!*««. r*ru.„ 25,15«4 FFA
IFFA
Holding her 1984 FFA Star Agribusinessman Award, 17-
year-old Jamie Frey, of R 2 Quarryville, displays the other
"star" awards which lead to her state title.
John Hauck - Keystone Star Farmer
BY LAURA ENGLAND
NEW BERLIN - John Hauck, a
Future Farmers of America
member at Mifflinburg High
School in Union County, remem
bers his first speaking contest well.
He was a freshman competing in
an area FFA contest and was
addressing the topic of applying
Seventeen-year-old John Hauck checks one of the milking
units used to milk the 40 cow Holstein herd.
Meet Pennsylvania’s top two ‘Stars’
new techniques to a large farm. He
was nervous and stage fright took
control. “I couldn’t express myself
as well,” he recalled, “and I
placed last.”
For John, the last placing did
more good than harm. “It really
got me going,” he said, “and it
broke the ice for other FFA ac-
Jamie Frey -
BY LAURA ENGLAND
QUARRYVILLE - Seventeen
year-old Jamie Frey is a star.
No, she hasn’t left her serene
country home in Quarryville for
the bright lights of Hollywood, but
nonetheless the high school senior
is a star.
Jamie, the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Ernest Frey, R 2 Quarryville,
utilized her four years in the
Solanco Future Farmers of
America Chapter and her talents
in the greenhouse business to win
stardom - she is the 1984 state FFA
Star Agribusinessman.
The only girl in her vocational
agriculture class, Jamie said the
school’s FFA advisors had to talk
her mother into letting her join the
organization. It was a decision that
the Freys can now be proud of.
It was through Jamie’s
greenhouse operation, which has
V. . . ]
jlanco japter president Jamie Frey stands between two of the greenhouses
she and her father, Ernest, constructed.
tivities.”
The 17-year-old son of Phyllis
Hauck and the late John Hauck Sr.
of New Berlin, John has come a
long way since that first speaking
contest. He is president of his local
chapter and the SUN (Snyder,
Union and Northumberland
counties) Area Chapter and most
recently was selected the 1984 state
FFA Star Farmer.
Receiving the Star Farmer
award was something John
thought he’d never get. “I was
really surprised and nervous and
didn’t know what to think,” John
said of the day he received his
award.
But looking at John’s past and
present FFA record gives one little
to wonder about his qualifications
for this state award.
John decided to enroll in the
vocational agriculture program
because he wanted to leam more
about mechanics and apply these
skills to his dairy farm
background. His first projects
included four Holstein heifers and
a garden of sweet corn.
Not to be tied down to his
projects, John also competed in
tractor driving, dairy judging and
public speaking contests. He was
elected to serve as his chapter’s
assistant treasurer for the
following year and was awarded
the Star Greenhand award.
With his first year of FFA under
his belt, John was ready for his
second He maintained his four
heifers, two of which were fresh
and had had heifer calves them
selves. He continued his home
garden as well and added five
acres of corn.
John was still just as eager to
enter FFA contests and par
ticipated in ag mechanics, dairy
judging, parliamentary
procedures and land judging. It
was in this contest that Join,
Keystone Star Agribusiness
received the support of her family
for the past four years, that she
qualified for the state agribusiness
award. In fact, her father
suggested the idea of a greenhouse
operation while Jamie was a
freshmen and looking for her first
FFA project.
Jamie began her greenhouse
venture with plans to specialize in
ground cover crops. The idea
sprang from a conversation her
dad had with Rick Rineer, owner of
Black Rock Nursery in
Quarryville. Rineer suggested
ground cover plants which are
fairly easy to grow and are in
demand market-wise.
Jamie got underway with her
business after she and her father
built the first greenhouse - a 100 by
35 foot structure. After that, it was
time for planting, and Jamie chose
to grow pachysandra, which is
With the aid of a computer used at Mifflinburg High School,
1984 FFA Star Farmer John Hauck can keep abreast of his
farm records.
received his last individual red
ribbon; everything after that was
blue.
For his accomplishments, John
received the Star Chapter Farmer
award and was elected chapter
treasurer. He was nominated to
the school’s Honor Society and was
looking forward to a good junior
year.
However, some changes took
place over the summer and John
had to reevaluate his FFA
program.
John’s father, a used farm
machinery dealer, died that
summer and John had to take a
new look at his farming situation.
“The summer my father died
changed a lot of things,” he said.
"I had to look at the farm and see
what the whole operation in
volved ”
Now looking at the farm in an
overall view, John decided to keep
a Pa. Farm Account Book on the
family farm as his FFA project.
This was done with the help of his
used in shady places receiving
little light. >
To get her first crop established,
Jamie went to neighbors and
friends and got cuttings from their
pachysandra plants. The cuttings
were planted in flats during the
summer and were marketed the
following spring. The first crop
was a success as she sold all her
plants.
When making plans for her
second crop, Jamie took the
suggestions of her customers to
heart. “People asked for myrtle
and ivy in addition to the
pachysandra,” she said, “and I
decided to add those my second
year.”
A second greenhouse was added
that year in addition to another
business proposition. Jamie’s
younger brothers, Eric, now 14,
(Turn to Page A3B)
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uncle George, who was farming in
partnership with his father.
John’s farming program now
included the whole operation - 200
acres of crop land and 40 cows.
In addition to his busy farm
schedule, John continued to
compete in area FFA contests and
develop his leadership skills. He
was named Union County Star
Farmer.
As a senior, John continues to
keep farm records and is looking
forward to this spring’s FFA
contests. He is also looking into
Penn State’s two-year
agribusiness program and says he
would like to “hang onto the farm
or get a job in agribusiness.”
Although his speaking contest
days are over, John is sold on
parliamentary procedures and has
high hopes for this year’s state
contest. The team placed fifth last
year and wants to better its record
With John’s leadership skills
leading the way, that goal may be
possible
I W