Adams County llvsstock hauler Bob Bishop loads steers onto his truck at Don
Mason’s farm in New Freedom Township. The steers were headed for butchering at
Norman J. Shrlver, Jr.’s in Emmltsburg, Md.
Doyle Waybright, one of the justify the expense of hauling
owners of Mason Dixon Farms cattle in their own truck when
Inc. in Gettysburg, said even an . Bishop will provide the same ser
operation as large as theirs can’t vice at such an affordable price.
of the weed,
leaving the
possibility for weed
regrowth after your crop comes
up. And that, of course, increases the
need for costly r<
Perfect for everything from no-till Roundup Ultra delivers rainfast
and reduced tillage to mulch tillage control in wet weather or dry and lets Ultra, you won’t
and stale seedbed, Roundup Ultra you get into your fields more quickly give them one,
can be used preplant, at planting or to plant. Plus, it’s labeled for cotton,
prior to crop emergence. And thanks Market Manager today. Because weeds
to new TransSorb™ technology,
“It creates a lot of flexibility for
us,” Waybright said. “And Bishop
dots well. He knows how to
handle cattle.” Bishop charges $6
peanuts and vegetables.
For more information about
Roundup Ultra in a conservation
tillage program, contact your farm
don’t deserve a second chance. And
Bwwn K works.
with Roundup
r -> •
Bonn Bishop, left, and Bob Bishop, right, ars the father
son team behind Robert G. Bishop & Son, a livestock deal
ing and trucking firm based out of the family’s Gettysburg
farm. The Bishops haul livestock from Franklin, Adams and
York counties in Pennsylvania and Carroll and Frederick
counties In Maryland to weekly auctions in Greencastle, Pa.
and Westminster and Hagerstown, Md.
per ca|f; $7 to $8 for a feeder steer the’4os —s3 per cow and $1 per
and $l2 for anything larger. The calf.
prices aren’t much beyond what But the increase worries Bishop
Bishop and his Either were paid in just the same.
soybeans, rice, corn, milo,
Lto Local
ftnmng, teterity, F*nwy ie, iN*Alf
innyinip
“I hate to charge that much really, for the
price they're bringing now,” he said, as if the
depressed market is somehow his
responsibility.
Blue Southern States cap firmly on his head
and a flannel shirt and jacket to protect him
from the winter weather. Bishop is efficiency
in quiet action as he makes his rounds. If folks
are around, he's happy to exchange pleasan
tries. But he’s a man on a mission, so there's
no time for gossip.
At farm after farm. Bishop hoists calves
into the truck with an ease that belies his
years. He hesitates only to brush matted man
ure from their coats and mark them with an
orange crayon so he’ll be able to note their
ownership later.
‘The better something looks, the belter it
sells,” he said. Though it’s been more than a
decade since he was employed by an auction.
Bishop spent enough nights and summers
working the sales in Carlisle, Chambersburg,
and Westminster, Md to know.
In all that time. Bishop’s never been seri
ously hurt by an animal though there’vc
been a few close calls. “If I wouldn’t have
been as quick as I was in my prime I wouldn’t
be here right now,” he said
Experience has taught him lessons about
four-legged beasts that would make Dr. Doo
little jealous. The “contrariest” animal a haul
er fades? Good old Porky Pig.
“A hog is something you can’t force,”
Bishop said. “You’ve got to give him his time
and let him decide for himself.” When hogs
had tails, he said, “you could grab ’em tail-to
ear and throw ’em on.” But the practice of
(locking tails is so commonplace now, those
days are long gone.
Bishop doesn’t believe in using brute force
to make an animal do what he wants. And he
has little understanding for those who poke
and prod a calf or cow until it becomes hyster
ically frightened
"You take an old cow, for example. She’s
wore out She’s old. And she was never hit in
her lifetime. But first thing, they’re in on her
with a cane, beating her like she’s a wild ani
mal,” he said, shaking his head.
Bishop still runs about 20 bulls of his own,
splitting his fortune among the leading dairy
and beef breeds, including registered Hols
tein, Black Angus, and Limousin. He “rents”
the animals to other farmers in exchange for
their feed and board.
Friends and neighbors also call on Bishop
to castrate their animals. He learned the tech
nique from a neighbor many years ago.
Though demand for his services has slacked
off a tut now. he’s performed the operation on
as many as 99 pigs in a day and even the odd
cat now and then, he said.