A3B4ancasMr Fanning, Saturday, Dacambar 5,1967
Dairy Farmer Credits
BY USA RISSER
WAKEFIELD “You have to
know what you’re talking about
when you buy a s4,ooocow. When
I go out to buy a cow, I think I have
enough knowledge,” said Mark E.
Welk, a dairy fanner living in
Wakefield.
Part of that knowledge comes
from being involved in vo-ag and
FFA, specifically the dairy judging
program. The rest of what Welk
knows he learned from his father,
Paul, who was a dairy judge during
his high school days.
Welk, who has been in FFA
since his freshman year of high
school, was first place individually
in reasons and in overall competi
tion on the state level for three
years in a row; One year, his dairy
Mark and his father, Paul, look over one of their first-calf
heifers.
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Bill Adams
Shoemakersviilc, PA
Fred Frey
Quanyville, PA
Miller Equipment
Bcchlelsville, PA
Reynold Reinert
Fogclsville, PA
Homer B. 801 l
Lebanon, PA .
judging team finished first in state
and went on to finish third in the
national competition. Welk fin
ished fourteenth individually that
year. His other teammates were
Joe Delong and Kris Espenshade.
Kris is now Welk’s fiance.
In addition, Welk was recendy
presented with the national FFA’s
highest award: the American Far
mer Degree. To receive this honor,
Welk had to have $5,000 in assets
and fill out a complex 22-page
questionnaire which asked things
like what activities he participated
in, what his debt is, and what ani
mals he posses, their age, and their
worth. He also was interviewed by
a state FFA official.
Vo-ag and FFA taught Welk
many things such as herd health.
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Henry F. Barley Brown & Rea
Lancaster, PA Atglen, PA
Arlin K. Halteman James A. Keiper
Harleysville, PA Elizabethtown, PA
M. Lamar Miller n .. .. KI
Manheim PA Dav,d M ' No,t
Manneim, v/K Annville, PA
Chester H.
Soltys Jr.
Spring City, PA
Hoober’s Mill <
Intercourse, PA
FFA With Much Of His Expertise
which is important to him in his
position as herdsman for his
father’s farm. It also will help
when he and Kris marry, and they
work her father’s farm in Mechan
ics Grove on the halves.
“I learned different kinds of
milking practices like dipping,
washing, and drying their teats to
keep down bacteria that would
lead to mastitis,” said Welk. “The
drying part really seemed to help
udder health. There was less chap
ping and cracking.”
During his senior year, Welk
;d excellent in several areas: , ress . .ranee, _ new NCGA all-time yie:. .cok oi
yield stability, plant health, stalk and root quality bu./A in 1986. Plant on high fertility soils. Recom
and yield potential. mended for both normal rainfall and irrigated areas.
Wilmer W. Rush Stan Bucher
Perkasie, PA Lebanon, PA Thomas C. Bannon
’ Waymarl, PA
M. David Brubaker Dennis A. Cunfcr
Mount Joy, PA Lchighton, PA
Mark Walk has been an FFA member since he was a freshman In high school. Current
ly working as a herdsman on his father’s dairy farm, Mark was recently awarded the
national FFA’s highest award: the American Farmer Degree.
I
, '
Paul B. Kline
LitiCz, PA
Ivan M. Nolt
Ephrala, PA .
Roy Shull
Pipersville, PA Robert Kreider
Quarryville, PA
learned management skills, mostly
dealing with taxes and deprecia
tion. Welk feels that good manage
ment skills and proper money
handling are essential to a farm’s
success.
The area in which Welk believes
he gained the most is confidence.
“FFA made me more outgoing,”
he explained. “It made me leam to
speak out and say how 1 feel. In
dairy judging, when you go in to
give your reasons, you have to
have confidence in what you say;
you can’t tell your reasons like
Tim Lichtenwalner
Schnecksville, PA
Melvin Nolt
Richland, PA
you’re asking them. You have to
be forceful.”
Welk has been out *of high
school for three years now work
ing with his father. He has
remained involved in FFA and pri
marily helps younger members
learn how to state their reasoning
in dairy judging.
Welk will continue to use the
knowledge he gained as a dairy
judge in building up his herd of 20
milking cows and 20 heifers and in
breeding a better cow.
5X352
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