A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 4, 1988
Cow Crazy In
(Continued from Page A 1)
has grown to its present size and
quality over a period of 14 years.
Jim grew up on a dairy farm in
Montgomery County, Maryland,
only 30 miles from Washington,
D.C. His father’s herd was all
grade Holsteins. When, at age 10,
Jim needed a 4-H animal, his
parents said a registered Holstein
cost too much, so they bought him
a registered Ayrshire. Jim eventu
ally built up a herd of 22 of them,
including one that was awarded
All-American honors.
He was accepted by the Univer
sity of Maryland, but “was too
hard-headed to go,” he related.
One factor in his decision not to
attend college was that, his father
would have sold the dairy herd if
he did not have Jim to help him. “I
would have lost all the equity I’d
built up in my Ayrshires,” Jim
explained.
Besides showing his Ayrshires
throughout his 4-H years, Jim was
also on a 4-H judging team. He
was named fourth individual in the
national contest, and his team
placed second, missing a trip to
Europe by three points.
After passing up the chance to
!■■
James and Nina Burdette on the porch of their stone
farmhouse.
The fireplace In the kitchen of the Burdette farmhouse Is
filled with antiques, and their favorite subject, cows.
Franklin County
go to college, Jim judged his first
show, the Hagerstown Fair, at age
19. He has since judged shows all
over Maryland and Pennsylvania,
judging all breeds. “A good cow is
a good cow,” he said, “it doesn’t
matter what color she is.”
Although Nina’s family did not
live on a dairy farm, she was
involved in 4-H, showing beef
cattle and horses. She graduated
from West Virginia University in
Morgantown with a major in jour
nalism and a minor in political sci
ence. She then went to work for
National Geographic magazine,
leaving in 1974 when she and Jim
married.
The land Jim had farmed with
his father was rented, and some of
it was on 30-day notice. One year,
developers dug test holes in one of
the fields, and Jim could not plant
corn there until June. Wanting to
get away from urban sprawl and its
problems, Jim and Nina moved to
Mercersburg in southern Franklin
County two months after their
marriage.
On their first night in Franklin
County, they milked 19 registered
Ayrshires and three grade Hols
teins. They rented the 137-acre
WttfctWl
farm for a few years, then pur
chased it in 1978. In 1986 they pur
chased an adjoining 103-acre
farm.
Their herd currently has a roll
ing herd average of 19,410 pounds
of milk with a 3.8 percent test and
735 pounds of fat Milking is done
in a 16-stall stanchion bam with
eight milkers.
Showing their cattle has become
a large part of their operation. “We
prepare all year for a show. In the
back of our minds, the show is
always coming,” Jim said. “It goes
back to when we breed the cow.
We breed for show age calves.”
The optimum times for show
calves to be bom are March, June,
September and December. “It
doesn’t hurt our income, either,”
Jim added. “If you freshen the
majority of your cows then,
they’re not freshening in the heat
of summer.”
“It’s worth it to us, even if we
have to wait an extra heat period,”
Nina said. She cares for the calves,
which are housed in individual
hutches. All calves are on whole
milk until three months of age.
They also get a good quality calf
starter. When Nina notices one that
she thinks will develop into a good
show calf, she pushes it a little.
“You have to treat them as indivi
duals, though,” she said. “Some
can’t take more milk.”
Calves on the Burdette farm
don’t get a lot of expensive addi
tives in their feed. “We believe in
fresh air, sunshine, and all the fresh
water they can drink,” Jim said. He
is quick to credit the quality of
their show calves to Nina’s skill
with them. “From the day the calf
hits the ground, it’s the way Nina
takes care of it,” he said.
As the animal gets older, it con
tinues to receive special treatment
before a show. While show cows
are let out at night with the rest of
the herd, they are kept in during the
day, given extra hay, and allowed
to become accustomed to show
feed and show routine. “It would
be hard to take a cow out of the
herd, and show her with no prepa
ration,” Nina explained.
Nine has no regrets about caring
for calves instead of writing arti
cles. “I’m happy raising a family
and farming,” she said. “Being
home with my boys is a luxury. I
can always fall back on journalism
when I want to. I used to be
involved in a lot of volunteer work.
Then one day, one of the boys said
to me, ‘Mom, you’re never home.
You’re always at meetings.’ I
knew it was time to get my priori
ties straightened out.”
She never has regretted moving
70 miles away from her family
either. She and Jim agree that
Franklin County is a wonderful
place to live. “We couldn’t have
lucked into a “better place,” she
said. “We have good neighbors.”
For Jim, an advantage'of Franklin
County is that an hour’s drive from
his farm will take him to the Metro
for a swift ride into Washington
D.C.
One of the Burdette family’s
favorite activities is showing their
Holstcins. A blend of business and
pleasure, showing requires a com
mitment of time and money, but all
four Burdettes are enthusiastic
about their business sideline/
hobby, and they participate in it
together. Kyle, 5, a kindcrgartner,
has been showing calves in the
open show at the fair since he was
three. “We give the boys short-age
calves to show,” Nina explained.
“We figure that while their interest
is there, we’ll let them show.”
(Turn to Page A2l)
tin is an important part of the family’s farming operation. He
feeds the show animals, unloads hay, waters the calves,
helps switch sides when milking, and does the sweeping
Kyle, 5, takes good care of Panda, the calf he will show
this summer.
Ay!
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