AlB—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, April 17,1982
Milk
BY BETH HEMMINGER
SHIPPENSBURG - Like
watching a trad of spilt milk that’s
accidently spreadmg and covering
a larger area, the expansion of
Milk Way Farms, Cumberland
County can be compared to a
trickle of milk that has turned into
a stream.
But, unlike the spilt milk. Milk
Way Farms’ growth is not
f i
i,
, Milk Way Farms, Shippensburg,
inspects his lot of dry cows and heifers with son Gary. A new
breeding system has been implemented by the Hornbakers to
hopefully “guarantee” strong, healthy heifer calves for their
growing registered Holstein herd.
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HAMILTON EQUIPMENT, INC.
567 South Readinc Road
Ephrata, PA 17522
Phone: 717/733-7951
Way Farm takes growth in stride
something that Paul Hombaker
and wife Grace cry over. For it’s
this hard-working couple, along
with their two children Gary and
Karen who have supplied the
driving force needed to take an 11-
cow dairy farm and turn it into a
thriving 170-head Holstein
operation.
The road wasn’t all smooth
sailing as the Hornbeckers began
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tneir journey to success. And, from
the tune Paul graduated from high
school until the tune the Horn
bakers owned their own farm,
their dairy operation spilled onto
two farms.
Paul began his career in the
dairy industry in 1952, one year
after his high school graduation, on
his father’s farm. With a herd of 11
milking Holstems, Paul began to
made a niche for himself in the
farming community. Then, after
his father became ill, Paul realized
he would have to move to a rented
farm if he wanted to give his new
business a chance to survive.
I '
By 1959, the number of cows on
the Hornbaker’s milking string
had grown to 30. That was the year
Milk Way Farms could claim its
permanent residence on Fort Road
near Sluppensburg.
Finally settled, the Hornbakers
concentrated on growing a quality
herd of Holstems. As more and
more replacement heifers claimed
a spot on the farm, it soon became
evident that Milk Way Farms was
suffering from growing pains. So,
in 1967, a second farm was added to
the prefix.
Now, with the two farms. Horn
bakers are kept hard at work
growing most of the feed for their
170 milkers and 130 head of young
stock and dry cows on 300 acres.
High-yielding alfalfa and corn
varieties, quality fertilizer, and
efficient harvesting are the keys
Hombaker attributes to his suc
cess m producing the necessary
feed to keep his cows pumping.
To handle each year’s harvest, it
would be easy to assume the
Hornbakers rely on metal or
concrete silos to store the large
quantities of forage needed to feed
over 200 head of cattle. But, there’s
only one upright silo on Milk Way
Farms and it's used to store high
moisture corn. The rest of the
silage is worked into trench silos
for the fermentation process.
“Trench silos are more cost
effective than the uprights for my
*
John M. Esh
RD2, Box 267, East Earl. PA 17519
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Hornbaker breezes through feeding time using his
automatic unloading wagon. Silage on Milk Way Farms is
made in three trench silos which hold 2,250 tons.
particular operation,” says
Hornbaker. “It’s a convenient
method of storing large quantities
and all we have to do is scoop the
forage out with a tractor and feed
it.”
But there are always two sides to
every story as son Gary illustrates
by conceding that a trench silo “is
inconvenient when it is pouring
down ram and the ram is running
down the back of your neck.”
Milk Way’s three trench silos are
strategically located beside them
WHEELING
CHANELDRAIN
ROOFING & SIDING
• White
• Gold
• Brown
free stall barn. Two of the trenches
hold approximately 900 tons of
silage while the remaining trench
holds about 450 tons. '
The cows at Milk Way begin
their day at an almost unearthly
hour. They dine on a breakfast of
high moisture com, com silage,
haylage and wet Brewers’ gram
before filing into the double-fiv«\
herringbone,milking parlor at
a.m. (You read it right that’s
Colors In Stock:
• Red
• Avocado Green
• Plain Galvanized
Note: There will be a light green
in stock after April
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TRUSSES
Call us for low prices -
(717)354-7561
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