Agent’s Life (Continued from Page B 2) down off the right side a sharp bend in Hilltop Road. A steep-banted property, it is its own miniature valley, with a stone lane cutting on an angle down from the road, past a small bam and gar den, to the rustic house canopied with a handfull of mature maple and oak trees. At the bottom of the valley is a simple acre pond, which Ken said needs repairs soon and gets damaged by muskrat burrowing. The pond is home to s and a handful of geese aim ducks, including a recent odd addition, a mature Mandarin Drake. One of the ducks was a present from a far mer during a farm visit, Winebark said. He took a fancy to it and said so. The farmer suprised him and gave him the duck to him as a gift. The black spotted duck now waddles up the hill from the pond with the other all-white geese into the middle of a steep pasture. There the ducks and geese eat cracked com spilled by three beef cattle. The ducks feed while the beef cattle do. standing among the heads and feet of Winebaik’s Sim mental heifer and a friend’s two Polled Hereford heifers. Winebark said he treasures that gift from the farmer. The geese were a mess up. Winebark didn’t want geese. They came because he wanted ducks for the pond, but his ankle was broken and a friend volun teered to buy some ducklings for him at Green Dragon Farm Market in Ephrata. The ducklings nicely matured into geese. (It has never been determined CHOP-RITE TWO, IWC. Quality American Workmanship! #5 CLAMP TYPE CHOPPER #lO CLAMP TYPE CHOPPER * Plates available in 3/16" (standard), 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4" and 1". * V-Belt Pullies available for #lO, #l2, #22 and #32 choppers. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL #27 HEALTH OR WRITE: FOUNTAIN JUICER COOP-RITE TWO, IXC. 531 OLD SKIPPACK ROAD HARLEYSVILLE, PA 19438 ' (215) 256-4620 FAX (215) 256-4363 whether the mistaken purchase was intentional.) Winebark graduated 1980 from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education and worked for two years selling animal health products in upstate New York and New England. He had known of Janet because they went to high school together and grew up 25 miles from each other. They went to the senior and junior prom together. After a year of college, Ken returned to the home farm and went to work with his cousin doing carpentry. Janet was working as a licensed practical nurse at a local hospital. Ken’s brother was in the hospi tal for a minor operation and through a twist of fate, Janet was his nurse. Reunited through the misfor tune of his brother, Ken and Janet started dating and four years later, after Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Penn State, the two married. He decided to go back to grad school for a master’s degree. His wife worked two jobs at State Col lege to support them; as a nurse at the hospital and at a restaurant. When he graduated with his master’s degree, there were two openings in extension. He inter viewed for both and got the Leba non job. ‘This job has the best of both worlds (academic and practical),” Winebark said. T love my job. Being able to work one to one helping farmers realize a better income, helping to cut down on the solid waste stream (promoted and helped usher in a newspaper drop off point for farmers who want to jasc it for livestock bedding), and seeing changes occur on the farm, it is all rewarding. CHOPPER #32 SCREW DOWN TYPE CHOPPER “One farmer said he saved $4,000 a year going from wood shavings (for animal bedding) to newspaper,” Winebark said “I’ve seen that in the eight years I’ve been here.” He said that his start in exten sion, and ultimately his attendance at Penn State University is directly traceable to the influence of exten sion agents, his father and his high school vocational agriculture teacher. And through participation in youth livestock shows. It was through the rewards and organization of livestock show and judging competitions that he came to see the importance of learning as much as possible about the animals with which he was working. This includes all the knowledge of care, feeding, housing, repro duction, and health which affect the animal and also why the animal exists as a domestic animal and man’s dependance and changing association with domestic livestock. As he matured, and was seeking direction, he said he was influenced to attend Penn State University because of what it had to offer and its reputation in the agricultural industry for producing quality graduates. While in college pursuing his master’s degree, he first worked on an extension assistantship with ■PSU, working small farms programs. T was looking how we could better serve the family farmer,” he said. T felt comfortable with it. coming from a parttime beef, hog and cropping farm. Lately however, he said he sees upsetting trends in the PSU Col lege of Agricultural Sciences. The Penn State University Col lege of Agricultural Sciences put ❖ Made in the U.S.A. ❖ Easy to Clean ❖ Made from Cast Iron ❖ Quality Workmanship Janlne Winebark stands with her Hampshire sow, which has been the top sow for the small Winebark purebreed operation on the farmette in Myerstown. together a Futures Committee, its members appointed by Dean Lam bert Hood. It’s purpose was to research, review and make recommenda tions concerning the college’s budget, function, staff and student attendance. „ The committee reported its find ings and made its recommenda tions. It is a document which strongly reshapes the free and function of many of the college programs. It is budget oriented, and specifies areas to cut and those to increase. It addresses pretty much the whole realm of what Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and the extension prog ram has become to be identified as being. “Some things 1 agree with whole heartedly. Somethings I don’t #1 CLAMPLESS TYPE CHOPPER SAUSAGE STUFFER. LARD & FRUIT PRESS ihcisl agree with,” Winebaik said. “Of most concern to me is the report’s recommendation to dis courage using Penn Slate Exten sion staff who are fulltime college staff horn participating in the vari ous shows and competitions. Parti cularly the programs for youth development “I think they’re missing some critical points horn the standpoint as who we serve through those events and the value of those events have for our youth,” Wine bark said. A heavy defender of the benefits of the PSU extension program to the future of agriculture and to the college itself, Winebaik said he considers it a mistake to cut some costs for the short term at the risk of significantly reducing the #3 FOOD CHOPPER STUFFER HORN AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS SIZES ivoml (Ti (Turn to Page B 4) s 7>'» Tr' i !-B3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers