Dl4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 18,1983
Learning finances early helped this dairy family
BY ROBIN PHILLIPS
Staff Correspondent
FREDONIA Currently rolling
at 13,554 pounds milk and 627
pounds of fat, the 100 plus
registered Jerseys at Vantage
Jersey Farm, RD Fredonia, have
been among the top ten Jersey
herds in the state for the past
several years. Owned by Don and
Angie Koontz, the herd is currently
ranked as number 4 for milk and
fat in the state, and is the second
highest Jersey herd in Mercer
County.
Strict attention to detail and
careful monitoring of finances
have become the successful for
mula for this Mercer County
dairyman, with the help of his wife,
Angie, and their two children,
Brian, 17, and Jackie, 14.
Prior to "going on his own”,
Koontz who is a graduate of
Delaware Valley College,
majoring in Animal Husbandry,
worked as herdsman at Walebe
Farms, Collegeville. It was at
Walebe Farms that Koontz says he
began to appreciate working with
large numbers of cows since it
"f A/!* 1
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. *
Brian Koontz loads hay for bunk feeding to the 90-lb. plus
milkers.
If
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pife
r
Angie Kooi
stalled just last year
enables a dairyman to develop a
clearer picture of the genetics of
the various bulls used in the herd
through the wider spread of
daughters within a herd.
With his father and brother in
partnership back on the home
Jersey farm, and after serving at
Walebe Farms, Koontz and his
wife, Angie, felt a need to get out
on their own and gain some equity.
At Walebe Farm for seven years,
Koontz was able to develop his
management skills to include
many of "the little things that
count”, and enjoyed working with
the cows as did Angie.
Angie, who as a small child, fled
with her parents from their East
German homeland and settled in
Philadelphia, states, “I never in
my wildest dreams though that I
would ever be a fanner’s wife”.
Angie credits a Jersey breeder and
good friend in the same district as
Walebe Farms, for givmg her the
enthusiasm for the Jersey cow that
she has and states that she enjoys
milking and working with the
cows.
After leaving Walebe, the
Koontz' cows are kept in a 178-foot freestall barn and fed at a bunk. This overall view
shows farm layout.
Don Koontz trims the feet of each cow as she is dryed off. To dry off the cows, each is
tied for the whole day and in evening after feet are trimmed, she is dry treated and
placed with other dry cows in loose housing barn with pasture.
Koontz’ moved to Saxton and
worked in partnership with an
absentee owner.
“He brought the farm and we
ran it for him”, they state.
With “running it for him”
meaning from "books to crops”,
the Koontz’ milked 38 Jerseys at
(Turn to Page Dl6)
units in-
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Jackie Koontz feeds calves before and after school.
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