BMancasttr Farming, Saturday, Juna 4, 1994
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LEBANON (Lebanon Co.)
Jennifer Lynn Bashore has been
active in dairy promotion long
before she became the Lebanon
County Dairy Princess last year.
Thai’s because her parents, Ricki
and Roberta, believe every farmer
should be doing something to
advertise and its products.
Those who drive by Udder Val
ley Farm gel the message that milk
is important to this family. Embla
zoned on the side of the while bam
is the Real Seal emblem and the
scarlet-colored message: Drink
Milk.
The project was a family affair.
Dad did the painting after Jennifer
and her sister cut the stencil for the
letters and emblems.
“It was so easy. It only look a
little paint and time to leave, what I
think, is a big impact,” Bashore
said. Several families told him that
whenever they drive by the farm,
their children chant: Drink milk.
Drink milk.
“So 1 know some people are
hearing the right message,”
Bashore said.
The Bashores purchased the
120-acrc farm in 1987 at a bank
ruptcy auction.
“The place was unbelievable.
People said it was so bad they
didn’t want to touch it,” Roberta
said.
But the Bashores, accustomed
to hard work and long hours,
remained undaunted. They invited
their Berks County family and
friends to help clean up the proper
ty. The bam gutters were filled
level with manure that had to be
shoveled out by hand. Almost all
the equipment had to be replaced.
New stalls, a manure system, and
pipeline milkers were installed.
Ricki said, “When I spend
money, I try to spend it on things
that will make everyday chores
easier and more convenient rather
on a purchase like a big tractor that
is only used seasonally.”
His motto is: “No keeping up
with the Joneses on our farm.”
Nonetheless, Ricki did purchase
a new tractor recently but only
because the larger tractor saves
him time by allowing him to plow
more in his allotted daily plow
The sign at the entrance to Udder Valley Farm Informs passerbys that this Is the
home of the Lebanon County Dairy Princess. Jennifer Bashore stands with her calf,
Leaping Lilly.
Cows Are First At Bashore Farm
Where Whole Family Works Together
In Dairy Promotion And Production
Those who drive past the Bashore farm can’t help but get the right message: Drink
Milk. Jennifer and her sister drew and cut out the stencil for the words and the Real
Seal emblem, and their dad painted the letters on the barn. From left: Jennifer, Ricki,
Andrea, Melissa, and Roberta.
lime.
In addition to the farm’s 120
acres, the Bashores rent an addi
tional 300.
“Although we farm a lot of land,
cows are number one on this
place,” Ricki said. “It’s the best
pan of farming. I could spend all
day with the cows.”
That preference was honed only
after he farmed on his own.
He said, “When I worked for my
dad, milking cows was just work.
But when those cows became
mine, and I needed to produce
more milk to pay the bills, those
cows became top importance. It
was exciting to see how I could
make the cows produce more milk
by feeding them differently.”
Ricki grew up on his dad’s
Berks County farm.
“Things have changed dramati
cally since then. Farming was just
working hard then. Now farming is
more than working hard. It
requires spending hours pushing a
pencil but I love that pan loo,”
he said.
Ricki spends hours pouring over
DHIA reports.
"You
it lo do that to succeci
he said. “It tells you everything
you want to know. The bottom line
for me is the income over feed
costs.
“1 don’t work 16 hours a day for
fun. All it boils down to is trying to
make a living.”
Bashore said, “When you farm,
you’ve got to do a little bit of
everything mechanic, carpent
er, accountant... At the same
time, you’ve got to realize you
can’t do it all and learn to let con
sultants help.”
A few weeks ago, Bashore hired
a crop consultant. “I’m real tickled
with his help. He already saved me
more money than what he cost this
year.”
Forages are always carefully
analyzed and formulated for total
mixed rations.
“You’ve got to do a good job in
the fields if you want the cows to
give good milk,” Bashore said.
The grain used is always home
grown but com often runs short
and additional needs to be
purchased.
Bashore recalled that the first
year he started farming on his own,
he did things just like his dad had
done, but the next year, he parked
the planter and said, “We are going
to cut hay.”
His dad was nonplussed and
said. “You’ve got to finish plant
ing before you cut hay.”
Bashore was adamant. “We got
to get the hay in when it’s younger
to make better milk.”
Not all the cows are kept in the barn. This Is just a small
part of Roberta's cow collection, which also Includes 55 T
shirts and sweatshirts. Roberta poses as Hlldegard Hols
tein, left, an outfit she sewed for milk promotions at school
and at the Reading Hospital. Roberta sews and sells many
of the Items shown.
Jfomestead
Jtoles
Bashore said his dad was skepti
cal, but the next year, he didn’t
need to answer any questions
“because Dad had seen the differ
ence and he was convinced.”
Roberta helps milk cows every
day. "1 did not grow up on a dairy
farm, but I did know how to drive
tractor and throw bales before 1 got
married,” she said.
When she married, Roberta
determined to learn all she could
about cows and attended breeding
school and read articles.
Since high school graduation,
Jennifer works from 6 a.m. to 7:30
p.m. on the farm. After milking,
she does field work or whatever
needs to be done except
planting.
“I don’t plant because a shrill
squeal sounds whenever the plant
er isn’t planting for who knows
whatever reason. I can’t stand the
noise,” she said.
i V
The family has devised an
incentive plan to get cows bred.
Jennifer gets $2 per cow per day
for every day the cows is under 125
days open. Currently, the cows
average 113 days, which means
Jennifer gels a $77 bonus this
month.
The animals on the Bashore
farm are not all black and white. A
pair of white pigmy goats run free
on the land. The goats are tame as
puppies and do not wander away
from the farm.
'urn to P>