VOL 36 NO. 4
Weaver Brothers Share Ideas About Registered Holstein Business
EVERETT NEWSW ANGER
Managing Editor
QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) —“If you want to get into
farming, it takes parents,” said
Landis and Herb Weaver. “We
have a dad behind us and we want
to thank him for giving us a chance
here.”
Two years ago the Weaver
brothers took over the family
“Wea-Land” registered Holstein
operation located south of Quarry
ville in the beautiful rolling hills of
southern Lancaster County.
“A lot of my friends, one in par
Tobacco
Demand, Prices
Up At Auction
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
PARADISE (Lancaster
Co.) Sixty-one, hear 61? Yeah!
Sixty-two? Here!
This year’s top price for tobacco
at the opening day of tobacco
selling season Monday morning at
the Paradise sales bam brought
several 60-pound bales of the 609
(Maryland-type) blending tobacco
to $1.62 per pound. However, for
most of the 609-type bales, $1.61
per pound prevailed.
And what this means for farmers
of Lancaster County’s number one
cash crop is heavy demand at a
time when the market has been bet
ter than ever.
A lot of the demand is the result
of a burgeoning export market,
according to Eric Probst, co-owner
of the Paradise Tobacco Auction.
“Demand is exceptionally high,”
he said, noting that domestically,
“demand is being reduced but,
at the same time, export demand is
very great.
“Right now, tobacco is wanted
by the Russians. We just made a
big deal to export a whole bunch of
tobacco,” said Probst.
Sales for the day topped more
than $450,000. Approximately
305,000 pounds were sold. Aver
age price for the 609 cigarette type
was $1.61 per pound, for sales of
(Turn to Pago A 32)
EVA MARTIN
Maryland Correspondent
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — More
than 1,400 of the nation’s dairy
farmers, cooperative managers,
and agribusiness leaders met last
week at the 741 h annual meeting
and dairy summit of the National
Milk Producers Federation
(NMPF) to seek better ways to
control their own destiny. San
Diego was the perfect nautical set
ting to launch the theme, “Charting
our Course.”
NMPF President Tom Camerlo,
in his opening remarks, said that he
could not remember any time in
history with such wide fluctuations
Four Sections
ticular, would like to farm,” Herb
said. “But all he has is a job and a
house. For him to go into farming
would be impossible unless he had
someone to back him financially.
When we took over, Dad left some
of the money in the cows, or we
The Weaver brothers, Herb, left, and Landis show the milking end of a home bred
cow, Wea-Land Bell Lady Bee. Lady Bee has three records over IOOOf, the latest, sy,
31,000 m, 1250 f, 1050 p. She is also officially type classified VGB7. The Weaver
brothers share some of their ideas about the registered Holstein business in the lead
article this week. Photo by Everett Newswanger, Managing Editor.
Leading Dairy Farmers Gather in San Diego
in milk prices and market condi
tions. “We began 1990 with low
dairy product inventories and
strong consumer demand that
drove milk prices to record levels.
Dairy farmers enjoyed a profitable
period during the early part of the
year. But as the year progressed,
milk production began increasing
and so did inventories. That has
caused a virtual collapse in milk
prices. If these conditions persist,
we could face serious financial
problems in our industry.”
In a joint welcome presentation
with President Camerlo, Jim Barr,
chief executive officer, called
1990 “a year of uncertainly.” Tak-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 8,1990
would not have been able to do it
either.”
Landis, 26, and his wife Darla,
and their little girl, Kendra, form
one-half of the partnership. Herb
and his wife Glenda form the other
half. And the partnership works
well. If one of the young families
wants to take a weekend off from
milking chores, the other half of
the partnership is there to keep
things running.
“We like to take care of our
cows, but we also like to enjoy
ing farmers on a roller coaster ride
was beyond the norm. “Seasonal
fluctuation in production and
income are normal. When milk
prices go up, consumers know
there is a reserve supply to main
tain balance. When prices go
down, dairy farmers know there is
a federal support program to pro
vide a price floor and stability,” he
said. In 1988, theM-W was around
$ll per hundredweight. In 1989, it
began a steady increase that
peaked at $14.93 in December.
Since that time, it has steadily
declined and dropped $2.02 in
October to $10.48. That was the
single largest month to month drop
504 Per Copy
life,” Landis said. “I don’t want to
be like the guy who says he has not
had a day off from milking in five
years. Of course, not everyone has
a brother to depend on. But you
need to keep your priorities
straight. We think you need to take
lime for church and family 100.
And we want to take it easy on
expansion too. It’s a lot easier to
get into debt than to get out of it.”
The Weavers make a distinction
between their operation and what
they call a commercial dairy herd.
“We register all of our calves,”
Herb said. “And we like to mer
chandise bull calves. We have six
or eight cows right now that are on
the border line to be bull mothers.
They are a little low on index num
bers but have everything else. Give
them another generation and we
should have a few more cows that
bull studs will pick from.”
The Weavers like cow families
and longevity in their cows.
“It’s great to see three or four gen
erations milking in your herd,”
Landis said. “It’s neat, and you
kind of see a resemblance among
the generations— something you
(Turn to A 23)
York Extension
Honors Hess Family
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
SEVEN VALLEYS (York
Co.) — Charles and Shirley Hess
are the recipients of the 1990 York
County Outstanding Extension
Involvement Award. The honor
was announced during the exten
sion’s annual meeting, held
November 30 at the Seven Valleys
Fire Hall.
The Hes'-’'- are fifth-generation
farmers a: 1 Kuird generation dairy
producers at their Dallastown R 3
farm. Long-time supporters of
extension programs, they have
hosted meetings, tours and
cooperated in plantings of numer
ous field crops research and
Semonstralion plots. For several
years, a farm-safety training
course presented by extension and
the York Hospital has been held at
(Turn to Page A 26)
everrecorded. Atslo.4B, the M-W
is 33 percent below the record high
of last December, only one year
ago. Barr believes the future looks
as unpredictable as the recent past.
President Camerlo reminded the
audience of the difficulty in writ
ing a farm bill in the midst of the
strong pressure to cut the federal
budget deficit. The farm bill just
passed has a price tag that is onc
half the cost of the 1985 farm bill.
“That is a tremendous reduction in
federal support for farm prog
rams,” he said. “Congress could
completely eliminate all spending
on agriculture and it would barely
make a dent in the nation's
deficit.”
(Turn to Page A3O)
$15.00 Per Year