphere will suffer if
their spotless approach were let
go
They sell fresh goods, too,
especially sweet corn and can
taloupes they carry in the summer
months
Merle says he feels using Penn
sylvania products helps And the
Maplehofe operation is a
showplace of farm promotions and
of Pennsylvania farm products
Elvm Click restocks the egg case, updating the stock of
2500 dozen eggs moved each week. Note the promotional
posters in the foreground above and around the fresh fruit
display.
Milk sales, at the rate of 3500 gallons per week, are the
mainstay of the Maplehofe Dairy business But the store also
sells a variety of other farm products.
Milk, of course, is the mainstay
The milking herd completed last
year with a DHIA record of 14,921
pounds milk and 552 pounds fat
Most of that production is sold in
the store’s dairy case
Maplehofe moves about 3500
gallons of whole, skim, and
chocolate milk during its six-day
work week
Ice cream is a big mover in the
summer months The homemade
ice cream is dipped in 30 different
flavors at Maplehofe
About 2500 dozen eggs produced
on the farm are sold weekly at the
store Egg prices are kept about 10
cents below supermarket prices
That assures sizable volume in
the shop The rest of the layers’
production goes to Hess Foods in
Ephrata, according to Elvin
Pennsylvania potatoes are
popular in the store, although local
potatoes were a bit harder to find
this year than in past seasons
The store also features
vegetables and fruit harvested
from neighboring farms Assorted
candy, noodles, and locally baked
goods also are featured
Maplehofe buys sugar in two to
three ton lots for use in its fruit
drinks But the family also bags
smaller lots on their own, finding it
is possible to keep prices down on
this now-expensive staple
Also on the sweet side are jellies
and honey
Bologna and hamburger are
popular items The meats are
processed by Stoltzfus Meats in
Intercourse
Merle says he likes to work on
volume rather than price The
large volume allows him to trim
margins closer and still maintain
profits
Maplehofe does little advertising
but relies on word of mouth to
spread the story of fresh products
and good prices
IP** ;
Maplehofe Dairy Farm’s retail operation at
R 2 Quarryville was one of three farm outlets
honored Monday by the Certified Retail Farm
Inside the bright farm store hang
posters promoting Pennsylvania
apples, eggs, potatoes, and of
course dairy products
The dairy store is a member of
the Retail Farm Market Division,
a program supported by farmers
to insure maximum standards of
service and satisfaction to
customers
Markets which meet the stan
dards of excellence display the
blue and yellow Certified Retail
Farm Market sign on the
premises
There generally are two women
working the stores weekdays and
three on duty Fridays and
Saturdays
The shop is open Sam to 9 p m
five days a week and from 8 a m to
6pm on Saturdays Come the
Summer ice cream season, the
store will stay open until 9 p m on
Saturdays, too
Behind the farm store and over
the hill .s the heart of the
farm the dairy barn and the
laying houses
Cows are kept in a 101 stantion
barn Dry cows go up to the heifer
barn where there are an additional
11 stalls
The new bam makes working a
lot easier at Maplehofe It has been
up for about four years
fhe egg business boasted'one ot
the first cage laying operations in
the County when it was put up 20
years ago At that time, 15,000
birds was a sizable Hock, 100
With the new house, nearly three
times as many layers are
producing at Maplehofe
The entire operation, though, is
geared to the customer who comes
in out front
That philosophy earned
Maplehofe its Hall of Fame Award
this year
Whispering
wins retail
MT PLEASANT MILLS -
Whispering Springs Fruit Farm of
Rl, Mt. Pleasant Mills, Snyder
County, has been presented with
the 1980 Hall of Fame Award from
the Certified Retail Farm Market
Division of the Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Association
&
The award was presented to
farm market owners, Larry and
Jeanne Sierer, by Ron Rohrbach,
chairman of the Certified Farm
Market Council
i ..J
The inscription stated, ‘ln
recognition of exemplifying the
Retail Farm Markets Division
criteria for membership and of
fering high quality products grown
by a bona fide agriculturist ”
The award was presented during
the ceremonies, Monday,
February 16, at the Pennsylvania-
Maryland Roadside Marketing
Conference, held at the Gettysburg
Sheraton Inn
I' -w*
Maplehofe Dairy Farm of
Lancaster County and Shenot
Farm Market of Allegheny County
also received Hall of Fame
Market Division of PFA,
is run by Aaron S. Click
Eggs are picked out fresh daily from the cage laying house.
About one-third of the 40,000-bird production is moved
through the dairy store. The rest is sold to a dealer.
Shenot
marketing honors
WEXFORD Shenot Farm
Market of R 3, Wexford Run Road,
Allegheny County, has received
the 1980 Hall of Fame Award from
the Certified Retail Farm Market
Division of the Pennsylvania
Fanners’ Association.
The award was presented to Bill
Shenot and son, Ed, his partner, by
Ron Rohrbach, chairman of the
Certified Farm Market Council
The inscription stated, ‘ln
recognition of exemplifying the
Retail Farm Markets Division
Springs
award
Awards
The year-round farm market,
located off Route 104 near Mt
Pleasant Mills, is supplied by a 405-
acre farm which includes 350 acres
of fruits and berries Most of the
berries and all cherries are sold on
a pick-your-own basis In addition,
35 beehives supply honey for the
market.
The market is a member of the
i Retail Farm Market Division, a
program supported by farmers to
insure maximum standards of
service and satisfaction to
customers Markets which meet
these standards are easily iden
tified by the display of a Certified
Retail Market logo on the
premises
The division is a member service
of PFA, a general farm
organization with over 22,800
family members In addition to
establishing retail farm market
quahty guidelines, the division also
provides services to its 130
member, statewide, for their
customers
. The jug milk operation
and his sons.
Farm wins
criteria for membership and of
fering high quality products grown
by a bona fide agriculturalist ”
The award was presented during
ceremonies Monday, at the Penn
sylvama-Maryland Roadside
Marketing Conference held at the
Gettysburg Sheraton Inn
Whispering Springs Fruit Farm of
Snyder County and Maplehofe
Dairy Farm of Lancaster County
also received Hall of Fame
Awards
Shenot Farm Market, located
near Wexford in northern
Allegheny County, is a seasonal
outlet featuring a variety of farm
products which are nearly all
home-grown The 125-acre farm
which supplies the market
provides fruit, sweet corn and
other vegetables.
The market is a member of the
Retail Farm Market Division, a
program supported by farmers to
insure maximum standards of
service and satisfaction to
customers
Markets which meet these
standards are easily identified by
the display of a Certified Retail
Farm Market logo on the
premises
KNNSYUMMIA
Ic9t
WTRC MOWING BCTTKK