BlB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 9,1984
Roy Sprinthall chats with Henry Reist, Mount Joy, prior to their takeoff for a bird’s eye
view of Lancaster County. Sprinthall, tour coordinator for the British group visiting in
Lancaster with the Friendship Force exchange, enjoyed the opportunity to put Lancaster
County in perspective. He called the landscape very similar to Derbyshire, England, his
home.
English Friendship Force visitors
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
LANCASTER A visit to
Lancaster County is not complete
without an introduction to the
county’s agriculture and its unique
landscape. For 14 English visitors,
the similarities to their part of
Great Britain was unmistakable.
The visitors were in Lancaster
County for two weeks as Am
bassadors in the Friendship Force
exchange, an organization
designed to help promote better
international understanding.
Hailing from Derbyshire,
England, in the geographical
center of the country, the visitors
appreciated the beautiful green,
lush Lancaster County countryside
as they toured the county during
visits with two different host
families.
Hoy Sprinthall, tour coordinator,
said, “Your farms could be in
England if they take away the
silos. We don’t have tall silos, but
the countryside is very English. It
could be almost anywhere in
England.”
Sprinthall had the unique op
portunity of seeing the country
from the air when flying farmer
Henry Heist, Mount Joy, offered
him a plane ride in his private,
two-seater plane. It was an ex
perience Sprinthall never expected
to have and give him a good
overview of the county and its
features.
Heist will travel to England in
August with his wife as part of the
two-way exchange program, and
hopes to have the opportunity to
visit some English farms while
there.
Sprinthall said the area reminds
him of the “market garden” center
near the city of Derby, his home.
The market garden area is so
named because of its acres and
acres of cabbage, cauliflower,
lettuce and carrots, much of which
is offered at markets similar to
Lancaster’s Central Market.
He said they have markets in
England, operating every day but
Wednesday and Sunday, but their
markets have separate sections
which house clothing and hard
ware as well as food.
Dairy farms in England are
small and privately owned.
England has many sheep farms as
well. Sheep are raised for both
meat and wool production.
Sprinthall said the sheep run in the
wild during the summer months,
making it necessary for farmers to
tour Uneoster farmland
search for newborn lambs. In
winter they would be given shelter.
Imports are mostly fruits, since
the climate is not suitable for
commercial fruit production.
Milk is also imported, but not by
choice, Sprinthall notes, saying
that their imports are dictated by
the European Economic Com
munity, of which Great Britain is a
member. “We’re not short on
milk,” he says.
George Evans, another visitor
who is manager of a supermarket
known as Sainsburys, one of a
chain of 245 stores, is candid about
the milk market. He said the EEC
forces Britain to have an open door
to milk imports, but people are
encouraged not to buy the im
ported products through ad
vertising. He said other countries
export their milk at a loss, and
adds, “Our producers are upset
because of it.”
He points out, “The milk trade is
suffering and the demand has
lessened.”
A unique feature of English milk
marketing is that home delivery is
still the norm. Sprinthall explains,
“The English housewife is
passionately fond of having her
own milk delivered to the door. The
only day it is not delivered is
Christmas Day.”
He said there are milkmen even
in “very rural areas,” and he
estimates that 95 percent of the
population is covered by home
delivery. Along with dairy
deliveries, the housewife can order
such items as bread and potatoes.
The deliveries are made in glass
bottles, which, of course, can be
recycled. Evans said milk has
been carried in supermarkets only
in the last six or seven years, and it
has been available only in cartons
or plastic containers for that
amount of time.
UHT milk is coming into its own
in England. Evans says, “We use it
regularly because it is convenient.
It has a long life. We use it mostly
for cooking and for tea.”
The UHT milk is available only
in liter or larger boxes, not in the
small snack size servings being
featured in this country. Flavored
milks are available as well as
regular milk.
One secret to its success is that it
is cheaper than the fresh version.
Refrigerated milk costs about 21
pence per pint and UHT costs from
15 to 17 pence, making it attractive
to the consumer.
Cheese is a popular dairy
product in England, with Cheddar
accounting for the largest volume.
Butter is imported from New
Zealand, long recognized as the
manufacturer of high quality
butter. Although there has been a
15 percent decline in butter use
over the last 10 years, it is still a
good buy by our standards, costing
about $1.40 a pound.
Sprinthall remarked that there is
a wider selection of products
available in American stores than
in England. He said his family does
not have meat every day, noting,
“We eat simply but nutriciously. It
is simple because my wife works
every day as a nurse, so she
prepares the meal in about % hour.
It is not how much you eat but what
you eat. Meat is very expensive
commodity.”
Evans says that meat sales have
been declining in England over the
last few years. Much of the meat
offered in his store comes from
company-owned farms in
Scotland. There is a butcher shop
in the supermarket.
Supermarkets such as his carry
non-food items, basic home needs
as well as pharmaceuticals.
The shopping habits of the
British housewife varies according
to age group, but he said the
average housewife shops once a
week. Senior citizens may shop
daily, but use shopping as a social
outing. Evans said that
refrigerators in England are
small, necessitating more frequent
shopping trips.
Although checkout lines are not
yet automated, Evans says that
inventory is automated, and
product codes are used for or
dering.
While in Lancaster Sprinthall
had the opportunity to tour
Atlantic Breeders Cooperative
with his host, N. Alan Bair.
Sprinthall said there is a bull stud
within 30 miles of his home. So far,
because of extremely rigid health
regulations, no U.S. semen is
imported in England.
In their two-week whirlwind visit
to the county, these 14 British
visitors saw a great deal of its
agriculture and learned much of
its history. They were pleasantly
surprised by the attention ac
corded them by the media, and the
interest shown in their visit. They
were officially greeted by
Chairman of the County Com
missioners James Huber,
Representative Gibson Armstrong
and Lancaster Mayor Arthur
Morris.
See your nearest 1
HOLLAIND
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Ivan J Zook
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Paul Shovers, Inc
35 East Willow Street
717 243-2686
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717-263-4103
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George N Gross, Inc
R D 2, Dover, PA
717 292-1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
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Rt 283 Rheem's Exit
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C Paul Ford & Son
RD 1
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RD 9
717-359 4848
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Meyers
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400 N Antrim Way
PO Box 97
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Rt 173 North
814 786-7955
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R D 3, Box 13
717-896 3414
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RD 1, Box 170
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East Mam Street
215-273-313 f
215-273 3737
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Norman D Clark
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Honey Grove, PA
717 734 3682
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103 Cemetery Street
717 584-2106
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L H Brubaker, Inc
350 Strasburg Pike
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Tractor Co
RD 7, Box 405
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Roy A Brubaker
700 Woodcrest Av
717 626 7766
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Kermit K Kistler Inc
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215 298 2011
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110 Forshey St
814 793 3791
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Paul A Dotterer
RD 1
717 726 3471
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110 South Railroad
717 354 4191
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M&R Equipment Inc
P 0 Box 16
717 993 2511
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C J Wonsidler Bros
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Marlin W Schreffler
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I G Sales
Box 149
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"For You The Farmer”
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M S YearsleyS Son
114 116 East
Market Street
215-696 2990
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215-869-2214
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2849 53
Churchville Rd
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301-398-6132
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201 689 1464
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