A26-Uncaster Farming, Saturday, Fabmary 22,1992
Young Couple Manages Deary Farm With Help Of Family
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Fanning Staff
QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) In a southwest comer of
Lancaster County is a pocket of
farmland that has held on to time.
The Amish dairymen in the area
have helped to keep it rural and
agricultural.
But the Amish aren’t the only
ones. Some of the “English” are
sticking it out, too.
Together, they have thwarted
efforts by real estate speculators to
turn their area into so many soul
less strip malls sitting among rows
of cookie-cutter frame houses,
generic yards and mail-order
landscaping.
Instead, the woodlots in the low
rolling farmland are devoid of
recently built houses. The woods
are sanctuaries to small popula
tions of wildlife, such as whitetail
deer that the farmers hunt and
enjoy.
(Such as a huge buck taken
about four years ago which carried
a set of antlers a peach basket
would not cover.)
The area does not suffer from a
constant roaring of relentless traff
ic. The residents of this area near
Quarryville listen to pheasants
cackle occassionally, or the bold,
screaming cry of a red-tailed
hawk.
And, it is not an area where far
mers frequently get jolted awake in
the middle of the night at the crash
of a car smashing through a fence
into a pasture.
Those kind of experiences cre
ate an emotional mixture of worry
and disgust
Instead, sleep is more often dis
turbed here by the bellowing of a
cow giving birth, or a baby crying
to be fed or held.
One young couple on their way
to making a success with a dairy
cattle herd in this pocket of farm
ing country said they don’t intend
to move away, as long as condi
tions continue to be conducive to
agriculture.
Mark and Kris Welk have been
operating Welk-Shade Farm for
the past four years. They have a
2-year-old daughter, Nicole.
Mark, 26, made news recently
when he was presented with the
title of “Outstanding Young Far
mer, Under 30."
According to him, it was a sur
prise honor that is uncomfortable
to talk about, because he said he is
reluctant to show pride.
However, he did receive recog
rently attempting to prove. He comes from a strong type and production line the
young couple has bred for,
nition from his peers for doing a
great job in agriculture.
“You have to be dedicated," he
said. “I’m fortunate to have had a
good herd built up before we
moved here, and that means a lot,
but I guess it means doing the best
with what you got"
The young Welk couple does do
a lot with what they have.
They milk 70 registered Hols
teins twice a day on a pipeline sys
tem, have 140 acres on the farm,
110 acres of which are tillable, and
they rent an additional 80 acres.
They grow predominately com
and alfalfa, -and they always dou
ble crop with rye and barley.
The bam is old. The 64 tie stalls
are too short at 57 inches. Manure
is hauled daily, although Mark is
working on getting work done for a
storage system through the Chesa
peake Bay Program.
And efforts are being made to
remodel the bam for increased cow
comfort.
Their rolling herd average is
more than 20,000 pounds of milk
and increasing. In fact since
switching to a total mixed ration,
their milk production has
increased 3,000 pounds and the fat
and protein have each gone up
about hundred pounds.
Their herd’s somatic cell count
has been staying around 100,000,
which is premium range. They’ve
got a bull calf headed for an artifi
cial insemination stud, and one
they’re attempting to prove by
themselves.
But they’ve had help.
Mark is the son of Paul and Bev
Welk from Peach Bottom, where
Mark worked for IS years before
moving to farm of Kris’s parents,
Fred (deceased) and Nancy Espen
shade, four years ago.
The Espcnshadc farm became
available to the couple through the
tragedy of Fred’s death and with
Nancy’s continued help.
On Mark’s side, his father Paul
has supported them with savy of
the business and help around the
farm. He also works at a feed mill
and picks up forage samples from
Mark to have them tested.
Mark’s brother Matthew, 17,
„ also helps out, driving from their
Peach Bottom farm to milk and
help fill the silos.
“If it wouldn’t be for them, we
wouldn’t be farming,” Mark said,
in acknowledgement of the sup
port of both families.
“Otherwise you’d have to be a
millionaire to get into dairy farm-
This is one of Mark and Kris Welk’s prides, Welk-Shade Logic Kit
reserve All-American, she was one year in December.
portrait, j young dairy family: Mark Walk holds the show halter of Fran-Louv jr-
Ine, a 7-year-old Excellent cow with strong legs and frame, while accompanied by wife
Kris, daughter Nicole, and Buddy, a brown Labrador Retriever.
ing. And if you were already a mil- had a real good icachcr in my dad,”
lionairc, why would you be a dairy Mark said. “He taught me to appre
farmer?” he said, laughing at the ciatc good cows.”
irony.
However, Mark loves to farm, that it contains seven Excellent
And he loves to lake care of his cows and a number of Very Goods,
cattle. . His BAA is more than 106.
“I don’t feel I’m so much bet- Although he buys from time to
ter,” he said reflecting on the time, he traces his high index back
award. “I’m just fortunate to have to a calf he bought when he was 12
years old. She was an Arlinda Jet
Stream daughter —VG 82,
180,000 pounds of milk in her life
time, Dam of Merit winner and
she gave him five natural daught
ers, four of which were classified
as Very Goods.
Those daughters continued pro
viding good daughters and now,
four generations later, he is send
ing a Vanguard calf, a great, great,
granddaughter to his Arlinda cow,
back to the auction where he made
his first purchase the Eastern
Mark’s herd is outstanding in
Warren 4-H Forage Meeting
WARREN (Warren Co.) AH
Warren County 4-H members with
dairy, horse, or livestock projects
are invited to attend a March 2 for
age meeting at the county 4-H
center.
The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.
and is to feature extension agents
from Crawford, Erie and Warren
Shore Showcase Calf Sale.
“I originally bought the Jets
tream there and I thought it would
be kind of neat to send one back
after four generations, n he said.
The couple’s goal is “to manage
die herd for milk and breed for
type,” Mark said. “We want to get
into merchandising. We want it to
be a breeding herd.”
And it is not only his family that
has helped in the couple’s efforts
to make a good life for themselves
and their family. The Young Far
mers organization figures into the
equation, they said.
The Young Farmer organization
is statewide and is important to the
Welks because it provides valu
able information, but also some
thing else. It provides an opportun
ity for young farmers to meet
young farmers there aren’t
many of them left
Scheduled
counties discussing hay quality,
cutting management and the eco
nomics of feeding hay.
Participants are also to learn
about protein, fiber and energy
contents in various types of hay.
They will also have an oppor
tunity to place hay samples,
according to a forage analysis.