F32-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 9,1993 Berks County CONNIE LEINBACH Berks Co. Correspondent SHARTLES VELLE (Berks Co.) —For Susan Hollenbach, heading for the Farm Show is the big-time competition for her Guernsey cows. It’s an event she’s excited about and which Will cap a winning year for her and her family’s Guern seys. At the Kutztown and Read ing fairs this summer, Susan and her sister Amy, 15 and brother Daniel, 12, reigned supreme, win ning all the prizes. That’s probably because there was no one else competing against them, Susan said as she coaxed a reluctant cow to walk with her first-ever halter. “It’s kind of like putting a dog on a leash for the first time,” she said as the cow stopped, resisting Susan’s tugging. Susan, 22, who will graduate from Penn State the week of the Farm Show with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture, will show four of the family’s best animals, either hers or her father’s. The statewide Farm Show is more of a challenge, of course, for there is sure to be some stiff com petition. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in Berks County where Susan and her sister, Amy, practice ieadii Susan Hollenbach, right, and her father, Carl, work show at the Farm Show. Guernsey Exhibitor Prepares For Memorable Farm Show there aren’t many Guernsey herds left anymore, said Susan’s father, Carl. The Zollers of Mertztown are the only others in the area who have a full herd, he said. Though Holsteins are prized for their abili ty to produce a lot of milk, Carl believes smaller cows, such as Guernseys, hold up better in the long run. It’s just something he’s observed over the years of working on the farm his grandfather bought in 1911. Besides, he grew up with Guernseys. His smile echoes the merry twinkle one can catch in his father Miles’ eyes. Blue Mountain View Farm, as it’s called, is known for the color ful hex signs painted on the origi nal bam which faces Old Route 22. The family’s 190 acres have sprawled across the highway since themid-1940s when Miles and Lil lian, Carl’s parents, bought the farm across the street. They moved the milking cows and heifers down there and kept the dry cows in the original bam. The couples’ hard work earned them the honor of being named the first Farm Family of the Year in 1956 by the Reading Fair Agricul tural Committee. irms, owned by the Hollenbachs, is one of the picturesque farms along the northern tip of Berks County. A sure attention-grabber with its color ful hex signs, the farm Is featured on a postcard tourists In the area can buy. In the photo Is Miles and Lillian’s daughter Fay when she was 14. “I was very active,” Miles said about why he received the honor. (Turn to Pago F 34) cows around In a circle. Ith one the cows Susan during Farm Show week. Susan stops to say hello to one of her best show cows, Truffles. pai how Blue Mountain View Farms is one of the last Guernsey herds In the county. Is due to give birth
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