*3o—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 15,1984
For Montour County’s
BY JACK HUBLEY
DANVILLE - Young Bobby
George was only 14 years old when
his father died at the age of 40.
Maybe that’s why family life is so
important to Bob George today.
Whatever the reason, family
unity is the keystone in the foun
dation of George Farms, a com
bination dairy, beef and butcher
operation near Dapville in Mon
tour County.
But there are plenty of other
important building blocks in that
foundation, and the elder George
underscores the winning formula
as he reviews the past four
decades. Diversification, helpful
neighbors, a few prudent decisions
and a willingness to “do it your
self” have all been important
ingredients, according to Bob.
Bob brushes one of his favorite
quarter horses and recalls his pre-
War start in the poultry business.
“I was out of high school in ‘3B,
and from then on I knew I had to
work to help provide for mom. So I
started selling chickens. Sold quite
yt pi iphy pei js ai ;acets of the
George family operation. Marty built the farm’s 10 calf
hutches for what he figures was a fraction of the cost of
finished units.
Youngest of the George farmers is Ed’s son Matt, whose
duties include care of the farms young stock.
The George family farmers take time out for a picture. Bi ,-orge n js herd on son
Marty, grandson Matt, and sons Ed and Pete. And where are the George women?
“They're too busy working to pose for pictures," chuckles Marty.
a few during the war years when
meat was rationed.” And the
enterprising young farmer didn’t
stop there.
“It wasn’t long before I started
dressing a pig or two, and I had
some neighbors who taught me
how to make sausage and scrap
ple. As the years went by, I started
doing beef and each year the
business grew.
“In 1945 I bought this farm and
thought I’d become a full-time
farmer, but I soon decided that my
wife Ruth and I would still need the
butcher business if we were going
to raise six kids and keep the bills
paid.”
In the late 1960’5, with the advent
of new federal regulations
governing meat packing, George
had to make an important
decision. Should he close his doors,
or revamp his operation to meet
government standards? He still
regards his decision to continue
processing meat as one of his
wisest business moves.
In 1970 a new sales room was
Georges, there’s no place like home
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"When you're on a horse you can forget about work for a while," says Bob, who trains
his registered quarter horses to handle cattle.
added to the shop, and today Bob’s
son Ed manages the butcher
business, processing up to 30 hogs
and 15 beef cattle a week. Ed’s
sisters, Jane and Alice, handle
sales and assist in processing, with
Jane also taking care of the
bookkeeping chores.
Expansion and upgrading of the
meat processing facilities con
tinued, using as much
“homegrown” labor as possible.
“I always thought it was good
management to do as much as you
can yourself,” says Ed, pointing to
an efficient overhead rail system
as an example of George family
handiwork. “We’ve never had a
building ‘made to order’, and all of
the lumber used in the farm
buildings has come from our own
woodland,” he continues.
Though Ed says that his shop’s
schedule is flexible during the
holiday seasons, Monday and
Tuesday are normally reserved for
beef processing, and Wednesday
and Thursday for hogs. All day
Friday as well as Saturday mor
ning, the shop opens its door to
retail customers.
“I’d advise anybody who intends
to go into the business, to make
sure his shop can be easily
cleaned, because it will be
cleaned,” Ed emphasizes,
stressing that only thpse shops that
can stand up to rigorous govern
ment inspection will survive.
Though inspection isn’t required
for those animals slaughtered on a
custom basis, Ed nevertheless
encourages it, stating that the
customer can feel confident about
what’s going into his freezer.
Though the family fattens some
of its own beef cattle along with a
number of Holstein steers for the
butcher shop, all the hogs are
bought for slaughter. Ed also buys
*'' r * * ~v Er v
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manages the butcher shop, handling up to 30 hogs and
15 head of beef during the peak fall months.
11 (Mfe
Pete manages the 45-cow Holstein herd. Much of the
farm's new free-stall barn was constructed by the George
brothers, themselves.
dairy cows for bologna and ground was called upon to make a number
beef, and steers from other 0 f important and
Danville area farmers. That way decisions. Expansion was required
I can tell my customers where ,f he hoped to keep the family
their meat comes from and even together, so in 1974 George pur
what it was fed,” he asserts. And chased his wife’s brother’s farm
this is the kind of attention to detail adding 190 acres to the existing
that pleases Ed’s father, who acre farm.
points out that, “one dissatisfied At the same time, the family
customer can sure do a lot of ad- elected to increase the size of their
vertising." dairy operation, necessitating
After electing to expand the increased feed storage capacity,
butcher business, Bob once again (Turn to Page A 36)
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