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A3O-Uncaster Fanning, Saturday, June 15, 1996
Milk Tester On Job
For Herd’s Lifetime
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
VINTAGE (Lancaster Co.)
In the old days, they were called
milk testers. But now they have a
much more sophisticated title:
technicians. Somewhere in the
middle of time, they also had been
called supervisors.
Harold Probst, Georgetown, has
come through all the names while
serving dairy farmers in Lancaster
DHIA for 39 years in the Quarry
ville, Kinzers, Gap, and surround
ing areas. Later this month an era
will end.
No, Harold is not retiring. Ken
Beiler, one of his farmers, is selling
his herd, a herd that Harold has
tested for all 31 years it has been in
existence. And in all those 31
years, Harold missed only one
month when he was at a DHIA
seminar at Penn State.
When you visit a farm
for 750 milkings (that’s
over a year’s worth of
days) you gel to know
the farmer, and the far
mer gets to know you
rather well. At 5 a.m.
silting under an
uncooperative cow next
to the bam cleaning gut
ter does not always
bring out the best per
sonality traits in a per
son. But for Harold and
Ken and their families,
the rigors of these
monthly meetings has
forged a bond of friend
ship that will never be
broken.
Their experiences go
beyond these early
morning and late night
meetings at the rear end
of the cows. Simulta
neous deaths in their
families brought them
closer together. And
Harold likes to tell how
he got stuck in Ken’s
dad’s farm lane the fust
month he tested their
herd as a new, young
person on the job. Since
that first month, Harold
and Ken have known
each other, and when
Ken and his brothers
started farming, Harold
took on their herds as
well. Now a nephew is
the third generation on
the home Beiler farm
under Harold ’s
supervision.
“Harold has always
been part of the family,”
Ken said. “And we
depended on his work
through the years. He
was always very meti
culous with the figures
and always gave us con
fidence we had the cor
rect information.”
Over the years
changes have been seen.
The herd average went
from 14,000 pounds in
the early days to 20,000
pounds now. While the
number of cows in the
herd only increased
from 40 to 55, individu
al records increased to
the present 30,000 m and
1,200 f. “I remember
when we first had cows
that milked 100 pounds
of milk a day,” Ken said.
“We went out to eat
when that happened. Now it is a
rather common occurrence.”
Harold also adapted to change
over the years. From the old centri
fuge, whirling out the butterfat
tests to modem testing equipment,
and computers to do a lot of the
crunch work Harold has seen the
progression of the dairy industry.
“Yes, I have enjoyed testing for
Kmny over the years,” Harold
said. “It wouldn’t be the same not
coming here to test.”
Harold Probst and Ken Beiler
have a lot of memories built around
31 years of obtaining DHIA
records, good memories that have
made them friends for a life.
/M Lmncmmfmr /
/DHIA
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Adams Farm Bureau Holds Meeting
YORK SPRINGS (Adams Co.)
The annual spring meeting of
the Adams County Farm Bureau
was held recently at the York
Springs Community Fire Hall
with a commodity queen reception
preceding the business meeting.
“The purpose of the meeting is
to familiarize the membership
with special programs and busi
ness services offered to our mem
bers, such as the insurance, farm
management benefits, Safemark
products, and the legislative ef
forts conducted by the special
committees,” said committee
chairperson Fred Kammerer.
Also included in the program
were the legislative update reports
from the Governmental Relations
Committees after meeting with
state and national legislators in
Washington, D.C. and Harris
burg. National representatives
John Peters and Ed Wilkinson met
with Congressman Goodling and
urged his support of agricultural
issues. State representatives Chris
Baugher and John Hess met with
P*Sk
, IW
State Representative Steve Mart
land, Rep. Steve Nichols, and Sen.
Terry Punt, who also endorsed the
farming issues facing the county.
In addition. Governor Ridge was
contacted for a few moments to
hear of agricultural concerns.
The members of the organiza
tion In attendance voted to redis
trict the county. This will divide
the county into four equal sections
based on membership. By redis
tricting, the board will now consist
of two board members from each
section and four board members at
large enabling a more supportive
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