Marianne Horchler, right, advises a customer on wool crafts during the recent Penn
sylvania Sheep and Wool Field Day at Penn State University.
Former arbsn couple combine
sheep (arming, mail order business
BY MARGIE FUSCO
Staff Correspondent
GENOA, NY - Tim and
Marianne Horchler not only have
pursued a dream; they’ve
achieved it and are taking it to the
limit. They’ve gone from urban life
to sheep farming to a successful
mail order business.
Five years ago, Tim was a
policeman in Bethesda, MD. He
was doing well, but he and
Marianne dreamed of escaping
urban life. “We had life in the fast
lane,” he recalls. “And we didn’t
want it anymore.”
They had a dream about owning
a farm and putting their energies
into working it. For most young
couples with no farming
background in their families, the
idea never goes much beyond a
dream, because the odds of suc
cess aren’t great. But ifrTim ever
encountered skepticism at his
dream, he doesn’t acknowledge it.
Finally, he took a week’s vacation,
rented a recreational vehicle, and
headed north.
In southern New York state, they
stopped. The area was rich in
farmland with lots of real estate
available. The Horchlers started
calling real estate agents. “We
looked all week long,” Tim says.
Finally on the last day, the last
farm they saw caught their
imaginations.
It was 80 acres with a house and
some buildings that had been
neglected for too long, including a
bam with a caved-in wall. Ob
viously it was run down, but the
Horchlers found most of the
structures sound and decided the
place was promising.
Before launching on their new
life, the Horchlers made up for
their lack of farming experience
by studying. They decided to raise
sheep and because they needed
another income to survive for a
while, Tim took a job with a
marketing firm near their Genoa,
New York farm. They moved their
possessions, bought seven sheep,
and began a new life.
Five years later, the Horchlers
have not only made their sheep
operation a success; they’ve also
used their wool business as the
basis for a mail order wool crafters
supply house, known as The
Woolery.
“We did a lot of reading,” Tim
explains. “And we gamed a lot of
practical experience as we went
along.” Their farm’s location, just
15 miles from Cornell University,
as Tim says, “didn’t hurt.” The
couple made every possible use of
the Cornell resources to get
established.
Today they have 75 sheep,
although their flock of Finns,
Border Leicesters, and Lincolns at
times numbers 100 or more. The
Horchlers chose Lincolns and
Leicesters because they offered a
marketable combination of fleece
and carcasses. The Horchlers have
found a comfortable local market
selling their lambs to the locker
trade; however they feel with their
proximity to the East Coast they’re
in a good position to reach the
ethnic markets if they ever need
to.
The Finn sheep were added to
their flock for breeding purposes.
Tim says, “Some people call Finns
the salvation of the American
sheep market. They can be bred
year-round and can bear two or
three lambs a year. Breeding with
Finns enables you to spread out
your lambing season. It’s a lot less
wear-and-tear on the farmer.”
While Tim went to his job every
day, Marianne took charge of the
flock. She soon discovered that the
best market for their wool was
among handcrafters. She began by
selling white and colored wool to
Tim demonstrates the Woolery Picker.
S* --A
«w
\ t
the craft trade. As she got more
involved in wool crafts, Marianne
could see the need for a good
supplier to the craftspeople.
Wool crafts - spinning, knitting,
and weaving are “cottage”
industries. That is, they are
produced in private homes or
small groups. The craftspeople are
relatively isolated and often have
difficulty finding the supplies they
need. If they can locate a product
they need, it often must be ordered
from another country, requiring a
long wait.
Marianne and Tim decided they
could do it better. They began
visiting craft shows and groups,
and started stocking up on the
basic supplies and more exotic
things that might attract a wool
crafter.
Today, Woolery displays can be
found at shows and festivals up and
down the eastern United States.
People who don’t find what they
want at the Woolery stand can
order items through their bountiful
mail order catalog. Woolery items
(Turn to Page B 18)
See your nearest
HOLLAIXD
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and Dependable
Service:
Annville, PA
BHM Farm
Equipment Inc
RD 1
717 867 2211
Beavertown, PA
B&R Farm
Equipment Inc
RD 1 Box 217 A
717 658 7024
Belleville, PA
Ivan J Zook
Farm Equipment
Belleville Pa
717 935 2948
Carlisle, PA
Paul Shovers Inc
35 East Willow Street
717 243 2686
Chatnbersburg, PA
Clugston
Implement Inc
R D 1
717 263 4103
Davidsburg, PA
George N Gross Inc
R D 2 Dover PA
717 292 1673
Elizabethtown, PA
Messick Farm
Equipment Inc
Rt 283 Rheem s Exit
717 367 1319
Everett, PA
C Paul Ford & Son
RD 1
814 652 2051
Gettysburg. PA
Ymglmg Implements
R D 9
717 359 4848
Greencastle.'PA
Meyers
Implement s Inc
400 N Antrim Way
PO Box 97
717 597 2176
Grove City, PA
McDowell Farm
Implement Co
Rt 173 North
814 786 7955
Halifax PA
Sweigard Bros
R D 3 Box 13
717 896 3414
Hamburg, PA '
Shartlesville
Farm Service
R D 1 Box 1392
215 488 1025
Honey Brook. PA
Dependable Motor Co
East Mam Street
215 273 3131
215 273 3737
Honey Grove, PA
Norman D Clark
& Son Inc
Honey Grove PA
717 734 3682
Hughesville. PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies Inc
103 Cemetery Street
717 584 2106
Lancaster, PA
L H Brubaker Inc
350 Strasburg Pike
717 397 5179
Lebanon, PA
Keller Bros
Tractor Co
RD 7 Box 405
717 949 6501
Lititz, PA
Roy A Brubaker
700 Woodcrest Av
717 626 7766
Loysville, PA
Paul Shovers Inc
Loysville PA
717 789 3117
Lynnport, PA
Kermit K Kistler Inc
Lynnport PA
215 298 2011
Martinsburg, PA
Forshey s Inc
110 Forshey St
814 793 3791
Mill Hall. PA
Paul A Dotterer
RD 1
717 726 3471
New Holland, PA
ABC Groff Inc
110 South Railroad
717 354 4191
New Park, PA
M&R Equipment Inc
P 0 Box 16
717 993 2511
Oley, PA
C J Wonsidler Bros
R D 2
215 987 6257
Pitman, PA
Marlin W Schreftler
Pitman PA
717 648 1120
Quakertown, PA
C J Wonsidler Bros
R D 1
215 536 1935
Quarryviiic, fa
C E Wiley & Son Inc
101 South Lime Street
717 786 2895
Ringtown, PA
Rmgtown Farm
Equipment
Rmgtown PA
717 889 3184
Silverdale, PA
I G Sales
Box 149
215 257 5135
Tamaqua. PA
Charles S Snydet Inc
R D 3
717 386 5954
Troy, PA
Warner Tractor
& Equipment Inc
Troy PA
717 297 2141
Westchester, PA
M S Yearsley & Son
114 116 East
Market Street
215 696 2990
West Grove, PA
SG Lewis & Son Inc
R D 2 Box 66
215 869 2214
Churchville, MD
WalterG Coale Inc
2849 53
Churchville Rd,
301 734 7722
Washington. NJ
Fiank Rymon & Sons
201 689 1464
Woodstown NJ
Owen Supply Co
Broad Street &
East Avenue
609 769 0308