Land
BY JUDY HULL
Staff Correspondent
LITTLESTOWN - Rumor has it
that bib overalls and straw hats
are still the preferred work clothes
for farmers. That makes Ginger
Myers mad.
“Children’s books still show
farmers wearing plaid shirts and
straw hats and carrying a milk
bucket. I tell my own children that
just isn’t how it is,” she says. She
also would like to tell the rest of the
world.
A fine example of the new
generation of farmers, John and
Gingers Myers own and operate
Green Manor Farm, a Guernsey -
Jersey farm near Littlestown in
Adams County. And while they
purchased Green Manor because it
was John’s grandfather’s farm and
they wanted to carry-on the family
heritage, their ideas about dairy
farming are anything but nestled
in the past.
“We must be very efficient for
the amount of land that we have,”
John says. Their next door
neighbor is a non-farm family and
plans are in the works for a
housing development to be built
just down the road.
This “tight” land situation, plus
several other factors, figured in
the Myers’ decision to add Jersey
cows to their farm operation.
“There have always been Guern
sey’s on this farm,” John says.
“The Jerseys, however, are more
efficient, require less feed input,
less storage, less manure, and less
use of our equipment. We can get
the same profit out of a (Jersey)
cow that consumes less,” he adds.
Although the couple are firm
believers in the Jersey breed and
Calves, Bossman and Soldier Boy, are kept in hutches
during first eight weeks.
Counter-slope heifer barn on the Green Manor farm of John and Ginger Myers permits
easy removal of manure and sloping roof helps to Keep replacement stock cool in
summer and warm in winter.
squeeze prompts switch to Jerseys
are thoroughly educated about the
breed, they are quick to add that
they have nothing against Guern
seys or Holsteins.
“Ninety-two percent of the cows
in this country are Holsteins,”
Ginger says. “We have nothing
against them. We just feel that the
market is changing and is
demanding a higher solids
producing cow.”
The Myers’ see the increase in
the popularity of Jerseys as a trend
in the dairy industry. “Jersey
sales are up and their value has
held real reasonably,” John says.
“They have a lot of promotional
material, their journal is excellent
and the selection of AI bulls is
tremendous,” he adds.
They started building their
Jersey herd by purchasing four or
five cows. Today they milk 55
Jerseys and 10 Guernseys.
Like all dairymen, the Myers’
are concerned about the price they
get for their milk. They are
proponents of Equity, a Jersey
breed program, and end product
pricing. But they feel more has to
be done if the dairy farmer is going
to get the most for his product.
“We are really behind in
marketing. Too many dairymen
out there still don’t care enough.
We have to be concerned - we are
in the problems we are right now
because of it,” Ginger says.
“For a long time the government
support programs made it (far
ming) profitable,” John adds.
“Now we must be concerned about
what we get."
“Agriculture is so specialized
now. It’s no longer just enough to
produce it, we must try to get the
most for it,” Ginger emphasizes.
Ginger and John Myers, with daughter Susie, are shown among their mixed herd of
Jerseys and Guernseys on their farm near Littlestown, Adams County.
Jerseys of John and Gi
Dairymen, they say, must think
in terms of “eating milk" and not
“drinking milk.” “We need a
general term - dairymen,” Ginger
says, who produce high protein
milk. Consumers, she continues,
must be educated about milk’s
protein content as well as fat
content.
John describes his Jersey cows
as “tenacious.” “They will eat
anything you give them,” he says.
He adds that they usually have no
appetite problems and as a result,
he experiences less feed waste.
The Jerseys also have no problems
calving, according to John.
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Green Manor Farm boasts two signs one for Jerseys and
second for Guernseys.
The Myers’ say that priority for
selection of bulls in service at
Green Manor is PD dollar value.
Jersey bulls currently in service
are Quicksilver Magic of Ogsten,
A-Nine Top Brass, Briarcliff
Soldier Boy, Briarcliff Black
Magic, Shadewell Fascinator and
Sandblow Warrior. Guernsey bulls
include Maurana Wis Telestar,
Welcome Choice Admiral, and
Kellogg Choice Pender.
In 1981, the Myers’ sold Green
Manor Legacy to the Legacy
Syndicate for $7,000. This is the
first syndicated bull which they
sold and semen is now distributed
in 14 states.
While they are sure they could
hold jobs in other professions
(Ginger holds a teaching degree)
the Myers’ are convinced that
dairy farming is right for them.
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“We feel that our best talents are
being used right here,” Ginger
says. She adds that farming for
them is family oriented and
challenging.
Attesting to this commitment to
idly f
the industry, both John and Ginger
are active in numerous dairy and
farm organizations. “We try to
stay involved in activities that
compliment each other,” Ginger
says. These include being involved
ip organizing the 1965 National
Jersey Convention which will be
held in Lancaster, and holding
membership in the Pennsylvania
Jersey Cattle Club and the Cum
berland Valley Jersey Breeders of
which Ginger serves as secretary.
John is president of the local
chapter of the Mid-Atlantic
Guernsey Sires and the York-
Adams Guernsey Breeders
Association. Ginger is also a 4-H
leader and a coach of the dairy
judging team and is an approved
judge for the PBCA. The family
also holds membership in the
Pennsylvania Farmers
Association.
Clearly, the Myers’ are doing
their part to dispel the myth thal
farmers need only a contented cow
and three-legged stool to make it u
the dairy business.
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