n SRI iiilHl iI^fciMSWIBHM^Bi^K^BBvSB VOL. 35 NO. 5 Editor’s Note: For a research project, Dr. Peter A. Keller, psy chology professor at Mansfield University, interviewed 100 dairy farmers in Bradford, 'jhvcoming and Tioga counties to *e how they viewed the business of farming. Dr. Keller was assisted by Virginia Phillips, research associate and Kenneth Marple, graduate assistant. Here’s a report on what these farmers had to say. MANSFIELD (Tioga Co.) Dairy farmers in Pennsylvania aren’t making much money and view their lives as stressful, but Nearly 3 Million In Stockholder Capital Returned SHOEMAKERSVILLE (Berks Co.) Keystone Farm Credit, ACA has returned more than $2,895,000 to eligible stockholdcr/members as part of its rtnpitalization Plan. This sfflnouncement was made by Bruce Hoffman, chief financial officer of the cooperative. The Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 provided Farm Credit associations with the option of operating on a lower base of member-owned cap Extension Agent Wins Pork Producers Award Jan* Macum History-Loving Couple Live On Century Farm BY USA KISSER LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) say Arthur Reist lives and "Wihes history would be an but only just. A his- J®y teacher at Conestoga Valley, * lives in a house filled with love v antiques on a newly certified jlPtury Farm. Bt addition, Arthur and his wife, pfian, enjoy collecting antique “m implements and tools and an extensive collection of wse-drawn vehicles that they rent *loan out When President Bush Four Soctiont Dairymen Say: Not Much Money In Farming, But They Would Do It Again most would choose farming again if they had their choice of careers. Those are among the findings of a survey of 100 northern Penn sylvania dairy farm families con ducted by Mansfield University researchers. “Our sample could generally be described as wary of what the future will hold,” says Dr. Peter A. Keller, professor of psychology at Mansfield and project director. “Nearly one-quarter expect the situation for farming to get worse in the next few years, and another one-third have mixed feelings about the future.” ital than in the past Because of this legislation. Keystone’s required member capital invest ment in the association is now equal to 2 percent of a members’ total outstanding loan balance or ,sl,ooo*(whifhever is less.) Prior to the legislation and the forma tion of Keystone, a member’s cap ital requirement was equal to S percent of any outstanding loan balance. One of the first actions of (Turn to Pag* A 32) NEW BLOOMFIELD (Perry Co.) —Jane Mecum, Perry Coun ty cooperative extension family living agent, has received the 1989 “Excellence in Home Economics Communication Award” spon sored by the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Association. The single annual award of $lOO is given to encourage excel lence in home economics commu nications featuring pork and poric products. Entries arc judged on program content, intended audi ences, resources used, and origi nality of the communication. Entries must also contain at least two types of media communication. (Turn to Pag* A2l) came to Lancaster County, one of the Reists’ carriages carried him from spot to spot, and about 12 vehicles were used in a Franklin & Marshall College parade. The Reist farm, 58 acres located northwest of Lancaster, has been in the family for 141 years and has the distinction of being the oldest tobacco farm in the county. Penn sylvania type 41 tobacco has been grown there for the past 114 conse cutive years. Farm purchased in 1848 Simon S. Reist, Arthur’s great Uncaatar Fuming. Saturday, Dacambar 9,1989 Just under 29 percent were opti mistic about the future of dairy farming in Pennsylvania. Among the results of the per sonal interviews with randomly selected farm families in Brad ford, Lycoming, and Tioga Although she is 71-years-old, Pauline Strack isn’t think ing about retirement She’d rather be baking pies than vaca tioning. Three yeafe ago the Lebanon County woman decided to bake a few pies and sell them at a roadside stand on her dairy farm. The demand for her pies reached an all time weekly high of 389 during Thanksgiving week. To read more about this industrious lady and her pie-making sec rets, turn to page 818. Hail To The Queen Of Forage Crops BY Dr. JOHN E. BAYLOR Alfalfa is queen of the forages. And she will remain queen for us as long as we have a livestock industry. The reasons are obvious. Alfalfa is our most productive grandfather, was bom in Warwick Township in 1816 and lived at Sun Hill in the township before pur chasing a 132-acre tract in 1848 from the Dietrich family. He farmed the land and lived in a large brick house in the southern half of the property. Simon also operated a blacksmith shop in part of the house. Slightly after the outbreak of the Civil War, he sliced his hand on a piece of metal and infection set in. During a visit to the doctor, the same one who treated James Forage Council Meeting Set Dec . 20 509 Par Copy counties: Most, 58 percent, had adjusted gross family incomes of under $20,000 annually. Another 22 percent actually lost money last year. Approximately 75 percent perennial forage legume. Quality wise, alfalfa is unsurpassed as a forage for ruminant livestock. And from a dollars and cents point of view, there is no other forage crop that can match alfalfa. How much alfalfa can we grow Buchanan, Simon caught smallpox and died one month later. ‘This was a great shock to my great grandmother. Mary, because her daughter, Annie, died shortly before her father when she was only in her second year of age,” related Arthur. Mary raised her four boys, Hen ry R., Linnaeus R., John R. Frank lin, and Simon R., single handedly to be responsible and respected community leaders. (Turn to Pago A2O) $12.50 Per Year felt fanning was stressful. Long hours and low pay were cited. - Around 69 percent said they were happy with their choice to farm and more than 60 percent said they probably or definitely would be farmers again if they could start life over. Being your own boss, working out-of-doors and a healthy living environment were touted as the best things about fanning. “More than one-third admitted (Turn to Pag* A 29) Conservation Tillage Event Ready To Roll TIMONIUM, MD Govern ment policies which strike a balance between the carrot and the stick in cooperation with produc tion agriculture provide one answer for solving farm-related environmental problems. - Aaotlfer answer depends on good research by land-grant uni versities; private industry, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers themselves need to rec ognize both moral and legal responsibilities for intelligent, careful farm management. Those are the opinions of Peter C. Myers, keynote speaker for next week’s Mid-Atlantic Conser vation Tillage Conference in Timonium. A former crop and livestock farmer from Missouri, Myers is currently president of The Farm Credit Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing the nationwide Farm Credit System. More than 800 farmers and agribusiness representatives from (Turn to Png* A 24) on an acre of non-irrigated land in Pennsylvania? Nulrient-wisc, what is required to grow it? And how much does it cash? These were the questions we asked ourselves 15 years ago when the Pennsylvania Forage and Grass land Council, in cooperation with Penn State University initiated the Pennsylvania alfalfa growers program. During the past 15 years we’ve gotten some excellent data (the best in the country, in fact) to answer those questions. And on December 20, at the lnn in Altoona, we would like 16 share some of that informa tion with you. FIFTEEN YEARS OF SUCCESS Fifteen years of sucess. That’s the theme of our meeting on December 20. This year concludes the data collecting phase of our most successful alfalfa growers (Turn to Pago A 34)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers