Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, June 05, 1993, Image 26
A26-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, June 5, 1993 There’s Something Special About March (Continued from Page A2O) fa, and the remainder in wheat, oats, barley, and soybeans. Keep costs down Kolb said he has been able to keep costs at the dairy down When he can find the time, Roy Kolb serves as producer of a Sunday morning radio broadcast called Sunday School Meditations, which Is broadcast to about 15 radio stations, Including some In Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohii and Puerto Rico. Leroy Kolb takes care of the crops and other bookkeeping chores, Including feed ing the herd. TOWSON, Md Those of you who thought that home milk delivery had gone the way of the rumble seat, think again. The milk man is back. In fact, he never really left, industry experts said recently. “Many people don’t know that the milkman is still around” said David Weinstock, president of the International Home Delivery Association. Mike Finnerty of Suncoast Home Delivery in St. Petersburg, Florida, agreed. “Home delivery is like crab grass,” he said. “You can do what you want to kill it but it keeps coming back.” Even though home delivery cur rently accounts for less than 1 per cent of total fluid milk sales, it’s far from extinct And with today’s dual-income, time-crunched fami lies looking for ways to make their lives more manageable, home milk delivery is a reemerging market with great promise for enterprising dairies. “People have more money than time,” said Weinstock. "They’re rediscovering the convenience of home delivery, especially in urban areas where you spend a lot of time commuting to and from work.” According to Weinstock, many customers use home delivery to through the years by purchasing used equipment and doing his best to maintain it. But milk promotion is important to the family. They draw a great deal of their 50,000 customer base from the local town. Spring City, The Milkman Still Knocks “fill in” between trips to the groc ery store. “There aren’t many mom and pop comer grocery stores around any longer, and convenience stores don’t always offer the best pice. Home milk delivery is a cost effective alternative to spending 15 to 20 minutes in the grocery store two or three times per week.” Weather makes a difference in home delivery, too, Weinstock said. “No one wants to go out when it’s cold. The milkman is like the mailman he’s there every day.” AB Munroe Dairy in East Provi dence, Rhode Island, confirms the demand for convenience. When the dairy surveyed its customers recently, it found that convenience and service were the number one reasons for home delivery. Success Story Oberweis Dairy in Aurora, 111., is a good example of a home deliv ery success story. Since 1990, Oberweis’ market has doubled from 3,800't0 8,000 households. Four local distributors also deliver Oberweis milk in the Chicago area, accounting for an additional 2,000 households. The dairy’s typ ical customer is a dual-income family with children. Senior citi zens also account for much of their customer base. and from Phoenixville and Potts town. They advertise regularly in the local paper and use a billboard on Rt. 724 during the summer. The store also sells its own Ice Cream (made by O’Boyle Bros, in ‘Bristol) and manufactures its own egg nog. What is the Oberweis secret? Creative, aggressive marketing. The dairy uses telemarketing to recruit new customers. “In the old days,” said Marie Oberweis, who's been with the dairy since 1939, “we chased the moving van down the street to see where the new customers were moving in.” In addition to traditional morn ing deliveries, the dairy offers afternoon and evening service to accommodate working families. They’ve also added other food items to their delivery menu. In addition to milk and other dairy products, oberweis offers sch items as premium ice cream, gour met muffin batter and fresh squeezed Florida orange juice things you often can’t find in the grocery store. Other dairies offer items such as bread, laundry soap, frozen foods and coffee. According to Weinstock, expanding the product line beyond dairy helps keep the cost of home delivery in check because costs are spread out over numerous pro ducts, not just milk. Environmentally Sound In this day of environmental consciousness, returnable glass bottles are another selling point for home delivery. Milk Sales At Kolb's Dairy Serves as producer When he can find the time, Kolb serves as producer of a 30-minute weekend radio broadcast called Sunday School Meditations, which is broadcast to about IS radio stations, including many reg ions in Pennsylvania, Georgia. Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Puerto Rico. Nearly 30 years ago, he was approached by a local church to help with recording and broadcast ing, which focuses on the Interna tional Uniform Sunday School lessons. He said he grew up in a Menno nite home, which didn’t allow tele vision or even a radio. Regarding radio, his parents “didn’t feel it Kolb Dairy Store also markets a special half gallon refill able bag of milk. “Consumers like to feel that they’re doing their part to help the environment,” said Weinstock. Rob Armstrong of AB Munroe Dairy said that one glass milk bottle can be reused 40 to 50 times before it breaks. That saves a lot of landfill space when compared to the one-time use for plastic milk jugs. Suncoast Dairy currently deliv ers milk in plastic jugs, but fully Pennsylvania All-American Hosts 30th Show HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) —Great cattle shows, challenging youth contests, educational semi nars, and several new activities will highlight the 1993 Pennsylva nia All-American Dairy Show. The Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg will again be the site of the All-American. September 20-23. The All-American will wel come the Pennsylvania Fall Championship Holstein Show, in addition to the six nationally ranked breed shows. The Pennsyl vania show has been added to the Tuesday, September 21 schedule. Back by popular demand, the was good for the children,” said Kolb. In 1950, Kolb purchased one of the first tape recorders. His experi ence with recording grew until he was contacted in about 1960 to record the Sunday School Meditations. “For me, even though I was busy farming, it was just some thing different to do,” Kolb said. *‘l joked about it—l didn’t like to go fishing, so I did this instead.” But if it wasn’t for the store, according to Kolb, his children’! wouldn’t meet the mortgage. “If it wasn’t for our store here, we wouldn’t have the children with us. Anywhere you go, this is the struggle.” expects business to increase with the switch to glass packaging. Whether it's for reasons of con venience, environmentalism or just plain nostalgia, home milk delivery is hoe to stay. The only difference is that today the milkman may make his delive ries in the twilight hours instead of the wee hours of the morning and he’s more likley to be deliver ing a loaf of bread or laundry deter gent with that gallon of milk. Country Craft Fair will run Satur day, September 18 through Thurs day. September 23. The Penn Stale Dairymen’s Club will organ ize the craft fair, and proceeds will benefit the Penn State Dairymen’s Scholarship Fund and Dairy Judg ing Team Endowment Fund. A special feature for the 1993 show will be a l/16th scale Far- mall F-20 Tractor. This collector item is a limited edition and will be available at the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show for $35. Plans are under way to host a forage festival and many other activities.