L __
VOl. 39 NO. 7
Christmas msans a time to relax and enjoy family for Roger and Kandy Rohrer and
their children, from left, Ashlee, Todd, and Mark. The Rohrers recently received a Cen
tury Farm Award from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for their Strasburg
farm. See page 814 for story. Photo by Lou Ann Good.
Apple Exports To Mexico Increase
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Pennsylvania apple
industry is apparently going to see
some benefit from the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), according to Brenda
Briggs, program manager of the
Pa. Apple Marketing Program,
located in Harrisburg.
Briggs, who recently was hired
to head the marketing program,
has been busy recently working
with the Mexican government and
Pennsylvania processors to get
certification by the Mexican gov
ernment for shipping apples there,
“Pennsylvania is among a num
ber of other states working to be
certified to export to Mexico,”
Bnggs said in a Monday telephone
interview.
She said the application paper-
016192 1299
PERIODICALS DIVISION
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
M 209 PATTEE LIBRARY
- UNIVERSITY PARK PA 16802-1902
60c Per Copy
work has been approved, and that a
Mexican official was inspecting a
representative sample of Pennsyl
vanian apple packing houses on
Nov. IS and Nov. 16.
“The stage we’re at now is
waiting on Mexico to present a
work plan which will outline the
criteria which packers have to
meet in order to export to Mexico,”
she said.
After the work plan is received,
packers will be in a position to
decide whether to pursue certifica
tion to finalization.
The role of NAFTA in exporting
apples to Mexico is apparently sec
ondary to the recent increase of
tens of millions of bushels of
apples being shipped by the U.S. to
Mexico.
The Mexican government has
been opening up its borders to
more apples from the United States
Lancaster Raining, Saturday, December 25, 1993
for the past three years, Briggs
said.
(Turn to Pago A 33)
New Year’s
Deadlines
The Lancaster Fanning office
will be closed on Friday, Decem
ber 31, in observance of New
Year’s Day. Next week’s dead
lines are as follows:
Public Sale Ads Noon,
Mon., 12/27.
General News Noon, Wed.,
12/29.
Classified Section C Ads 5
p.m., Tuc., 12/28.
All Other Classified Ads 9
a.m., Wed., 12/29.
Fir Trees Foster
‘Decoratability’
Of Christmas Season
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARMONYVILLE (Chester
Co.) If you ask “cut-your
own” Christmas tree grower Gary
Westlake his opinion about decor
ating Scotch Pine this holiday sea
son, he would probably say the tree
is old hat. The better trees are the
firs.
“In the 19505, that was the
Christmas tree, Scotch Pine. My
grandfather planted Scotch Pine.
We’re glad to see that most of our
Scotch Pine has been sold and
we’re not growing many of them
anymore,” he said during a recent
interview at his farm.
Why has Wesdake Tree Farms
gravitated away from the Scotch
Pine? A combination of factors,
according to Westlake, make the
firs more desirable. Westlake, a
Delaware Valley College graduate
who put most of his life into grow
Bradford County DHIA
Dinner Meetings Held
ANDREW BURNS
Bradford Co. Correspondent
NORTH ORWELL AND
TROY (Bradford Co.) —Bradford
County DHIA marked 80 years in
operation recently with two meet
ings and awards banquets. To
show how things have changed in
those 80 years, average milk pro
duction in the DHIA’s first year
was 6,064 pounds, compared to
17,703 this year, down slightly
from 1992. It was only 20 years
ago that the 10,000-pound level
was surpassed.
Although Bradford DHIA is a
single association, two separate
dinner meetings were held for the
convenience of the 259 members,
one in the eastern and one in the
western sections of the county.
Awards were given at both
banquets.
The North Orwell Community
Farm Show
Deadlines
The Lancaster Farming office
will also have early deadlines for
our Pennsylvania Farm Show
issue. Because of the opening of
the Farm Show late in the first full
week in January, deadlines will be
as follows:
Public Sale Ads Noon,
Mon., 1/3.
Mailbox Markets Noon,
Mon., 1/3.
General News Noon, Wed.,
1/5.
Classified Section C Ads 5
p.m., Tue., 1/4.
All Other Classified Ads 9
a.m., Wed. 1/5.
Four Sections
ing trees, maintains more than
45,000 Christmas trees on about
180 acres (including 20 acres of
rented ground) off of Rt. 23, near
the quaint northern Chester Coun
ty town of St. Peters.
The Scotch Pine was a favorite
40 years ago for the newiy-began
Christmas tree industry because
the trees were easy to grow, they
grew well on marginal and wet
ground, and they could command a
higher price. But Westlake said the
industry has levitated away from
the pines and more toward the firs
because * ‘they have less insect and
disease problems, they decorate
easier, and they hold up very well
inside the house.”
Westlake Tree Farms grows
three variety of firs, including
Douglas, Concolor (White fir), and
Fraser. Fraser is a favorite because
of its “decoratability,” said West
(Turn to Pago A2B)
Hall, complete with Christmas
decorations, was the setting for the
eastern meeting on Wednesday,
December 15. Dinner was pre
pared by the Community Hall
trustees.
On the following evening,
Thursday, the western dinner
meeting was held at the Troy High
School cafeteria. Dinner was pre
pared by the cafeteria staff.
William Hennip of Rome,
county president, was the master
(Turn to Pago A 22)
Seasons Greetings
May the blessings of
Christmas extend through
the new year for you and
your family.
—Lancaster Farming Stqff
$19.75 Per Year