A24—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 24,1984
Guernsey gold
(Continued from Page A2O)
Buildings are not a big money
item here. The buildings are well
maintained but no new buildings
have been added, with the ex
ception of an extension on the dairy
bam 12 years ago. Dave is very
proud of his calf bam which is a
renovated shed with individual
pens.
When Dave returned to the farm
after graduation from Virginia
Polytech, he brought with him
many valuable skills. He now does
most of the health work including
pregnancy checks, as well as all of
the AI. Although these are not
large dollar items, over a year’s
time, the amount saved is
significant.
Dave now plans the breeding
program. Cows are individually
mated considering their
weaknesses. Type is a con
sideration but milk production is
not sacrificed. “Showing does not
pay the bills,” says Dave.
Type is not the major con
sideration but it has become more
important in the past few years.
Dave and Tom have become more
active in 'the showring with
Lebanon Valley Guernseys. Their
most recent sweep was at the 1984
Pa. Farm Show where they cap
tured Grand Champion, Junior
Champion, Premier Breeder, and
Premier Exhibitor honors.
Maryland State Fair was
another stop on the show circuit for
the Smiths this year, where they
swept the junior classes. They are
particularly proud of their winning
in the produce of dam class at
Maryland, when they won with
heifers over pairs of cows.
These Guernseys have also
made their mark on the national
level as well. Tom has had a senior
yearling nominated for Junior All-
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American honors and received
honorable mention. This year their
fancy junior yearling was
nominated for All-American
honors. The Smiths recently were
notified that she, too, received
honorable mention. They are
especially happy with their show
winnings as their herd is almost
100 percent home-bred.
Dave admits that some of their
older cows are kept on the farm
because of their pedigrees. They
can show and sell type heifers out
of these cows which justifies
tolerating lower milk production.
Ten of the cows in the herd have
produced over 100,000 pounds of
milk with three of those having
over 120,000. Milk and type
definitely go hand in hand here.
The Farm Show champion has a
record of 19,000 pounds of milk and
900 pounds of fat as a 3-year-old.
What do future plans for
Lebanon Valley Farms include?
Dave said that an important goal is
to have better quality cattle while
maintaining production. Their
hope is to be able to have available
for sale those cattle which would
provide a good foundation for
someone else and breed on.
Another goal is to produce 100
percent of their own feed and
forage. However, urban pressure
is definitely felt in their current
location. Rental cropland is also at
a premium with some nearby
property rented recently for over
$125 an acre.
Dave and Tom plan to continue
their contact with other breeds.
Tom currently reads breed
magazines from all breeds to stay
current with all aspects of the
dairy industry.
Tom will be graduating ip May
from Delaware Valley College and
hopes to find employment near
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nome so that he can stay involved
m the family farm.
Plans have been made to con
tinue in the show ring. The future
looks bright here as more of their
outstanding young heifers mature.
“We’re going to be back again,”
Dave said proudly. Tom also has
been hooked on his success on the
tanbark and looks forward to
continuing.
As is the case on many farms,
this family is also active in the
community. Bob is a director of
Pennsylvania Guernsey
Association, is a director of
Lebanon County Extension
Association and is active in the
Palmyra Church of the Brethren.
Dave is involved with 4-H dairy
projects and has assisted in
coaching the Lebanon county dairy
judging team in the past. He also
serves on the Mid-Atlantic
Guernsey Sire Committee. This
group picks bulls which they then
work to establish a proof on.
Semen is collected from these bulls
and distributed among the 30 to 40
member herds.
Tom has been active at
Delaware Valley College. He
judged with the dairy judging team
which topped the VPI team at
Harrisburg this fall. That win
resulted in much family banter at
the Smith home. Tom credits his
judging experience with giving
him the opportunity to see cattle
and dairy shows all over the United
States. He also returns home every
other weekend to assist with
milking and other farm chores.
This allows Bob and Dave to each
have one Sunday a month off.
Betty Smith is involved in the
management of the retail store and
helps with the record keeping.
Dave’s wife, Sharon, has only
been a “farm wife” for five
months. Although a “city girl” by
birth, she has taken a very active
interest in the farm. She is em
ployed full-time at the Hershey
Buildings on the Smith farm are not a big dollar item as
Dave points out with this shed converted to individual calf
pens.
Medical Center but still finds time
to help care for the calves and
attend shows and sales. “She is our
helper at the shows and is the
‘official show sign letterer’,” Bob
said. Sharon had her first ex
perience in showing a cow at the
Farm Show.
As all farmers know, good help is
a real asset and the Smiths have
i
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time for them for 13 years. Bob
introduces Mark as “part of the
family” which indicates his im
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The sum of this farm family
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