A3B-Uncaster 2.1994 No Sack'TMhg As ‘A Day In The Life Of A DHIA Technician’ (Continued from Pago ASS) “I think Ac world of Ac com puterization move,” he says with enAusiasm, chuckling that he had no typing experience, started out as a “one-finger man” arid is “now up to two fingers.” But'Ae speed of information processing' allows him to have records printouts for clients’ herds often before Ae meters have finished washing in Ae dairy house. Edwards helped out on a Some rset County circuit for several weeks last winter and became especially fond of the many Amish families whose herds he tested. But his vjsits A Ae area so often coincided wiA bad weaAer Aat he suffered frequent kidding about his ability A bring blizzards. A regional DHIA representative who rode wiA him one day took no chances on Edwards’ bad weaAer reputation - and brought along his own snow shovel. Reputation aside, his two wheel-drive pickup only got slightly stuck once, while he retreated from trying A plow through high drifts on a road at Mt Davis, highest point in Pen nsylvania. But, part of Ae adven ture of his job, he figures, is the “getting Acre.” “I love the farm,” he insists. “Growing up on a farm and know ing how a farm family must struggle A make a living helps in being a technician.” Almost Un-Bear-Able Excitement Sometimes “lt’s an exciting job. I like to see the new heifers and offspring of new sires come into my herds every year,” says Wayne County technician Linda Wagner. Linda originally began her DHIA career in Northampton County, then worked with her hus band managing a herd before tak ing her present circuit, some 16 years ago. She currently tests 44 herds, many of them bams of 30-35 cows whose owners also hold off-farm employment. Three times each month, she double shifts herds to accommodate the size of her testing circuit Until earlier this year, she still tested one of the two goat herds that have Public Auction Register Closing Date Monday 5:00 P.M. o t each week’s publication JULY THURS. JULY 7- 12Noon, Restaurant Equipment. Located Wiener World 11, Full 120 Seat Dinner House, Rt. 30 West, York, Pa Mark Baranowski & Mark Yelk, Aucts SAT JULY 9 -10 AM, Next SSr l& tion Equipment Including Auto E xchan 9 e - NEXT REPOSSESSION SALE SATURDAY, JULY 9th, 1994 AT 10:00 A.M. Approximately 175 Repo’s & OIF Lease Vehicles Will Be Offered 150 Dealer and Public Units djSSlkb KEYSTONE mBiW PUBLIC AUTO EXCHANGE niiKwe AH-000057-L bmMr, PMnMtfi inti BMMB been included in her clientele over Ae years. Enroute A test one foggy, sum mer morning, Linda saw from Ae comer of her eye a streak of brown coming Award her small station wagon. A good-sized |>car smacked inA Ae driver’s side of her car. She swerved, Ae bear rolled over and took off, leaving behind a hunk of skin and tufts of hair - plus a couple of Aousand dollars worth of damage A her battered, but still driveable, Chevy Cavalier. “I wasn’t late for work,” she relates, adding, “But I had all the windows down on Ae car but Ae one on my doon- if it had been open, that bear’s head would have been in my lap.” Linda has also heard coyotes howling and yipping not far from one of her test bams. Aought she declined A join the fanner who took his flashlight A go look for them. And, on a memorable Fathers’ Day morning, a Jersey bull came “sailing down Ae lane” Award her while Linda was load ing her equipment in through Ae open doors and hatchback of her car. Weather rarely slows Linda, though she always carries a shovel and blankets in her car during winter months and has dug her vehicle out of snowdrifts.. On occasion, she has just stayed with a farm family overnight during extremely treacherous storms. In addition to the obvious DHIA changes, Linda has watched many changes take place on her farms. “They’ve gone from bucket to pipeline, begun using silage bags and trenches, are moving from tie stalls to freestall and parlors. Some are progressing toward changes in manure storage and disposal of milkhouse waste water,” she observes. More qual ity forage is being produced in Linda’s opinion. She also is sad dened by the farms being lost as dairymen go out of business. Though it all, she has been close to her testing clients, espe cially those family-farm opera- Walk-In Freezer & Cooler. Located 100 North Moun tain Boulevard, Rt. 309, Mountaintop, PA (Luzerne Co) Seller, Frank Zerfoss. Albert L Broyan & Edward L Michael, Aucts tions. Through births and deaths, accidents and moments of hilarity, Linda, like Ae majority of Ae pro fessional dairy herd testing techni cians, connect beyond the mere testing aspect of DHIA by sharing moments pf Aeir lives. “Our primary concern is our members and Aeir economic sur- vival and Aeir ability A compete in Ae dairy industry,” says Dave Slusser, general manager of Ae STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) The Pennsylvania Council of Cooperatives (PCC) will once again host their annual Young Co operative Leader’s Conference on July 6 - 8 at Ae Ramada Inn, in Altoona. A highlight of Ae conference will be a series of workshops and presentations by nationally known speaker, Dr. Ron Hansen of the University of Nebraska. Dr. Han sen will address a variety of farm family issues, including the im portance of effective communica tions and listening skills. He will be sponsored by Nationwide In surance. LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) The Lancaster County Conser vation District is soliciting exhibi tors for its first annual Lancaster County Conservation Exposition on Saturday, August 27 at the Da vid Becker farm in Mount Joy Township. Commodity buildings with one bay or multi bays B’2” high precast concrete walls. Ask about engineering for roof system or pole building A Nitterhouse Company Box N, Chambersburg, PA 17201 Office # (717) 264-9588 Tabb Justus (717) 762-8663 a*• . - Pa. Council Of Co-ops To Sponsor Conference “Nationwide’s participation is fellowship while swimming, pic extremely valuable to both the nic ‘ n « or an ,ce cream council and the young fanners in so^ al, . , . .... the Commonwealth,” said Crystal mf ° r "? at,on about tins Smithmyer. executive director of worthwhile conference, please PCC. “Dr. Hansen is an excellent “JJS f OO at 231 ' 3 . 01 . 0 - speaker with an important mes- , rcc “ a . sta “ w l dc association sage regarding farm family rela- of cooperative businesses owned tionships. Nationwide support al- and contro led by farmers and rur lows us to offer this first-class al Pennsylvanians. Its member workshop ” ship includes major marketing and In addition to Hansen’s work- farm supply cooperatives, the shops, participants will also learn Farm Credit Associations of Penn about cooperative basics and sylvania as well as rural electinc spend several hours involved in a cooperatives. Organized m 1933, hands on “Management for Sue- PCC is the voice for agricultural cess” workshop. There will also cooperatives operating be ample opportunity for fun and Pennsylvania. Field Day Requests Exhibitors Feedlot Management Forum Set NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster Co.) To improve Pennsylvan ia’s competitive position within the cattle feeding industry, a spe cial Feedlot Management Forum will be held on Thursday, July 7, here at Yoder’s Family Restau rant The program will begin at noon. COMMODITY BUILDINGS DRY STACKABLE STORAGE TH PRECAST CONCRETE WALLS SOLLENBER6ER SILOS COSP. Ask about Ad 101 Special Discount v v l*- *'$ J Pennsylvania DHIA. “Techni cians collect information which can help improve profits for our farm families. Our member herds average 4,000 pounds more milk per cow than herds that do not do production testing.” In the life of a DHIA techni cian, fulfilling that commitment A Ae membership, an “ordinary day” probably doesn’t exist They may start Aeir jobs in Ae middle of the night - and end it in The focus of the day is on pro tection of water qualityh for farm os and homeowners with presen tations on measuring crop risidue, conservation tillage demonstra tions. lawn care for your home, and home septic system manage ment with lunch, and conclude by 5:30 p.m. In addition to comments from both of Pennsylvania’s major packers, attendees will have an opportunity to hear from Nebraska and Delaware cattle feeders. They will discuss management prac tices considered to be crucial to ■\ ?. T fi ; | 1' l - 1 * T * \ ,■* <* «• SILOS Myerstown, PA Office # (717) - 866-5708 J. Robert Brubaker - 464-3136 John Swope - 933-4758 the middle of the next one. Weath er. snarling dogs, angry bulls • and bears - may slow them, but rarely keeps them from getting to their clients* farms. They are profes sional information gatherers and processors, sounding boards on agriculture issues, listening ears for personal problems, may have to chase cats and the occasional inquisitive little kid out of their cars, all while providing a vital service to the dairy industry. If your business would be inter ested in having a display or in de monstrating a conservation tillage implement, contact Jim Shirk at the Lancaster County Conserva tion District (717) 299-5361 for more information. Deadline to re gister is July 22. profitability in cattle feeding. The program will conclude with a discussion on the type of strate gies and alliances necessary to move the industry forward. The registration fee for the for um, which includes lunch, is S2S. Advance registrations are required and can be made by calling (800) 572-2020. Dry stack storage * buildings for turkey and chicken manure, saw dust, cotton seed, fertilizer, brewers grain, etc.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers