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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.
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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)