_ Vol. 41 No. 30 On the hill overlooking Jay and Mary Houser’? Penn-Dell family farm, Spring Mills, three of their beautiful registered Holsteins take one last nosey look at the photographer before hightailing It to the barn to join the others who were being taken off the spring pasture in mid-morning. The day was so nice and the pasture so lush that nobody wanted to go into the barn, but necessity called. Jay Houser, president of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association, and son Jim at the halter show Penn-Dell Leadsman Haley Ex, a member of one of two sets of five full sisters in the same cow family that all classify VG or EX and have production over 25,000. Photo by Evaratt Nawswangar, managing adftor. At Penn-Dell, Offspring Show Cows’ Worth EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor SPRING MILLS (Centre Co.) Walk into the beautiful herd of registered Holstin cows at the Penn-Dell family farm of Jay and Mary Houser and you will find generation after generation of good cow families. Most cows in the herd can be traced back to the first registered Holsteins Jay’s dad bought in the early 1900’s. Nestled in the had that averages over 25,000 m l,ooofBoop and 106 BAA, are 10 excellents up to EX-93 (nine bred here); 36 VG or better; four generations of excel- Family Milk Powder Company Fills Niche VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Farming Staff READING (Berks Co.) Tom Dietrich is chief executive officer of a family own ed milk products business north of Reading. Last week, back at his office after trying to attend portions of the combined conventions of the Pennsylvania Milk Dealers Asso ciation and the New Yoik Dairy 604 Per Copy lents all over l,000f; five full sis ters (3 EX. 2 VGB7-88) all over 25,000 m l,000f; and another group of five full sisters out of one of the other full sisters that are on the same track and they milk over 30,000 m. Jay is the newly elected presi dent of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association. And his dairy farm ing enterprise started with his dad before he was married. The family moved from Mifflin County in 1959, and in 1960 Jay and Mary were married. At the time the new president said he wanted to farm on his own so Products Inc. held in Hershey, he began talking about change how he thrives on it, but that lately it’s been sort of overwhelming. But in walking around the red brick building that houses the Diet rich Milk Products Inc, Reading Plant, he discussed all the changes to-the dairy industry, and how they are reflected in the structure and nature of the family business. It’s been a Dietrich family busi Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 1, 1996 badly he could “taste it.” Working with little money in 1963, the newlyweds started to buy the cows and machinery. The finance companies turned them down, but several private individu- Veal Producer Sees Business Grow ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Fanning Staff HARLEYSVUXE (Montgom ery Co.) — Have a problem mark eting your product? Start your own processing business! That’s what Wayne Marcho, ness since Tom’s grandfather Claude purchased the original small dairy business in 1926 for $2,500. It began as a business of deliver ing fresh milk to homes and comer grocery stores in the Reading area, along with many other small dair ies in other parts of the Reading area. As the dairy industry changed so (Turn to Page A 27) als had confidence in the young couple and loaned them money to get started. After Dad had a serious farm accident that left him an inva lid and later led to his death. Jay (Turn to Page A 32) president of Marcho Farms, did more than IS years ago. Since then, he has transformed a small veal farm into a $35 million per-year veal production and pro cessing enterprise. In 1969, the Marcho Family started marketing a few veal calves a week. Sometimes it was difficult to find a way to market the veal they raised. In 1978, Marcho worked at a local poultry processing plant'T knew some of the meat business and we were having a problem marketing our meat” he said. . When the calves are ready for market according to Marcho, veal is similar to pork. “You need to market them within a couple-week period. “There are a few times when I filing my_ Five Sections This Special Issue Pays Tribute To Dairy Industry Index Of Dairy Stories See Regular Index Page A 3 Penn-Dell Show Cows A 1 Dietrich Milk A 1 Veal Producer A 1 Govenor’s Proclamation A 34 Shaulis Is Ag Voice A 36 Dairy Compact A 37 Saylor Sisters B 4 Cow Mania Recipes B 6 That Milk Thing 810 Somerset Dairy Princess 812 Nobledale Farm 836 Extension Reports A 23, A 24, C 4. C 7, Cll. Cl 2, Cl 4, D 5 Dairy Market CIS (Turn to Page A 3) he admitted. For many years, the Marches sold only about 30-40 calves a week. Fortunately, Marcho realized that he lived near Philadelphia— a large market with many custom ers. He began to wonder: what if we owned our own processing plant? In 1986, a plant a few miles away, in Franconia, went for sale. The Marches purchased it and began to heavily expand the veal business. They added more calves and began to sign up other growers to serve their processing enter prise. In the mid-1980s, most of the veal industry began to grow almost exponentially. When Marcho purchased the Harleysville farm in 1971, it was .... . XTurn to Pan* A3O) $27.50 Per Year
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers