B34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 7,1984
Clubs Make Food Baskets
ELVERSON In an effort to
demonstrate the true meaning of
Christmas, 13 Twin Valley clubs and
classes joined resources to
make Christmas food baskets for
families in the Twin Valley
District. A total of 31 baskets were
put together, with money donated
by the clubs, classes and canned
goods donated by individual
students.
Groups which contributed were;
German Club, Future
Homemakers of America, Audio
visual club, Varsity Club, Future
Pa. crop production cited
HARRISBURG
sylvania’s 1983 production of
wheat, barley and rye was more
than production in 1982, but
production of oats declined, ac
cording to the Pennsylvania Crop
Reporting Service.
Production of winter wheat was
8.580.000 bushels, five percent
above 1982. The 220,000 acres
harvested was four percent below
last year. Yield per harvested acre
was 39 bushels, three bushels
above 1982. Barley production was
3.850.000 bushels, three percent
above a year ago. Acreage har
vested was 70,000 with an average
yield of 55 bushels per acre.
Rye production was 578,000
bushels, 42 percent above last
year. Acreage harvested was
17.000 with an average yield of 34
bushels per acre. Oats production
was 16,200,000, 18 percent below
last year, acreage harvested was
300.000 with an average yield per
acre of 54 bushels.
Pennsylvania farmers seeded
230,000 acres of winter wheat in the
fall of 1983 for the 1984 crop, about
the same as last year. Rye
seedings for all purposes
amounted to 80,000 acres in the fall
of 1983,20,000 acres more than last
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Rt 501 V/i Miles South of Schaefferstown PA
Phone 717 949 6817
Open Mon Fn Bto 8. Wed Bto 12 Sat Bto 5
Business Leaders of America,
Choirs, Yearbook, Class of 1984,
Class of 1985, Class of 1987, and
Future Farmers of America.
Chris Cylcewski, chairman of
the FFA Building Our American
Communities committee, took
charge of the combined effort. The
Steeple of People group distributed
the baskets in the community.
As one club advisor stated, “All
year we sell things in the com
munity, this is our opportunity to
show our appreciation and do
something for the community.”
year.
Penn-
National production of winter
wheat, barley and oats in 1983
declined, while rye was above 1982
production levels. Production of
winter wheat totaled 1.99 billion
bushels, six percent below 1982.
Barley production was estimated
at 519 million bushels, one percent
below the record high 522 million
bushels produced in 1982.
United States oats production
was 477 million bushels, 23 percent
than the 1982 crop. Total rye
production at 28.2 million bushels
is 34 percent above 1982 produc
tion.
Farmers in the United States
seeded 64.9 million acres of winter
wheat in the fall of 1983 for the 1984
crop, four percent above last
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A World
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Smoketown Dairy Sales
(Continued from Page 832)
"Everything’s fine, 1 just got done
delivering a caif.”'
In 1972, Fritz’s career took an
important turn with a call from
friend John Peila. Peila had found
a purebred herd available for
dispersal in Vermont if Gordon
would like to have a look.
Fritz sums it up. “So I bought
‘em, brought ’em home, put up a
big tent, and we had a sale. And
except for all the fuses we blew
trying to tie into the house’s
electricity, it was a big success,
too.”
The following year Fritz’s
neighbors Ben and Margaret
Deverter solved his cattle housing
problems by presenting him with
their garage which was scheduled
year’s seedings. Rye acres seeded
across the nation totaled 2.98
million, up eight percent from 1982.
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to be torn down. The hitch? Only
one. Move it, and it’s yours.
Fritz soon had an appropriate
foundation built, and through the
ingenuity of John and Mose Byler
and John Petersheim, the entire
garage was transported intact on
steel rollers to its new home next
door.
With Fritz’s two sons Ron and
Gordie putting their shoulders into
the business, Smoketown Quality
Dairy Sales Co., was ready to sell
cattle by December, 1973.
During the early days, Fritz
owned all of the livestock offered
at his sales, but as word spread of
his success, farmers began to
press Gordon to sell on con
signment as well.
During those first eight years,
Fritz estimates that he owned
about 80% of the cattle he sold, a
figure that began changing slowly
at first, and then quite
dramatically during 1982.
EDJ
393 5601
With the dairy market floun
dering last summer, Fritz decided
to change his strategy. During the
last, third of 1982 over 90% of his
cattle were sold on consignment
basis with seven of Fritz’s last 10
sales representing herd dispersals,
largely from the New England
states.
And if sales attendance and
receipts are measures of success,
then the approach seems to be
working. Despite competition from
four other area sales on December
9, for example, Smoketown posted
a record attendance of 119
registered bidders who paid an
average of $1135.00 for Fritz’s herd
of 34 cows, heifers, and calves.
But the cattle business can
hardly be termed a rose garden
with Gordon and Helen yoked to an
enterprise that commands as
much as 15 hours of each day. And
with Fritz’s 82-year-old father,
John, still active in the business
and offering his own cows at
Gordon’s last two sales, retirement
and a life of leisure can hardly be
termed a Fritz tradition.
Watching Gordon in action, it’s
apparent that the man could
probably sell most anything.
Cattle? Of course. Snowmobiles in
Jamaica? No doubt.
If he had it to do over again
would he opt for a repeat per
formance?
“Absolutely. And I’d make room
for more, too!”
For the man at the reins of
“Cowtown in the Little Town of
Smoketown”, there could be no
other answer.
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