A 20-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 23,1986
Larry Jordan
Ag Progress Continues
(Continued from Page Al)
products and preserve farmland
have been implemented.
“As governor, I intend to work
with fanners and local govern
ments to develop and administer
agricultural land preservation
programs,” Scranton added. “Our
agricultural community and state
government should work together
to assure that our products con
tinue to hold center stage. By
working with the Export-Import
Bank to develop international
markets and by developing long
term produce contracts with major
supermarket chains in this state,
we can work to displace imports
and assure the continued vitality of
our agricultural community.”
Scranton was accompanied by a
number of state officials including
Secretary of Agriculture Richard
Grubb and Penn State Dean
Lamartine Hood.
To get a grass roots feel for what
people were thinking about their
experience at Ag Progress, in
formal, random interviews were
iducted with people on Main
uug
\
Jerry and Sharon Rice and their 22-month-old daughter, Tara, take a break from their
Ag Progress activities for a snack. The Rice family has a dairy farm in Mt. Pleasant Mills.
most jrn equipment available was shown at Ag Progress. This round bale distributing “I Love Milk” stickers to Ag Progress visitors
wrapping machine was imported from Norway by Mega-Tech International to be Wednesday. Here, 9-year-old Kendra Forsythe of Mifflinburg
displayed for Cummings and Bricker, Inc. receives her sticker.
Dale Smoker
Street at the show. Here is what
these people were saying.
The Ag Progress visitors in
terviewed found much to interest
them at the annual agricultural
fair. In fact, they saw so many
things that most found it im
possible to name just one that was
most interesting.
“Everything is interesting,”
observed Dale Smoker, a
dairyman from Elliottsburg.
However, when pressed, he con
fessed that a new piece of
machinery that wraps round bales
in plastic for storage captured his
attention.
Ron Reese, a dairy farmer from
Port Matilida, and Rodney Brass,
a dairyman from Julian, agreed
that they had seen many in
teresting things and even had a few
ideas they might put to use at
home. “I’ve seen ideas I’d like to
take home,” Reese said.
The field machinery demon
strations caught the eye of Arm
strong County farmer Bob Stitt and
his son Charlie. Company
representatives demonstrated the
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v
esi Y 3
Ira Whiteman
latest models of field equipment
designed for crop production and
harvesting, including chisel plows,
heavy-duty disks, no-till planters
and forage harvesters, mower
conditioners, tedders, rakes and
balers.
Barry and Cathy Barns, fanners
from Portage, came to Ag
Progress specifically to look at
farm equipment and to compare
models. “We come every year,”
they said. This year, they arrived
early, but by mid-afternoon had
paused for a rest.
Ken Ewer and his family from
Quakertown were enjoying the
event but said they would like to
see more exhibits geared toward
the small farmer. Ewer and his
daughter have only a few acres on
their farms and consider them
selves hobby farmers. They think
there are many others like them
who farm 25 acres or less.
Ag Progress visitors weren’t the
only ones having a good time.
Larry Jordan, coordinator of the
plant pathology farm at Penn
State, was enjoying the op-
<
Bob Stitt
Rodney Bruss
portunity to share his research
with others. “It’s our time of year
to show everything off,” he said.
This year, Jordan had a raspberry
trellis system to share with small
fruitgrowers.
Another exhibitor, Ira Whiteman
with Doebler’s Hybrids, was also
relishing the opportunity to share
his company’s products with
farmers. “We do take great pride
in putting up a nice booth,” he said.
Whiteman said he has been
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Beaver/Lawrence County Dairy Princess Karen Leslie was
Ken Ewer and Ken Ewer 111
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Barry and Cathy Barns
coining to Ag Progress for years
and has watched the event grow
year after year. More and more
companies want to be seen, and ag
fairs like this are the place to do
just that, he said. “Since Penn
sylvania doesn’t have a state fair,
this is the closest thing to it,” he
added.
A quick glance around the crowd
offered assurance that these
weren’t the only people enjoying
the fair. Everyone seemed to have
found at least one thing that made