A24-Lanc«ster Farming, Saturday, July 30, 1994
GAY BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
SOMERSET (Somerset Co.)
It was a typical late-aftemoon
June workday when Brendle
Farms employees switched off the
systems at the farm and began the
usual end-of-day cleanup in the
candling, grading, and packing de
partment of Somerset County’s
biggest egg operation. Another
day was over. It was time to go
home.
Friday would be a repeat, with
some workers helping to construct
the new third bam to house an ad
ditional 180,000 white leghorn
chickens.
At his Colorado mountain re
treat, owner Robert Brendle was
enjoying some isolated peace,
knowing his experienced son,
Mike, Brendle Farms landowner,
would easily handle the operation
in his absence. From the poultry
bams, Mike’s home is about a
mile and a half away.
Minutes after 7 p.m., Mike’s
telephone started ringing. It was
the second call made by a neigh
bor located near the bams. The
first was to 9-1-1 to summon local
volunteer firemen to the scene be
cause smoke and flames were
coming from the bam.
Sipesvillc firemen and Mike,
coming from opposite directions,
minutes later, arrived simultan
eously.
“The flames were 30 to 40 feet
high when I got here,” said Mike.
“I knew it must have started in the
back end where the fans are locat
ed.”
Other volunteer fire companies
arrived 11 of them but
Sipcsville Fire Chief Mark Zam
banim was in charge.
The situation posed extreme
risk for firefighters because of po
tential entrapment poultry
bams have long aisles and high
tiers of chicken cages around
which the unfamiliar firemen must
move in thick smoke and heavy
gear.
“If the cages collapse, buckle
and fall, they are trapped,” said
Brendle. “It’s awful risky to go in
to the building.”
Brendle knew at best all the
firefighters could do was protect
the connecting structures. The
bams arc conjoined for automa
tion. But it was imperative to save
the methane digester. That the
bam would be lost was a certainty.
“I told him (Zambanini) I had
never heard of one being saved,”
said Brendle.
Mike Brendle stands beside a hold that firemen cut in a
poultry barn when fire broke out in June. Brendle Farms
lost above 30,000 chickens to fire and smothering In the
Fire Puts Expansion On Hold For Brendle Farms
So he was unprepared for what
happened when the Class A foam
took over. Still amazed, Brendle
said, “By the time they threw that
foam in there, it was only five
minutes until they put it down. It
did a spartan job. TTiey did an im
possible job.”
Later, it was learned that while
Class A foam smothers flames
like a blanket, at $l5 a gallon it is
much 100 expensive for the ma
jority of rural volunteer fire com
panies to afford in great quantities.
Mike Brendle wishes that situa
tion was different because he can’t
contain his praise for the local
volunteer fire departments. He
wishes they had funding sources
other than fund drives and fund
raisers that would enable them to
purchase the foam.
Although only half the bam
burned, the loss was hefty, at
$333,000. Thirty thousand birds
perished as a result. And now, it’s
as if they weren’t expanding be
cause the Brendle-raised pullets
entering the new bam can merely
keep egg production where it was
before the fire.
Brendle said it will take another
year, but they will continue work
ing to rebuild and expand the
operation which serves four sur
rounding counties with fresh eggs
Cambria, Bedford, Somerset,
and Westmoreland.
“It takes a year to start a pole
building,” said Brendle, “until you
install the wiring and insulation
put on the aluminum skin and
chipboard inside.”
Brendle said the fire was traced
to the newest of the 17 fans work
ing full tilt to ventilate the now
partially-destroyed bam. He said
that despite the loss, eggs contin
ued to be produced and shipped to
market the next day.
“We didn’t miss one day of pro
duction,” he said. “We picked
them out by hand Friday, Satur
day, and Sunday.”
Brendle said he’s responsible
for the Brendle crops. “Dad owns
the birds and I take care of the
fields,” he said. “We’re blessed
that my father is here and that we
can work together.”
Although Brendle raises 20 pci
cent of the poultry feed on the
550-acre spread, trucking the rest
from Ohio has proven the most
economical option, he said.
Robert Brendle wasn’t always a
poullryman. In fact, he was a
dairyman, milking some 90 head
of the big Holsteins. After his wife
A fire on June 16 was stopped halfway in the poultry barn of Brendle Farms,
Somerset, when volunteer firemen threw Class A foam on It. Here Is the outside of
the barn showing damage at the far end.
Robert Brendle, left, and his son, Mike Brendle, stand at the entry of a new poultry
barn that’s under construction. It was Intended to expand the egg operation, the larg
est in Somerset County, until a recent fire destroyed half of another barn, causing
death for some 30,000 birds.
took a nasty kick from one of the an d relaxing Colorado had been, resentative on the Agricultural
cows, Robert decided dairying die loss to his business wiped out Advisory Board to the stale De
was not for him. It was “for the his pleasure in being there, he partment of Environmental Re
birds (pun intended). said. sources, and also president of the
“This is more like an eight to Robert’s wife is Betty. local water company,
five job,” Robert said. He said that Mike and his wife, Harriet, Brendle Farms employs seven
as soon as he learned about the have four children ranging in age full time and seven part lime, in
fire, he had to return to Somerset from 13 to one year. He is the eluding dad and son, according to
County. No matter how beautiful governor’s appointed poultry rep- Mike.
Lebanon Dairy Refunds Total $149,000
NORTH CORNWALL (Leb
anon Co.) Lebanon County
Dairy producers who reduced or
did not increase their 1993 milk
marketings filed 96 applications
and received refunds totaling
$148,998 according to Jenifer
Minnich, county executive direc
tor of the Agricultural Stabiliza
tion and Conservation Service.
The cash payments were issued
to dairy producers in the county
under the Dairy Refund Payment
Program (DRPP), authorized by
the Omnibus Budget Reconcili
ation Acts of 1990 and 1993.
“Producers who provided evi
dence that they did not market
more milk in 1993 than in 1992
were eligible to receive the entire
amount deducted from their milk
proceeds if they met the eligibility
requirements and claimed the re
fund by March 15,” Minnich said.
The 1990 Act provides that the
11.25 cents per hundredweight origin, sex, religion, age, disabili
milk marketing assessment will be ty, political beliefs, and marital or
increased on May-Dcccmbcr milk familial status. (Not all prohibited
marketings each year to compen- bases apply to all programs.) Pcr
sate for refunds made for the pre- sons with disabilities who require
vious year. alternative means for communica-
Thcrefore, effective May 1, fion of program information
1994, the assessment was increas- (Braille, large print, audiotape,
ed by 8.03 cents for a total of etc.) should contact the USDA,
19.28 cents per hundredweight. Office of Communications at
ASCS official Minnich said this 202-720-5881 (voice) or
rale will remain in effect through- 202-720-7808 (TDD).
out the remainder of this year, and To file a complaint, write the
will revert to 11.25 cents per Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. De
hundrcdweighl on January 1, partment of Agriculture, Wash
-1995. ington, DC 20250, or call
The United States Department 202-720-7327 (voice) or
of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 202-720-1127 (TDD). USDA is
discrimination in its programs on an equal employment opportunity
the basis of race, color, national employer.