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Vd. 42 No. 9
Brookside Dairy Fire Brings Out Benevolent Spirit
RANDY WELLS
Indiana Co. Correspondent
HOMER CITY (Indiana Co.) —
Just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday,
Dec. 4, a passerby pounded on Bill
and Shirley George’s door to
deliver some of the worst news a
dairy fanner can receive—he told
them the George’s bam was on
fire.
“It’s really something to get
dressed by the light of the bam
Chris Young and Keith Fisher show Horizon Royal Shelly EX, that
was reserve All American and is completing a record of 18,500 m 3.9 f
3.2 p.
Weather Extremes, Mergers,
New Directions Highlight ’96
LANCASTER FARMING
Staff
LANCASTER (Lancater
Co.) It was the year of the
17-year locust, of the first two
term Democratic president since
Harry Truman, of widespread use
of Roundup Ready soybeans, of
continued visits from representa
tives from Mexico seeking trade,
and of continued uncertainty as to
where all of the changes are direct
ing the country and farming.
There were a lot of personnel
changes during the year also. Even
though President Clinton was re
elected, his administration is
changing dramatically.
In state government agencies,
there are new faces too, with retire
ments and replacements.
Compiling a list of achieve
ments for the agricultural com
munity for 1996 would not, of
course, include events considered
important to all.
Nevertheless, there were some
significant changes in practices,
weather, prices and policy during
the year that can be expected to set
the stage for how people get along
in the coming year.
Nutrient management regula-
Four Sections
burning,” Bill George commented
later.
The telephone was dead, so
Shirley decided to drive to a
neighbor to call the fire depart
ment. The electric garage door
opened about two feet then
jammed.
Shirley told her husband to
stand back, then drove the fami
ly’s Buick through the door to get
help.
Despire the day’s frantic begin-.
tions are on the verge of being
finalized.
The independent agency that
oversees the state’s conservation
districts, the State Conservation
All-Md. Holstein Winners
Ths photographs of ths beautiful All-Mk}. Holstein win*
nera are featured this week. To Introduce this famous group
we have Lylehaven Jet Denise, who shares both AII*Md.
100,000 lb. milk and Jr. AII*Md. Aged Cow honors for Kelli
Ann Savage, Knoxville, Maryland. For theother winners and
their owners sse Pages A28*30.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 4, 1997
ning, when dawn arrived Bill and
Shirley and their sons Kevin and
Keith realized they were fortunate
in many respects.
First of all, it was not the bam
that had been on fire, but the
block-wall milk plant attached to
the bam at the George’s Brook
side Dairy near Homer City in
Indiana County. Volunteer fire
men stopped die flames as they
spread through the rafters toward
the bam.
Commission (SCC), has final say
and regulatory authority, but its
Nutrient Management Advisory
Board has recently issued a final
(Turn to Pago A 22)
No one had been injured, and
the dairy’s 306 Holstein cows
escaped unharmed.
During the long day that fol
lowed. the Georges also discov
ered how many good friends and
neighbors they have.
The fire had started in an elec
trical panel in the milk plant, and
although the 20 automatic milking
machines and ancillary equipment
in the milking parlor were spared,
the flames destroyed the air com-
Milking Shorthorns Win Awards
For Brother-Sister Team
NEW ENTERPRISE (Bedford Co.) With shining brown hair and a milk-and-sugar
complexion, Christine Young would be a good candidate for “What’s My Line?”
Her feminity does not keep her from being a farmer, handling a 60-head herd of Milk
ing Shorthorns, all show cattle, with very little help.
“My brother Jimmy and I own the herd,” said Christine, who can’t remember a time
when she wasn’t helping with cows. Jimmy is an ag student at Penn State while Christine
chose to get her education firsthand.
Jimmy is the president of the Junior National Association of Progressive Breeders and
has won the distinguished Junior Achievement Award.
They call their venture “Horizon Farms.” Jfyjmy and Christine rent the bam and buy
their feed. “I’ve watched too many small farmers struggle with fixing machinery and
raising crops,” Christine said. “I didn’t want to do that.”
Taking reserve supreme champion at the Bedford County Fair, supreme bred and own
ed at the Montgomery County Fair, and first place in the top dairy herd in the Eastern
National Milking Shorthorn Show during the All American Dairy Show in Harrisburg
this fall have been just a few of the awards this young brother and sister have in their col
lection. They also had an intermediate champion at the World Dairy Expo in Madison,
Wis.
“We’re proud of what we’ve done and hope to do even better,” Chris said with a smile.
“We’re playing with the big boys now!”
■HapfyNew^ar
Farm Show: Next Event For Farmers
Now that we are into the new year, the time has come to think
about the Pennsylvania Farm Show again. Because of the way
the days appear on the calendar, the opening of the state’s-major
showcase of agriculture is a little later this year, starting on Fri
day, January 10. Actually, the show doesn’t open to the public
until Saturday, the 11th.
Next week is Lancaster Farming’s annual Farm Show Issue
with many on-farm interviews, coverage of the new happenings,
show highlights, and advertising messages from the commercial
exhibitors who invite you to visit them during the show. But we
actually start our coverage this week with several stories about
farmers involved at the show. Dairymen are sponsoring a bene
volent “Scooper Bowl” ice cream event to benefit cancer
patients (Page BS) and the Charles Family gets ready to go to the
show (Page BIO).
In addition, to help you prepare to visit the Farm Show, we
have four full pages of building layouts, marked exhibitor
spaces and judging and meeting schedules ih both text and
graphic foims on Pages CS-8.
To accommodate our early publication day to meet the open
ing of the Farm Show, we have early deadlines for advertising
and news stories for the Januarv 10 issue. They are as follows:
Classified Section C Ads <— 5 p.m., Tuesday, 1/7.
All Other Classifieds 9 a.m. Wednesday, 1/8.
General News Noon, Tuesday, 1/7.
$27.50 Per Year
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
(Turn to Page A2O)
January 10th Issue
60* Per Copy
pressors and vacuum pumps
needed to ran the milkers. And the
dairy’s 5,000-gallon bulk tank
was damaged beyond use. Bill
later estimated damage at
$600,000.
By the time the fire was extin
guished 12 hours had already
passed since the Holsteins had last
been milked and the dairy was
a long way from having replace
ment equipment operating to get
(Turn to Pagt A 26)