E4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 20,1993 GEORGE F. W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. I get a lot of mail from around the country. Traditional and new-style farmers alike write for information on how to succeed in the dairy business. It used to be that inquiries came only from counties in Delaware. But today my home county. New Castle which not too many years ago was the dairy county in the state now grows houses, not cows. Only three dairy herds remain and one of those belongs to the University of Delaware. Some years ago, I initialed a research project called “Dairy Farming in Urban Proximity.” Back then it was the growing Farmers’ Association (Continued from Page E 3) • Highest Increase in Milk and Protein - Marvin R. Sander. The Sander herd of cows increased 1,936 pounds of milk and 42 pounds of protein. This herd also had the three-year highest increase with 3,736 milk, 113 butterfat, and 103 protein. The herd’s 1992 aver age was 21,672 milk, 660 protein, and 800 butterfat. The herd con sists of 42 cows and 32 replace- |PAUL B. BiiFiii IWC. V TRACTOR & CATTLE GUARD PAUL B. ZIMMERMAN, INC. Call or Write For Hour. 295 Woodcorner Rd. Additional Information Mon - lh,u Fll - Llita, PA 17543 And Your Nearest Dealer -.7 i° ®,, 1 Mlle WeBt °* Ephrata s*' -7 lo 11 717-738-7365 Cows, Da city of Newark and the attendant suburban sprawl that concerned us on the farm. We questioned if we would have enough land to grow crops to feed our dairy cows in the most inexpensive way, a message we continually preached to far mers throughout the state. With time, we were forced to give up more and more acreage. We were faced with another dilemma: how to spread the man ure from our cows and heifers without disturbing our encroach ing suburban neighbors. Although they were the new kids on the block, they suddenly had more rights about clean air than the long-established farmers. Never mind that we fanners pro duced the cheap food they enjoyed in greater abundance than any ment heifers. The feeding program last year included complete feed and com silage, haylage, and alfal fa hay. Marvin and his wife, Betty, are the parents of two sons and two daughters. New officers are president, David M. Smith; president elect., Philip E. Risser, secretary, Vernon Leininger; treasurer, Nevin S. Horning; and publications, John R. Zimmerman. Advisor is Charles Ackley. iry Farmers, Uni TGIC Powder For Years Of Service! other nation on Earth, they wanted clean air, and the courts backed them up. The once nationally known dairy state of New Jersey and its state university no longer enjoy this kind of prominence. Other universities are headed in the same direction, and once famous dairy herds are disappearing. What about the ag students? They go to the library to look at videotapes about how it was. Dur ing semester breaks are they mak ing up for the lack of hands-on practice? Very few do. More often students go where they can make money instead of gaining farming and dairy experience. When I came to this country in 1951, dairy farmers in New Castle County were a strong, supportive force for the university. They came often to see the dean of the college to express their concerns. He visited their farms and he lis tened. The university cared about these farmers, providing them with much-needed service and advice. New crop varieties were deve loped at the college farm and new farm practices tried. The first arti ficial insemination station in this region (now known as the Atlantic Breeders Cooperative in Lancas ter, Pa.) was started at our univcr Farm Drainage & Soil Conservation... We Are Fully Equipped To . Install Tile With Laser Beam Control • Improved Land Use and Efficiency • Better Soil Conservation • Deeper Root Development • Increased Crop Yield • Longer Growing Seasons • Improved Plant Quality • Better Livestock Farming € COCALICO EQUIP. CO. T FARM DRAINAGE & EXCAVATING 323 REINHOLDS RD., DENVER, PA 17517 PH; 215-267-3808 ' 717-738-3794 versity Interdependent sity dairy farm in 1942 by exten sion specialist Delmar Young and Dr. Symington, a veterinarian. The university farm, together with neighboring dairy farms, was a frequently used, vital teaching place and laboratory for agricul ture students. Recognizing the importance of this work, Delaware dairy farmers in 1952 donated a new dairy bam and a dozen cows to establish the Guernsey herd for teaching pur poses. This was in addition to the existing Holstein herd that was used for research. At that time, the college had already enjoyed a close working relationship for more than 60 years with the famous Winterthur Holstein herd of Col Henry Du- Pont in Wilmington. Where I grew up in Germany, prospective agriculture students had to pass a two-year practical experience on certified farms before they could enroll in college. For years Cornell University had a similar requirement. Even today, prospective veter inary students applying to Cornell come back to us for hands-on milking training before Cornell accepts them. Yet in our own Delaware curriculum we have never required that level of practi cal experience. Some of our students come to the university farm to practice at the dairy during and between semesters. But where docs this leave our students if urban expan- That's Us I We Specialize In Soil Conservation And Land Improvement Work We’re Equipped With: Dozers, Pans And Excavators To Handle Any Excavating Jobs, Such As Terraces, Waterways, Diversions, Ponds, Etc. sion succeeds in pushing the dair herd off their few remainin pastures. Suburban sprawl is no longe the encraacher. Today, universit building programs and spori complexes eat up more of the uni versity farm than housinj developments. The dairy cows that graze tin pastures around the college sym. bolize the very meaning of an agricultural institution. They serve as a reassuring reminder to Die suburban population of their rural roots. Our dairy cows, visible from the main highway, represent a pas. toral past, a way of life that many of us cherish in memory and eves long to return to. They also remind us of where our most precious food comes from, real food, natur al food, our most safe, sanitary and wholesome dairy food, and the best source of critical calcium If these cows are pushed ontos small concrete slab, removed fron their natural pastures, or if they are moved out of sight, 70 mile down the road, away from th highly prized land, then this agn cultural college will cease to be Our students will become biolo gy scientists and our faculty wi have lost the connection to an support of daily farmers in region and the state. It will mean the end of whi once was a close and supportiv relationship. Because in recent years budge (Turn to Page El 4) .11C A,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers