A34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 20,19*1
The 1981 Turkey Industryman of the Year is Lowell Koch,
Tamaqua. Presenting .the plaque is last year's winner, Paul
Konhaus. With Koch is wife Betty.
Poultry Industrymen
(Continued from Page Al)
broilers over the counter at one of
the fourteen different farmer
market stands located throughout
the Philadelphia area. When he
wasn’t at market (which was only
two or three days a week), Mitchell
served as a production employee,
cutting up chickens to sweeping
floors.
In 1950, Mitchell was promoted
to the position of market manager
and was responsible for those 14
Philadelphia markets; and in 1962,
he was appointed sales manager.
In 1973, he was appointed vice
U.S.-USSR complete
grain consultations
LONDON - U.S. Under
Secretary of Agriculture Seeley G.
Lodwick issued the following
statement at the conclusion of the
two-day U.S.-USSR grain
agreement consultations here on
June 9.
“We have just completed a day
and a half of consultations with
officials of the Soviet Umon under
the U.S.-USSE agreement. This
was the ninth regular session of
consultations under the agreement
but the first since October 1979. It
represents an important first step
in normalizing gram trade with the
Soviet Umon, following President
Reagan’s action to lift the partial
embargo last April 24.
“With respect to additional
Soviet purchases for shipment
between now and Sept. 30, there
was mutual agreement that
without further consultations, the
Soviet Umon could import up to 6
million tons of U.S. grains 3
million tons wheat and 3 million
tons of corn.
“If the Soviets import that full
quantity, this will bring their
imports of U.S. wheat and com to
14 million tons in this final year of
the five-year agreement. The
USSR has already imported 8
million tons the amount
allowable without additional
consultations between the two
governments.
“Under terms of the five year
agreement ending Sept. 30, the
Soviet Union was required to buy
at least 6 million tons of U.S. gram
half wheat and half com in
each of the five years. They could
buy an additional 2 million tons
without further consultations.
These amounts were not disturbed
by the partial embargo in effect
during 1900 and early 1981.
“At the end of the consultations
today, both sides agreed to consult
with their governments on the
president of sales and today he is
vice president of sales and
marketing for Victor F. Weaver,
Inc. Mitchell served as president of
the Pennsylvania Poultry
Federation in 1978.
At his home in Akron, Mitchell
serves his community as president
of the Borough Council and board
member of the Akron Church of the
Brethren. He is past president of
the Lions Club and a member of
the Lancaster Sales and Marketing
Gub.
Lowell Koch, Tamaqua, was
tuning and location of early talks
to explore a new arrangement for
U.S.-USSR trade in grains beyond
September 30. In the meantime,
the USSR may proceed to pur
chase, for delivery after Sep
tember 30, in reasonable quantities
on the same basis as other buyers
so as not to disrupt markets. ”
Tommelleo
(Continued from Page Al>
Tommelleo, lived under the risk
that at any tune their large home
might be turned into a farm for
wayward animals
“I was always sneaking animals
into our house,’’she said. “Cats,
dogs, mice, birds and anything else
that walked, crawled and flew. If I
could have hidden a pony or calf
under my coat I probably would
have tried that also.”
Fortunately for her family and
neighbors, Donna entered Penn
State’s mam campus in the
summer of 1973 and majored in
Ailimal Industry. During the next
four years she worked summers
for two Laurence County
veterinarians and assisted with all
types of animals.
“It was a wonderful expenence.
I was knee-deep in animals and felt
like a little kid in a candy store,”
she laughed.
After graduating in 1977 she
accepted a job as assistant herd
sman for a 100-cow Holstein dairy
m £>alem County, New Jersey. Her
responsibilities ranged from
milking to field work. She found
farm life exciting and extremely
rewarding.
“1 knew I wanted to spend the
rest of my life in the country.
Working on that farm helped me
gam a lot of self-confidence as well
as keepmg me in top physical
shape, although I think 1 must have
Over 200 poultry producers and allied in- Pennsylvania Poultry Federation’s In
dustry people gathered at the Host Farm, dustrymenofthe Year.
Lancaster on Thursday evening to honor the
chosen the 1981 Turkey In
dustryman of the Year. Koch
picked up the turkey business from
his father in 1953 after he
graduated from Tamaqua High
School. He started out big with
1,500 turkeys of his own. By 1970,
he was raising 100,000 turkeys and
selling them to Godshall’s
Processing Plant in Birdsboro of
which he was part owner.
In 1973, Koch built his own USDA
inspected processing plant at the
farm designed to handle a capacity
of 150,000 pounds of turkey. An on
farm hatchery operates from
January through August, hatching
out over 10,000 pullets per week.
The processing plant handles 3,000
hens or 1,800 tons every day, with a
freezing capacity of a half million
pounds.
Always an innovator, Koch’s
operation includes a small retail
.store and a kitchen to prepare the
products for the store as well as
develop new products. The product
line includes turkey pies and soups
all the way to turkey scallops and
turkey croquettes.
Koch is active in his community
as a director with the Tamaqua
Chamber of Commerce, the
Walker Township Planning Com
mission, and the Masonic Lodge.
Along with the Pennsylvania
Poultry Federation, Koch is a
member of the National Turkey
Federation and the Pennsylvania
Farmers’ Association. He was
selected as a Master Fanner in
1979.
Assisting him with the turkey
business are wife Betty and
children Barbara, Beth, and
Dwayne.
used a case of Ben-Gay the first
few weeks,” she added.
She returned to Penn State in
November of 1979 and, while
working on a Dairy Production
degree, she became interested in
journalism and combined the two.
“1 enjoy talking about fanning
and I found that journalism offered
a creative outlet. This job with-
Lancaster Farming will allow me
to do just that with a special
focus on the dairy industry,” she
said.
While at Penn State, Donna was
a staff writer for the University's
Agriculture Communications
Department but moonlighted as a
milker for Penn State’s dairy
center and worked in a fast-food
Mexican restaurant. She also was
active in PACT (People and
Animals Coming Together), a
unique Centre County pet
placement organization which
provides pets for senior citizens.
In addition to talking and writing
about dairying, Donna enjoys
traveling, water skiing, horseback
ndmg, cooking, hunting and soft
ball.
“Driving through Lancaster
County in the past was always
enjoyable and now that I’m finally
living here I can’t wait to become
more familiar with its people,
places and especially its farms,”
she concludes.
Accepting the 1981 Broiler industryman of the Year is Me!
Mitchell, Akron, center, and wife Dorothy. The award was
presented Thursday evening during the Pennsylvania Poultry
Federation’s Annual Banquet by last year's broiler man, Earl
Gingrich, right.
(Continuedfrom Page AJ)_
of weeks will be the cntical period
for blue mold development
The return of wet weather to
Florida has prompted new reports
from that area. "
“The blue mold seen thus far in
the county was'also sporulating,”
Yocum said.
This means that there could be
airborne spread of the fungus,
especially if weather conditions
are conducive to its distribution,
and development.
“Tobacco growers who are not
finished transplanting are urged to
use Ridomil in their fields,” ac
cording to Arnold Lueck, county
extension agent.
“With reports of blue mold
sporulating, it is important that
protection be provided in the
fields.”
Another weather-related
problem, which has been reported
in wheat fields, are the twin
diseases of powdery mildew and
scab.
The mildew resembles a musty
mist hanging over a field and can
remain undetected by growers
thinking it’s a haze.
Scab in wheat causes all or part
of the head to turn white or a
lighter color. Close examination
shows an orange or reddish growth
on the head.
Concerning the mildew, some
farmers may be faced now with the
decision of whether to chop the
wheat for silo-filling or wait out the
mildew and hope'it is checked by
drier weather. The mildew is not
toxic ahd the wheat can be put in
the silo.
Scab was a significant problem
in wheat two years ago. Both the
mildew and scab can cut
significantly into yields and test
weights.
Penn State research into the
problems are concentrating on
possible fungicides, breeding of
resistant varieties and seed
protectorants.
The black cutworm problem in
corn involved crops in the Gap and
Blue mold
Narvon areas and even down into
Chester County. '
One farmer reported it was the
worst problem he had in corn m'3o
years. The com,'about 14 inches
high, had been chewed off and,
some 100 acres had to be replanted
on the one farm alone. At least two
other growers also had to put in
new crops.
Similar problems were reported
in central and western parts of the
state and also in Maryland.
The rainy, damp weather also
was causing concern about blight
among tomato and potato growers.
Spraymg- was being done, but no
serious blight reports have been
received.
(Continued from Page Al)
wild to visualize and capture dairy
animals in comic or cute cir
cumstances.
As long as the photos have been
taken by an amateur photographer
and have dairy animals m them,
they’re eligible for competition.
Three cash awards will be made
in each of the categories. These
include $5O for first, $3O for second
and $2O for honorable mention.
Both black and white and color
. photos are eligible. They should be
at least snapshot size. Only photo
prints will be judged; no tran
sparencies or slides.
If you want your photo returned,
please include a stamped, self
addressed envelope, along with a
Lancaster Farming mailing label.
Be sure to include your name,
address and telephone number
with each entry so that we can
contact you in case one of your
photos turns out to be a winner.
But to be' a winner, you must
enter. And this is your last chance.
Send all entries to: C
DAIRY MONTH
PHOTO CONTEST
Lancaster Farming
P.0.80x 385, LitHz, Pa. 17543
Photos