E22-LancMt«r Fanning, Satufday. Juna 4.1994
Farmer’s
Daughter
(Continued from Pago
After about two years at Pur
due, in 1980 Barb decided it was
time to return to her parents’ farm
after an absence of seven years.
She became seriously interested in
farming and was completely' in
volved in it.
Now, let's go back to pick up
the threads in the life of Steve
Wilson who grew up on a farm in
lowa where they also had register
ed Holsteins. 1
The idea of dairy farming was
always with Steve. After high
school, he went to lowa State Uni
versity where he received a degree
in dairy science, after which he
worked back on the farm for eight
years. Next Steve came to Penn
sylvania to work in the sire depart
ment of Sire Power out of Tunk
hannock.
While working for Sire Power,
part of his job was to do young
daughter evaluation (daughters of
cows bred by Sire Power service).
During one of his stops in Juniata
County, one of the farmers asked
about his background - was he
married, etc. Steve replied that he
wasn’t and then casually asked if
the farmer had any good pros
pects. The farmer replied that he
did, and then he told him about
Barb Graham whose father,
James, just happened to be on
Steve’s list for calls.
The rest is history, because Steve married the farmer’s
daughter in 1984.
The farmers teased him that he had been evaluating
more than the cows when he went to the Graham farm
where Barb had been farming with her father for four
years. Steve and Barb did not take up farming during the
first year of marriage because Steve had changed his
work to being director of sales for the Pennsylvania Hol
stein Association, and so they lived in Slate College for a
year.
In 1985, however, this young farm man and woman
saw their dreams starting to come true as they purchased
the cattle and machinery and took over the operation of
Barb’s home farm.
Barb is the seventh generation in the Graham family to
be on this farm, and their seven-year-old son, David, is
the eighth. It is much 100 early, of course, for David to
know whether or not he will want to continue the family
carcc- of farming.
About 1982, the Slate Department of Agriculture gave
Barb’s parents the Century Award because the farm had
been in the family for more than 100 years. Then the Bi
centennial Award came through the U.S. Department of
Agriculture as they honored farms that had been in the
family for more than 200 years.
The original deed, preserved under glass but fragile,
shows the second day of September 1762, and the county
is Cumberland because Juniata County was not yet in
existence. It was for 100 acres (more was purchased later
so the farm has a total of 190 acres including woodland,
with about 85 tillable). The price was given as 15 pounds,
10 shillings. It also showed a yearly “quit-rent” of one
half penny sterling for every acre. The purchaser was a
William Graham, which isalso the name of Barb's grand
father.
During their years on the farm, Steve and Barb Wilson
have been consistent winners of awards and plaques. In
1988 they received the Dairy of Distinction Award,
which is still maintained after a re-inspection each Spring
to make certain the farm meets the requirements.
In 1992 they received from the National Holstein As
sociation the PBR Award (Progressive Breeders Regis
try), given when the herd maintains a certain level of pro
duction and of type.
In 1991-1992 and 1992-1993, they received the Quali
ty Premium Award for maintaining bacteria and somatic
cell count levels below the specified limits. The Milk Co-
Op keeps the record. A farmer who keeps these counts
below the specified limits receives a 200 premium per
hundredweight of milk. At the end of the year, if this pre
mium has been received every month, then the award is
given.
In 1993, Steve and Barb received the Production
Award from Juniata County DHIA for 23,516 pounds of
milk and 741 pounds of protein. Until 1993, they had
been consistently second or third, and so they enjoy the
MIRIAM WERT
Juniata Co. Correspondent
Juniata County correspondent
Miriam Taylor Wert has been a
lifelong resident of Juniata
County except for two years
when she and husband. Marlin,
lived in Jacksonville, Fla., where
he was stationed in the Navy Air
Force after 18 months in the
South Pacific during WW 11.
Miriam grew up in Spruce Hill
Township and graduated from
Port Royal High School in 1941.
She went on to. graduate from
Central Penn Business College
(as it was then known), having
taken the secretarial course. Her
first job was as secretary for a
life insurance company in Har
risburg, until marriage.
Miriam and Marlin were mar
ried in 1941 and observed their
SOth wedding, anniversary on
February 8. They were blessed
with two daughters - Susan (Mrs.
Harold) Vogt of Hummelstown,
and Peggy (Mrs. Norman) Love
of East Waterford. They have six
grandchildren and two great
grandchildren.
Miriam started the Wert Insur-
ance Agency in 1955, selling all
lines' of insurance and serving
clients ip Juniata, Mifflin, and
Perry counties. In 1970 she went
to work as supervisor of the M &
B Agency in Harrisburg from
which she retired in 1986.
In retirement, Miriam started
to do freelance writing and has
had some of her stories publish
ed, especially stories in chil
dren’s take-home Sunday School
papers.
She became* a Lancaster
Farming correspondent in
March of this year.
She also remains active physi
cally and participates in the
Pennsylvania Senior Games in
Juniata-Mifflin counties as well
as the state games in Shippens
burg. Her husband is her greatest
supporter and fan, proudly dis
playing her many ribbons on the
office wall.
Miriam writes the publicity
and is volunteer librarian for the
Cedar Grove Brethren in Christ
Church, where they are mem
bers.
A solid fit for the way you feed
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Of course, the 385 has all the
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flares gather
large wayward
windrows save
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fti'- r*^l
SEE ONE OF THESE DEALERS FOR A DEMONSTRATION:
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Damaron, MD Centra Hall, PA
301-672-5553 614-364-1421
Juniata County correspondent, Miriam Taylor Wert. On
the desk beside her is a scrapbook, Just started, to hold her
stories published in Lancaster Farming.
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Need a different bale size? Choose a
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Ppp
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