k fjvixs’savv I, I VV %■■ lIIUII vol. 41 NO. 45 Lancaster County Poultry Association President Don Brubaker Offers Producer’s Perspective To Industry LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Farming Staff STRASBURG (Lancaster Co.) As president of the Lancaster County Poultry Association, Don Brubaker offers a producer’s per spective to the poultry industry. While most past presidents of the association have been affiliated with the industry end, Brubaker does the hands-on work. His Beav er Creek Farm houses 90,000 chicks that he raises for the broiler industry. He knows the daily grind required for ■ feeding chickens, monitoring flock health, cleaning out manure, coping with the non farming community’s aversion to chicken odors and abnormal fears of contacting Salmonella enteridis, and a paycheck that never seems to grow enough to meet cost of living expenses. “Being a producer I can’t help but look at things differently than industry people,” he said. But that producer perspective has also gained Brubaker’s respect for the industry viewpoint. “We can’t live without each other. The poultry industry has been on its toes since die beginning in developing a better chicken and EVERETT NEWSWANGER Managing Editor HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) “Agriculture is a critical sector of the economy and society in our state,” said Theodore (Ted) Alter, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences interim dean. “We hpve challenges in the college as well as in the agricultural community. But Hvo Sections they've done a good job in market ing our product,” Brubaker said. “I have a lot of respect for them.” Brubaker grew up on his parents’ Strasburg poultry farm, the same one that he now owns. “My parents started raising lay ers in 1952,” he said. “Housing 6.000 birds back then was consid ered amazing, and the chicken house was called an ultra modem operation.” Poultry production has changed a lot in the intervening years. Sev eral additional houses were erected and the switch was made from lay ers to pullets in 1959 and to broilers in 1968. When Brubaker took charge of the operation in 1991, he erected the fourth chicken house to bring the space to its present 90.000 bird capacity. Turn To Poultry Note* Pag* 6 Editor’s Note: The North east Poultry Show Is sche duled September 18-19 at the Lancaster Holiday Inn Host Resort. Our “Poultry Notes” section m this Issue features this show along with other poultry features, manage ment reports, a poultry meet ing calendar, and advertising messages. Penn State Interim Dean Alter Sees Bright Future For State Agriculture my view is that this is a time of great excitement and opportunity for us, and we have great promise for the future.” Aker was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Pennsyl vania State Council of Farm Orga nizations at the Doubletree Hotel Monday. The new interim dean used the opportunity to introduce Barn Raising Restores Burned York Dairy Farm Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 14, 1996 Don Brubaker, president of the Lancaster County Poultry Association, is shown with his wife Luann and sons Lamar, 20 months, and Quentin, 4 weeks. Two other sons, Devon, 11, and Halden, 8, were not available for pictures. himself to the agricultural com munity and to outline his agenda for moving the programs of the col lege forward. “1 believe in agriculture in our state, and I believe in our College of Agricultural Sciences,” Alter said. “I don’t know a time that I have been at Penn State that I have seen quite such strong, visible, vig $27.50 Per Year orous support as I have seen from President Spanier. Both President Spanier and Provost (John A.) Brighton are very strong advocates for Pennsylvania agriculture and of our College of Agricultural Sci ences. This was quite evident on the state budget issue, and the Col lege of Agricultural Sciences received an increase of 11.4 per- JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent FAWN GROVE (York Co.) With the smell of smoke still lin gering over piles of bent and twisted roofing metal, three bams were rebuilt recently in the wake of a devastating fire on a Fawn USD A Economist: Corn Won’t Run Out Despite Rumors ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.) Contrary to widespread rumors thatU.S. com stocks could run out early next week, on Mon day an USDA economist said we won’t ran out of com actually, some is already available from harvests well under way in the Southeast .f f ■ I 604 Per Copy cent and was the only unit in the university to receive an increase. “My position is interim dean until a permanent dean is named,” Alter said. “But I’m not just a care taker. I can tell you unequivocally that my charge from the president and provost is to act like a perma nenudean. That’s what I’m com (Turn to Page A 36) Grove-area Amish dairy farm. The Uio of bams on the John Lapp family dairy operation were discovered ablaze about 2 a.m. on August 21. Firefighters from sev eral surrounding rural communi ties reportedly fought the blaze for (Turn to Pag* A3B) including com, will continue to remain tight in 1997, through feed prices should rebound for most producers, providing minimal increases in across-the-board poul try production. Dr. Milt Madison, ag economist and poultry team leader for the USDA Economic Research Ser vice, spoke to 25 producers an agri-industiy representatives on
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