Zimmerman Retires From PDA
(Continued from Page A2O)
budget cuts which have occured in
the past decade.
The Interview
When John first went in for a job
at the Department of Agriculture,
he said he interviewed with Dewey
Foster, who was the head of crop
reporting, now part of Pennsylva
nia Agricultural Statistical Ser
vice. The PDA was then headquar
tered in the south office in Harris
burg, rather than at its current
location adjacent to the state Farm
Show Complex.
Zimmerman recalled that Foster
‘starting talking about statistics.
We concluded that I was in the
wrong office. He told that the
livestock division had an opening.
John Chaney was director at the
time and I interviewed in the
spring. In August, he heard from
the PDA and Sept. 19 he began as
an agricultural marketing
specialist
“I always had a feeling that’s the
way is was supposed to be and the
good Lord had a hand in it Over
the years I enjoyed the work and
the people,” Zimmerman said.
“When I first started we would
report market news, like the auc
tion reports that are published (in
Lancaster Farming ), different
sales. Dewart, Silver Springs on
Thursday. In 1963,1 helped open
up Greencastle, Bellville, Cham
bersburg and Carlisle. I was the
reporter who started on those sales.
Then somewhere in 1963,1 used to
go in (to work) on Friday to put
together the weekly summaries for
some time,” he said.
“Starting in the 19705, we had
an old rented drum machine from
Bell that we used a number of
years until we got upgraded equip
ment. We went through a few
pieces of equipment. We had one
where a reporter could call in and
put a tape on it, but it proved not to
be too trustworth (a machine.),” he
said.
Later came toll-free lines, which
were eliminated about three years
ago by further operational budget
cuts to the agriculture department.
But with the toll-free lines, Zim
merman had two lines running. On
one line, he would put the auction
reports for the eastern part of the
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state. On the other line, would be
the reports for the western part of
the state.
While those toll-free lines were
operating, many radio stations
would call in and tape Zimmer
man’s voice and rebroadcast it in
the mornings, at lunchtime and in
the evening. The system worked
well for a time.
More recently, the reporting has
been receiving less and less sup
port. From January 1992 to July
1992, there were no representa
tives from the state Department of
Agriculture working in the western
part of the state.
For several months, Zimmer
man or someone else would make
a three-day trip to the western part
of the state, picking up Indiana,
Mercer, the sale at 84, and the New
Wilmington sale on Friday
morning.
In February 1993, with the
employment of a part-time
worker which is something the
state doesn’t do very often, prefer
ring instead to hire full-time
employees to do the reporting
jobs the state was again provid
ing the objective third-party role in
grading animals for sale.
Zimmerman said he doesn’t see
it changing back to the way it was
for a number of reasons.
In 1990, during an interview
with Lancaster Farming , Zim
merman talked about the changing
face of the grassroots livestock
industry in Pennsylvania.
-He remarked then on the corre
lation between the change in the
use of livestock meat in domestic
kitchens, the change in retailing
from local butcher shops to mega
grocery giants which purchase
boxed beef instead of doing their
own slaughtering and butchering,
die loss of the independent farm
family producer, the decline in
auction sales, and the surge in
large food processing corporations
offering contract production deals.
The same facilities are largely
blamed for the push behind high
density livestock operations.
His prognosis hasn’t changed.
The highways, he said, provide
easy access for livestock producers
to travel to different auctions, even
larger auctions in other states.
The types of contract farm pro-
iwyf' *p >
duction that feed companies such
as Pennficld has created with poul
try, that Hatfield Quality Meats
has created with hogs, Zimmer
man said he eventually sees com
ing with cattle.
The local auction still has a
place, but it’s become more of a
remnant of a past way of life that
relatively few continue to practice,
and with which the majority of the
Pennsylvania population have no
experience.
But there are those who know.
And there are those who know
Zimmerman.
Relationships
Even those who worked with
Zimmerman just a short time
before he retired, such as Richard
Miller, 19, of New Holland, said
they appreciated his personality.
Miller was working with Zim
merman on the floor of the older
section of the New Holland Lives
tock Stables grading feeder pigs on
Zimmerman’s last day at that
facility.
“I’ve worked with him five or
six times,” Miller said. “He’s a
very nice guy, what I know of him.
He seems like the guy you can go
up to and talk about anything.”
Miller said that he was only
starting out in life. “This is the first
place that would take me, since
high school,” Miller said. “I love
Members
Holstein
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) Hundreds of Junior Hols
tein members will be coming to
Pittsburgh June 2S through June 28
to amend the 1995 National Junior
Holstein Convention, and the T-
Shirt they collect as part of their
participation could be carrying a
logo you designed.
The 1995 National Junior Hols
tein Convention Committee has
announced it is sponsoring a
“Design A T-Shirt Logo Contest,”
that is open to all Pennsylvania
Junior Holstein Members, accord
ing to a news release this week
from the Pennsylvania Holstein
Association.
mmtk roM »wm
n,^ A MscO.
CO.
* CO
From the left, etate Secretary of Agriculture Boyd Wolff
presents John Zimmerman with a proclamation from state
Gov. Robert Casey stating that state’s appreciation for Zim
merman's services to the commonwealth.
John said that he misses the peo
ple also.
When he retired, he was recog
nized by Secretary of Agriculture
Boyd Wolff, and his department
office had a lunchtime retirement
patty for him. They also held a din
ner for him in Carlisle with current
and previous employees of the
department in attendance.
John said it meant a lot to him.
“I appreciated that a great bit.”
it. It’s fun. The guys are fun to
work with, but the work does get
done. The boss, Dave, he’s (easy to
work for).
“John (Zimmerman), he’s the
kind of person who can make
someone smile. To me, it’s pretty
important (being able to make
someone smile), because if there’s
a job that you can’t laugh at, it’s
pretty dull. He’s the kind of guy
you hate to see leave.”
Can Enter National Jr.
T-Shirt Logo Contest
“If you submit the winning * designs submitted become
entry, your registration fees for the property of the 1995 National
1995 convention will be free. So Jumor Convention Committee and
pull out some paper and ink and m subject to change;
start drawing,” the news release * *be contest is open to Pennsyl
state(i. vania Junior Holstein members;
Entries are due by June 30, • the winning entry will be used
1994 on the T-shirt for the 1995 Nation-
The specific contest rules are Junior Covention;
that; • * dte winning entry designer will
• each entry must be limited to
the use of three colors and be
drawn in ink;
• entries can be drawn on any
size of unlined white paper;
• entries do not have to be cam
era ready or professional;
•MIWOAIWMCnt MU ,
ar s'Zs i
fSSSmmSmmSt
UncMter Farming, Saturday, Miy 7, 1994-A27
receive a free registration to the
1995 National Junior Holstein
Convention Events;
Entries should be sent to Betsy
Watson, 84 N. Dickinson School
Road. Carlisle, Pa., 17013-9611.
For more information, call Betsy
Watson at (717) 243-8750.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
RUSS KLINE
VERN-LEE HOLSTEINS
MCVEYTOWN, PA. &
* / ■* JLz * \
GOT YA' n \
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