016192 1299
PERIODICALS DIVISION U
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
W 209 PATTEE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY PARK PA 16802-1802
IMP irour
vol. 39 NO. 9
On The Farm With
Pa.’s Dairy Princess
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
STRAUSSTOWN (Berks Co.)
Barb Grimes predicts that her
daughter will be die first state dairy
princess to fight to keep her crown
when her title expires in
September.
Eighteen-year-old Jennifer’s
passion for that crown is not its
sparkling brilliance but what it
stands for. As the Pennsylvania
Dairy Princess, she represents the
dairy industry and farmers the
best combination possible, accord
ing to Jennifer.
“Some people think that all we
do is stand there and look pretty.
Little do they know,” Jennifer
Grimes said when discussing the
duties of dairy princesses.
“All dairy princesses that
means 36 county dairy princesses
are strong promoters of the
dairy industry. TTie industry really
is well represented this year," she
said.
Digester TeskttPlogy May Save Money On Electricity, Heating
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
A proposal known as S.B. 439
is under review by the state Senate
to construct six demonstration
digesters in the state, according to
representatives from various agen
cies headquartered here. Fanners
may be able to save money on
electricity and heating their farm,
as well as protect their environ
ment, by using manure digesters.
A digester is a device that col
lects the gas generated from
Mitch Ashby, auctioneer, in light Jacket, center, was on hand at the start of the Lan
caster County tobacco auction on Monday. About 250 tobacco growers and eight buy
ers turned out for the event, which had a top prioe of Maryland 609 tobacco at $1.25 per
pound. The price of $1.25 held on Wednesday’s auction. See story page A2B.
Four Sections
Jennifer told of the hundreds of
hours spent handing out recipes
and samples of milk, cheese, and
other dairy products, of appearing
at public functions to speak for the
industry, and of radio and televi
sion spots.
“Soft drink companies depend
upon commercials and billboards
to do the advertising. The dairy
industry, by using dairy princes
ses, has personal contact and I
think the message sticks more in
consumers’ minds,” she said.
Jennifer is no stranger to the
hard work that goes on behind the
scenes to produce milk for millions
of Americans.
There’s nothing she likes better
than to dress in a flannel shirt and
jeans and get out in the bam to help
deliver a calf or milk a cow.
Jennifer, her parents Barb and
Ken, and brother Jonathan operate
a 400-acre farm in Berks County
(Turn to Pago AM)
''MMN|ll3sing manure from a man
ure holding area, pit or tank. A
good digester, which can cost from
$40,000-$lOO,OOO or more,
depending on size, collects gas
used to power a generator, which
in turn provides heat and
electricity.
Information from demonstra
tion digesters may help farmers
learn about the technology. That’s
the driving idea behind proposed
legislation, which is now under
review in the Pennsylvania Senate.
Larry Lentz, who represents the
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Oscambar ii, 1993
Passerby* can’t help but nolics this sign at the entrance to Cabin Creek Farm in
Strausstown, where Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Jennifer Grimes works with her
parents, Barb and Ken, and brother Jonathan.
Center for Rural Pennsylvania, an
agency of the state general
assembly, said S.B. 439, in com
mittee since February this year,
would pay 80 percent of the cost of
six separate demonstration
digesters.
Farmers who apply for the cost
share money would be required to
then pay back the cost of die diges
ter within two years, with no inter
est, according to the proposal. The
only requirement is that the diges
ter provide enough space to per
form research and be open for view
to the general public.
Biogaa Conference
Not only large-scale dairy,
swine, and chicken operations can
benefit immediately, but small
scale farmers can use the simple
technology to generate heat for
their buildings and their homes,
according to farmers on a panel at
the On-Farm Biogas Production
Conference held Wednesday in
Lancaster DHIA Looks
Good After First Year
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
SMOKETOWN (Lancaster
Co.) The 1,104 members of the
independent Lancaster Dairy Herd'
Improvement Association (DHIA)
have fared well in the first year
since it split from the Pennsylvania A
DHIA, according to its leadership.
According to several speakers
during Tuesday’s Lancaster DHIA
annual meeting, held at the Good
and Plenty Restaurant in Smoke
town, their success is not a mark
against the Pa.DHIA, but rather a
reflection of better producer com
petitiveness for Lancaster DHIA
members.
One of the leading dairy coun
ties in the nation, the majority of its
dairymen served to catalyze an
industry-wide change in the orga
nization of DHIAs across the
nation, when it sought to abandon
the state association’s record pro
cessing and testing services,
located in Centre County, and to
seek services from a records pro
cessing center in Raleigh, N.C.
The issue was ultimately resol-
ved through negotiations and the
National DHIA, when it approved
the transfer of Lancaster DHIA
records from Pa.DHIA to the
60S Par Copy
New Holland.
It took only three years to pay
off the investment in a series of
three manure digesters built from
1978 to 1980 at Mason-Dixon
Farms, according to owner
Richard Waybright.
. Waybright invested a total of
about $250,000 (in 1993 dollars),
when he was paying about $BO,OOO
(Turn to Pago A 34)
Raleigh Bairy Records Processing
Center (DRPC).
That move set the stage for the
current situation which gives much
more latitude, and longitude, to
dairymen seeking a choice of
services.
Bob Wenger, Lancaster DHIA
president, said that the organiza
tion, which just received its status
as a nonprofit corporation, had
ended the year in good financial
(Turn to Pago A 24)
Christmas
Deadlines
The Lancaster Farming office
will be closed Friday, December
24 in observance of Christmas
day. Early deadlines will be fol
lowed the week of Christmas.
These deadlines arc as follows;
Public Sale Ads Noon,
Mon., 12/20.
Mailbox Markets Noon,
Mon., 12/20.
General News Noon, Wed.,
12/22.
Classified Section C Ads S
p.m., Tue., 12/21.
All Other Classified Ads 9
a.m., Wed., 12/22,
$19.75 Per Year