Beshores li
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
NEW CUMBERLAND - The
steaming cup of hot chocolate,
topped with a garnish of real
whipped cream, served to a visitor
on a cold winter day, typifies the
manner in which E. Wayne and
Athena Beshore live their support
of the dairy industry.
Throughout more than 35 years a
dairy producers on their northern
York County farm, the Beshores
have got that extra step in
production, promotion and
leadership. Their quiet, exacting
devotion has carried through from
the neatly-maintained farmstead
along the Old Susquehanna Trail
over into the numerous community
and church organizations in which
both have been involved.
For his service to the dairy in
dustry, Wayne recently received
the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s
Association’s prestigious Charles
E. Cowan award, presented an
nually to a deserving individual for
“leadership contributing to im
provement and promotion of the
dairy industry.”
Beshore has been a director for
seven years on the Federal Order 4
milk marketing board, and is
currently the sole representative
of Order 4’s independent
producers. He also serves as vice
president of Keystone Milk
Marketing and has been a director
of the Dairymen’s Association for
a decade.
But his leadership extends well
beyond dairy promotion groups.
Over the past several years, he’s
been president of the York County
Holstein Association, the county’s
Farmers Association, the county
extension service Executive
Committee, and been a director of
the state Holstein Association,
county Farmers Home Ad
ministratin and county DHIA.
In 1981, Beshore was selected a
Master-Farmer, and he has shared
his agriculture expertise with the
community through township
planning committee, school board,
the Grange, Dairy Shrine club and
church affiliations.
Bom “just up the road” from the
family’s gracious farm home, on
land Beshore Farms still owns,
Wayne grew up on a general farm
f
Wayne Beshore’s lifelong philosophy of quality instead of
quantity has resulted in outstanding herd individuals, such as
this four-year-old Glendell daughter milking 120 pounds per
day.
ve thei
that included dairy cows, hogs, and
an assortment of truck and fruit
crops, like raspberries and
asparagus.
“My father survived the
depression by picking
strawberries,” reminisces
Beshore.
To support his family in those
lean years, Elmer Beshore,
Wayne’s father, established a
weekly sales route, serving
customers in nearby New Cum
berland with farm fresh produce,
eggs and home-butchered meats in
season.
After four years of Army service
during World War 11, including a
19-month tour in India, Wayne
returned to the family farm to
begin working with his parents. He
and Athena, a “town” girl from
newberry in the adjoining town
ship, settled on the farm and began
assisting with the sales route
business.
It was the dairy cows that most
held Wayne’s interest, though, and
he soon saw a need to improve on
the small herd of milking animals.
In 1947, the herd was enrolled on
DHIA testing, finishing that mitial
year with the 11 cows averaging
7,000 pounds of milk and 252 pound
of fat.
With the purchase of his first
registered Holstein from a
Cumberland County farm sale,
Beshore ventured into his
purebred business.
“We paid $174 for that cow,”
chuckles Athena, recalling that the
bids were taken in 5-cent in
crements.
To further improve the quality of
the milk cows, the Beshores
purchased a few registered
Holsteins out of the Warner’s
Dairy herd. A majority of their
present herd individuals trace
back to those acquisitions.
The Beshore philosophy of
farming has always been
stewardship - to strive to pass on to
the next generation an improved
piece of land, or pedigreed animal,
over what was initially acquired.
“I believe in getting bigger and
getting better; we aren’t in
terested in numbers but in
production per unit. We want to
(Turn to Page A 37)
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r support of dai
Surrounded by tributes to family’s accomplishments,
Wayne and Athena Beshore look back on their life in dairy
industry. In foreground is Charles E. Cowan award recently
presented to Wayne by the Pa. Dairymen's Association.
Crawford DHIA honors
BY NANCY KUNICK
Staff Correspondent
MEADVILLE - For the fifth
consecutive year, Queens Manor
Holsteins, of Ed Doebereiner and
Sons, R 1 Jamestown, topped
butterfat production m Crawford
County in honors distributed at the
annual DHIA meeting and banquet
on Jan. 20 at the Meadville Holiday
Inn.
The Queens Manor string of 17
quality Holsteins produced an
average of 20,398 pounds of milk,
790 pounds of fat and 663 pounds of
protein per animal during the past
year.
Five other dairymen were
presented awards for records
topping 700 lbs. of fat. The
Crawford County Farm #1
Saegertown, Kenneth Custard,
herdsman, had the high herd in
milk and protein. The 29 Holsteins
gave 21,292 pounds of milk, 773
pounds of fat and 721 pounds of
protein. Also honored were John
Tautin, Sr.; Arden & Ivan Drake;
Black Pond Farms, Charles &
William Black, Jeff Raney, herd
sman; and Richard L. Black &
family.
In addition to the six farms over
700 lbs. of butterfat, 16 herds
topped the 650 lb. mark and 25
others finished the testing year
with over 600 pounds of butterfat.
The 46 herds received recognition
ribbons for their outstanding
production.
The plaque for the highest cow in
milk and fat production went to
Wagnercrest Farm, Bernie and
David Wagner, R 6 Meadville, for
their registered Holstein, Bell who
produced 33,524 pounds of milk,
and 1,328 pounds of butterfat in 305
days.
two awards were sponsored by
Wayne Feed and Platt’s Mill of
Spartansburg. They were awarded
to Roman Miller & Sons, of
Cochranton, for the greatest gain
in milk, with 59 cows averaging
17,994 lbs. of milk 671 lbs. of but-
(Turn to Page A 34)
top producers
Awards to herds averaging over 700 lbs. of butterfat are
presented by Craig Powell, Crawford DHIA director, to, from
the left, John Tautin Sr.; Richard L. Black; Jeff Raney, herd
sman for Black Pond Farms; Kenneth Custard, herdsman for
Crawford County Farm; and Ed Doebereiner, Queens Manor.
Craig Powell, of Crawford DHIA, presents special awards
to, from the left, John Brenner, greatest gain in butterfat;
Tom Wilson, lowest somatic cell count; and Ed Doebereiner,
top cow in protein production.
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