Brubakers Wrap Up 50 Years In Ag Business BY BONNIE SZYMANSKI Rubber tires were just beginning to replace steel-cleated wheels on farm machinery about the time Roy Brubaker began selling agricultural equipment to Lan caster County farmers. Following graduation from high school in 1936, Brubaker joined his brother, L.H. Brubaker, at his Strasburg farm machinery store. When the Lititz branch of the L.H. Brubaker enterprise was established, Roy moved here to manage the operation. When L.H. retired in 1970, Roy assumed proprietorship of the Lititz business. He and his wife, Martha Jane, continued to operate the Woodcrest Avenue store for 40 years until their recent retirement. They prided themselves not only on a good product but also on service to their customers. “We tried to be available to repair parts and service, especially in busy seasons,” said Brubaker recently, speaking from his home on Starlite Drive. Because farmers rarely take holidays, the Brubakers made certain someone was usually available to handle field repairs for farmers. Brubaker recalled how, during peak seasons, his business had maintained a 24-hour service for feeding equipment, silo unloaders and machinery critical to har vesters. Moving to the Woodcrest Avenue building in 1946, the Brubakers picked up most of their sales by F ~ AG TEC The All-Purpose Sprayer IB M S weet Corn, Nursery, Vegetables - i Wrap-Around Protection Orchard & Vineyard Heads Featuring: • 190 MPH Air Stream • Rotating Head (3 Pt. Hitch or Pull Type) Sprays With The Wind /'CT'N • Low Volume Efficiency Reduces f\ Chemical S Fuel Cost \o* J WIRING / Also Residential Industrial J And Commercial Work / Free Estimates / C. M. HIGH CO. 320 King St We Have Poles In Myerstown PA 17067 Slock 25 30 35 &45 Phone 717 866 7544 14" BANDSAW A Heavy Duty Bandsaw With Enclosed Stand And Motor Call (215) 445-7307 Hillside Sales New and Used Woodworking Machinery agricultural real estate has soared, and young people who might have once considered the life of a farmer are opting for a more affordable career. Although some children still have the opportunity to purchase farms from their parents, that land must be sold for a fair price, which, on today’s local market, means a high price. Anything else would be unfair to the other children in the family. According to Brubaker, farmers in some parts of the country have learned to survive on government subsidies, a gratuity farmers in this area would generally prefer to live without, he said. But when the federal govern ment starts talking about getting out of the farm-subsidizing business, explains Brubaker, the strong farming lobbies in the Midwest throw their influence in the direction of continued sub sidization. Brubaker says he understands the plight of the Midwestern far mer but considers government intervention more of a hindrance than a help to the farm economy as a whole. The former ag businessman also sees a real dilemma for farmers who want to preserve the farmland for future generations. .When the question of whether or not to join an agriculture preserve arises, farmers are torn between wanting to maintain the right to dispose of their property as they see fit or sign a preserve contract forbidding the sale of their land for development. Brubaker also is well aware of the part played by farmers in environmental issues. Acknowledging that nitrate run off from area farmlands have been hazardous to the Chesapeake Bay, he noted that modem technology as well as lowered farm acreage in the county have combined to aggravate the Chesapeake’s problems. Brubaker said that, as of 1984, Lancaster County had the highest s 2Bs°° Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 22,1986-Cl3 ' * ; * % f f farm income of non-irrigated counties in the United States. That may be good for the far mers, but because of the continual decline in farmed acreage, nitrates in the soil from the far mers’, own organic fertilizer manufacturers - their livestock - leach into the water table and ultimately flow to the Chesapeake, where they upset the balance of plant and animal life. Brubaker said he thinks once it is economically feasible, turning manure into mathane gas for fuel would be a practical and useful way to rid farms of livestock lef tovers. Decision to retire Brubaker’s decision to retire from the farm machinery business hinged ironically on the fact that “five or six years ago, they couldn’t make farm equipment fast enough.” At that time, farmers were purchasing their heavy equipment ahead of schedule to take ad vantage of government-backed investment credits and the tax advantages of equipment depreciation. They were lulled into a feeling of false security, contended Brubaker, adding that, at the same time, credit institutions lent money to farmers under the assumption Delaware Agronomy Student NEWARK, Del. - A University of Delaware sophomore, Anthony R. Gundry of Seaford, Del., has been awarded the $l,OOO Lyn thwaite Farm Scholarship for 1986. Gundry, who is majoring in agronomy at the university’s college of agricultural sciences, was presented his scholarship on the basis of his overall grade Mr. and Mrs. Roy A. Brubaker that the value of their land would keep appreciating. It didn’t, and farmers who borrowed heavily found them selves in the sad state of having little or no equity on which to seek refinancing. As a result, the farm machinery business began to falter. As an old timer in the business, Brubaker was able to meet the demands of increasing competition. But he saw the handwriting on the wall. He began scaling down his operations to allow other dealers to keep up their sales volume, he said. He began to find the demands of competition demoralizing, he explained, and decided it was time to get out. Brubaker says now he may help out other dealers from time to time, but his retirement is filled with many activities, including his strong involvement in the Rotary Travelogue programs. Brubaker was chairman of the travelogue program and promotion for 20 years and was president of the Lititz club when the first travelogue was presented 24 years ago. Brubaker is an active member of the Lititz Mennonite Church. He and his wife are the parents of four children. Receives Scholarship average and faculty recom mendations. The son of Mr. and Mrs. John Gundry, he expects to continue operating the family vegetable farm with his father after graduating from the university. He is a member of Alpha Zeta, an honorary agricultural frater nity.