m A cl I T7TTn^^^^Hj|r~jHßHpKJG^^D^EMH^V*fl^j2^v^^^| VOL. 34 NO. 43 Lancaster Man Out Plows Competition For Large-Plow Title BY JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent MANCHESTER (York Coun ty) Torso twisted in the familiar seat, eyes intent on the shining moldboards and ribbon of sod, Frank Burkhart carefully eased the plow into the finish furrow in a small plot of northern York Coun ty’s reddish soil. As Burkhart’s crawler tractor lifted the plow at the opposite end, completing the final bite through the sod, judges moved in to begin their intense scrutiny of the Lan caster Countian’s tillage skills. When the results were tallied, Burkhart had furrowed out a claim to the national large-plow champ ionship and the chance to repre sent the United States at the 1990 World Plowing Contest. The world competition will be held next September in the Nether- Traskdale Pete An Bast Wins Eastern Traskdale Pete An Bast owned by Dale Hostetter (right) and Tom Lyon was named the grand champion of the open show at the Eastern Pa. Championship Holstein Show held at Kutztown Fairgrounds. She was followed by Keystone Dynamo Denise owned by Keystone Farms. Donald Seipt (left) is at the halter. Dairy Princesses from Berks and Lebanon counties, Becky Snyder and Kynel Bomgardner, are on the right with Montgomery Co. Dairy Princess Amy Wolfgang on the left. See story Page A-26. PennAg Honors News Staff Members EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) —Two members of the news staff at Lancaster Farm ing have been honored this week for outstanding report ing by the PennAg Industries Association, a Pennsylvania agribusiness trade organiza tion headquartered here. Everett Newswanger, man aging editor, has been named Penn Ag’s “Ag Journalist of the Year” in a contest held in conjunction with the associa tion’s annual convention. Dr. David Brubaker, executive vice president, said the contest is sponsored by the agribusi ness group to promote excel lence in agriculturural writing, and the award is given to the journalist who best exempli fies consistent quality in writing. 01*192 129'/ y•/ pcßinoir.Ais otvi'.iQM UMJVFK, t .TV < UNIVCPSHY t'HKi- !A \fi"o'- i " Four Sections lands. The Lancaster farmer out plowed his nearest competitor by a hefty IS points, a notable lead in a contest where scores are mea sured down to hundredths of a point. Burkhart, of Silver Spring Road, won his first national title in 1970, only his second year of competition. After seeing his first state plowing contest in 1968, Burkhart relates that he turned to his father and said he thought he would like to give the contest a try the following year. On his initial try in 1969, the young plowman finished an impressive third in the state, and has been a contest regu lar ever since. ' “That plow hadn’t touched ground since last year’s contest,” admits the veteran winner, adding with a wide grin, “But now we’ll Newswanger Named Ag Journalist Newswanger Newswanger submitted three articles which dealt with BST (bovine somatotropin, a hormone used to increase milk production), animal rights and how that movement could change farming, and a court case involving the validity of Act 43, the state farmland sec urity act. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 2,1989 National Plowing Contest have to get serious and practice a little.” Headed for the Netherlands with Burkhart is Wemeer Gruber of Paynesville, MN, who bested the field for the national small plow championship honors. Grub er’s fellow competitors offered him hearty congratulations and good-natured comments that they were happy he had won, because they would no longer have to com pete against him. The national title was Gruber’s fourth - and final - in his some 25 years of plowoffs. Competitors are allowed to plow in the world contest no more than four times, a rule that effectively “retires” the Minnesota tillage veteran from national competition. Waiting in the wings, however, (Turn to Pag* A 44) An award of $500.00 will be presented to Newswanger at Penn Ag’s 111th conven tion, which will be held from September 10-12, at the Seven Springs Resort at Champion in Westmoreland County. Penn Ag Industries Associa tion also named Lisa Risser, staff writer, as a “Selection of Merit” award winner. Risser will receive a certificate and $lOO by mail for her winning article about pesticide poison ing. Deiter Krieg, editor of Farmshine, won the other “Selection of Merit” award. Rlsser The awards to the profes sional news team at Lancaster Farming follow last year’s award when Pat Purcell, another staff writer won Pen n Ag’s Ag Journalist award. 500 Per Copy Frank Burkhart, left, of Lancaster Is the 1989 large-plow champion, while Werner Gruber of Minnesota Is the nation al small-plow champion. The pair will represent the U.S. In the 1990 world plowing competition, to be held In the Netherlands next September. Holler-View Marc Daughter Tops HolkehmCentral Singing Brook Farms of Imler received both premier breeder and premier exhibitor banners. Pictured are Hun tingdon County Dairy Princess Susan Hess (left), Oble Snider and Greta Jo Snider of Singing Brook Farms and Armstrong County Dairy Princess Jennifer Grooms and show judge Dale Olver. See story C-4. Ag Production: 1988 Was A Record-Breaking Year BY LISA RISSER LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Despite a hot, dry summer last year, the value of Lancaster Coun ty agriculture rose to a record breaking $741.7 million—the highest since 1984. This amount is up $44.1 million over 1987 fig ures, according to an annual survey conducted by the Pennsyl vania Department of Agriculture. “Last year’s value is the highest on record for a Pennsylvania coun ty,” stated Jay Irwin, Lancaster County Extension director. “It goes a long way in helping the unty maintain its status as the $12.50 Per Year number one non-irrigating county in the country in terms of production.” Animal agriculture in Lancaster County was up more than $25 mil lion, making it yet again the top Pennsylvania county in terms of animal production. The number of farms remained the same as in 1986 and ’B7, which can be explained in part by Amish far mers purchasing a farm and divid ing it, which compensates for farms lost to agriculture. Crop pro duction rose significantly to $l4O million, up $lB million from 1987. (Turn to Pag* A 34)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers