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VOL. 27 No. 3
Eckel wins PFA’s president’s post
Lackawanna County’s K£ith Eckel, right, became the
youngest elected president in PFA history on Wednesday
when he defeated Franklin County’s D. Eugene .Cayman for*
the past. Gayman, left, was reelected vice president. c
Dauphin 4-H’er takes championship
BY DEBBIE KOONTZ
LANCASTER —Dauphin County
4-H’ers had eauseto celebrate
Tuesday at tbeSoutheast District
Baby Beef Show andSaleas Judge
Bill Holloway of Seven Valleys;
York: County, named one of their
co-members, Dwayne Afessick,
Grand 'Champion Steer .title
holder.
Dwayne, the son of Alvin and
Fern Mesaick of JR4 Elizabethtown
sold the 1215-pound Cbianina Angus
cross to the Lancaster Stockyards,
host of the event, for |2 per pound
more than a dollar above the
' average which rested at 72.31 cents
per pound.
1 Although Dwayne says he
thought he would do well, he ad-
mits to being a little surprised at
-his accomplishments. He has 21
head of cattle on the 114-acre farm
near Hershey he operates with bis
dad.
According to Dauphin Extension
agent, Fred Rudy, this is the first
tune Dauphin County has gone
home with the Grand Champion
award.
Leaving the sbowring with
Reserve Champion honors was a
Lancaster Countian Tracey
Landis of Quarryville.
Tracey, the daughter of Jun and
Linda Landis, sold her 1230-pound
Purebred Angus to Wilmer
Kreider, known as Willie the
Butcher. Through her tears of
sadness, which stemmed from
having to say goodbye to her steer,
Tracey watched as Kreider bid her
steer up to $1.06 per pound.
Tracey purchased the steer from
Sam Wylie of Nottingham in April.
Two special awards were
donated preceding the sale to this
year’s top showpeople for Lan
caster County, as named at
Monday’s county show:
—An Angus Chianma crossbred
At .the District Beef Show and Side
calf was donated by the In
telligencer Journal daily
newspaper of Lancaster to Deb
Greider, top showpei'son. The
Intell. annually presents the
county’s top showmanship winner
with * calf who in turn will raise it
and. show it-in next .year’s com
petition. The presentation was
made by Intell editor William
Schultz.
—Chris Little, who placed as
reserve champion showman
received a $3OO check donated by
Lancaster Fanning newspaper.
The check was presented by
Dwayne Messick of R 2 Elizabethtown sold his Grand
Champion steer, weighing in at 1,215 pounds, to the Lan
caster Stockyards at Tuesday’s district baby beef show and
sale. Holding the blue ribbon is Lancaster Stockyards
president William McCoy, left.
Lancaster Farming, Satyrday, November 14,1981
BY SHEILA MILLER
HERSHEY) In what was
probably the most hotly contested
election in the recent history of the
Pennsylvania Farmers'
Association, voting delegates from
across the Commonwealth cast
their ballots to elect Lackawanna
Countlan Keith Eckel as president
of the 23,376-member family farm
organization.
The youngest PFA president
ever elected, Eckel, at age 34,
defeated PFA vice president D.
Eugene Gayman of Franklin
County who also was actively
seeking the highest seat in PFA.
The Hershey Convention Cen
ter's delegate session room was
packed with PFA members and
other interested bystanders as the
election process commenced
Wednesday. An anticipative
electricity seemed to be generated
in the spacious room as several
onlookers bemoaned the fact that
pubhaherHobert G. Campbell who
told the audience of buyers that
sometimes there is a fine line
between" first and second and
Chris’ efforts should be rewarded.
Receiving Champion Showman
award at the round-up was a
Chester County native, Sheila
Fairbaim of West Chester. Sheila
showed a 1105-pound Limousin
crossbred which also captured top
honors in the lightweight class.
This winner, the daughter of Er
nest and Ins Fairbaim, admits to
(Turn to Page ABO)
bets hadn’t been wagered on the
outcome of the election.
The PFA nominating committee
spokesman announced that Eckel,
the incumbent president who filled
the post after the resignation of
Eugene Thompson last August,
and Gayman, the vice president,
were their choices for the election.
When no other nominations were
forthcoming from the floor, the
election process was in full swing.
Both candidates bought the
delegates and others in the room to
their feet, applauding, las they
delivered their reasons for seeking
the office of PFA president.
Gayman, a Franklin County
dairyman, cited his commitment
to public service with PFA being
his first priority. His 20-plus years
of service, he said, has helped him
in preparing mentally and
physically for the responsibilities
of the office. “I have had the ex
perience of coming up the PFA
ladder and I didn’t miss many
steps,” he declare^.
Eckel, who operates a dairy and
inside
This
Week’s...
■ Farmers from across the state gather for the annual meeting
of the Pennsylvania Farmers Association to set policies and
present awards...A32.
Sellers and buyers huddle in a tent, oblivious to the weather,
to watch the Willsholm Invitational - an all embryo transplant
Holstein sale m Somerset County...A26.
Lancaster’s Red Rose 4-H'ers and Dauphin's beef club
•members hold their county round-ups. Find out more, on
pages...DB and D 2.
Rinehart Farms female
draws $70,000 bid
BY DONNA TOMMELLEO
TANEYTOWN,. Md. - A
Romandale Reflection Marquis
daughter sold for $70,000 on
Tuesday at the Rinehart Farms
Holstein sale.
Rinehart Oawfmette, a Very
Good 80 out of m-
ftwy
Zimmerman’s Holstems, A 24;
Bollmger’s DHIA record, A 22;
Ayrshire Breeders, D 7; Bedford
County DHIA Annual Report, DU;
Huntsdale Stock Farms, D 23.
Editorials, A 10; Now is the tune,
A 10; That’s a good question. AM;
Joyce Bupp’s column,'Bl2; Ladies,
have you heard! B 14; Ida’s
Notebook, B 19; Milk Check, 836;
Farming’s Futures, D 5.
$7.50 Per Year
cash crop farm with his father and
brother, confessed that seeking the
presidency was the “most hum
bling” experience of his life.
In the final tally, the PFA
delegates selected the incumbent
president to continue in his role.
Eckel will benefit from Cayman’s
years of experience since the vice
president was reelected for
another term.
Other PFA nominees for the
office of vice president included
Northampton County’s John
Ackerman, Chester County’s
Arthur Hershey, and Berks
County’s John Koch.
Eckel has been a member of
PFA's State Board of Directors
since 1976. In other farm-related
service, he helped to found and
served as a member on the State
Board of the Pennsylvania Council
of Cooperative' Extension
Associations. He has been a
director of the State Council of
Farm Workers and served on the
(Turn to Page A 32)
ternationally-known Rinehart
Apollo Oawfm, brought top bid
from Pennsylvania breeder
Charles Hershberger, Mar
tmsburg.
The 69 head of registered
Holstems averaged $4,829 in the
sale managed by R. Austin
Backus, Inc.
More than 1,000 prospective
buyers crowded into the sale tent
(Turn to Page Al 7)
fkm ml forth
Homestead Notes, B 2; Home on
the Range, B 6; Kid's Komer, BIO;
FWS calendar, B 12; FWS news,
B 14; 4-H news, Bl 9,20; FFA news,
B 30; New Holland beef and pig
club, B 8; Lancaster Co. Farm
Women, B 18; York Co. Farm
Women, B 15; Lancaster lamb
round-up, B 21; Tax Law, 829.