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Vo). 42 No. 20
Employee-Farmer Puts Special Emphasis (hi Conserving SoH, Wildlife
Thera are a total of 131 acres in wildlife upland habitat management, wildlife refuge
tree plots (consisting of Norway Spruce, Juniper, and barberry), managed meadows,
brush management, fencing (the farm Is completely bordered), stream crossing,
heavy use area protection, hedgerow planting, and prescribed burnings on the con*
servation farm. Here, John Hicks checks out the swNchgrass plots used in the dog
lining. „ **
Maryland Holstein Association Celebrates 33rd Convention
STEVENSVDLLE, Md The
33rd annual convention of the
Maryland Holstein Association
brought together over4ooHolstein
breeders and enthusiasts from
across the state.
“The Eastern Shore, where the
sun rises first in Maryland” was
the theme for the convention,
sponsored by the Queen Anne’s
Holstein and the Kent Dairy clubs.
The two-day convention was
held March 14-15 at the American
Legion in Stevensville and the sale
held at the Queen Anne’s County
4-H Park. #
A welcome to the Eastern Shore
was extended to all by Donny
Skinner.
Jason Myers, president of the
Poultry Progress Day
Highlights Research
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
—Making a comfortable living for
poultry farmers is stifled by flies,
bird diseases, zoning interfer
ences, and bouncing prices. But
the annual Poultry Progress Day
held on Thursday addressed aU
these problems and offered bright
expectations for producers and
industry marketing poultry
products.
The all-day seminar held at the
Farm and Home Center demon
strated the year-round research
that Penn State scientists and
extension personnel conduct for
the poultry industry’s benefit
Dr. William Weaver gave an
overall review of the recently com
pleted research facilities at Penn
Flvt Section*
Maryland Holstein Association,
called the meeting to order. He
encouraged everyone to keep a
positive atdtude. He said “It’s not
what we get out of it it’s what
we get out of it by giving.”
Jason thanked the five retiring
directors, Ken Holland Delvin
Mast, Tom Remsberg, Steve Wil
son, and Kevin Leaverton, for their
service to the association.
Committees, finance and mem
bership activities woe discussed
The summer picnic is to be held the
third Sunday in June at Savage-
Leiglj Farm.
National Holstein Association
representatives Clarence Stauffer
and Tom Dum gave a program on
the hod book proposal for a com-
State’s main campus. The six
buildings housing incubators,
environmental chambers, floor
pens, batteries, and cages, and a
processing facility were designed
to enable research and collect data
from the studies.
Weaver profiled five research
programs.
“We are attempting to build a
better bird with lean muscle and
less fat” he said. This is being
done through research cm piquing
the chicken growth hormone so
that birds will produce it naturally
in larger amounts rather than being
added to feed, by injection or by
other means.
Ordinarily broilers that under
go a 12-hour period of feed with
drawal will lose 12percentofbody
(Turn to Page A 26)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Match 22, 1997
prehensive, fully disclosed ID
program.
This generated a lively discus
sion from the audience. Opinions
of association members should be
given to the state delegates going
Longacre’s Modem Dairy
Refits For Organic Processing
(Second in a series)
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
BARTO (Berks Co.) The
“organic” milk market is begin
ning to grow in, southeastern Pen
nsylvania and its development
offers a glimpse into entreprenuer
ial accomplishment
In terms of success, it is an appa
rent winner because it has found its
way into the retail market place, it
is providing a working cash flow,
not running up debt, and it seems
to have more potential for growth
than not.
And perhaps most importantly,
those involved in the business say
they believe in its merits.
This scries of articles looks at
that organic offspring of the main
stream dairy industry and began
last week with Ned and Susan
MacArthur of West Grove, in
Chester County, who along with
Ned’s father Norman, and busi
ness partner Gary Comstock
created Natural Dairy Products
Corp.
Natural Dairy Products Corp.
was famed as a management com
pany that is currently involved
with eight producers who are certi
fied organic dairy producers under
the Organic Crop Improvement
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
NEWTOWN SQUARE (Dela
ware Co.) Years ago, Chester
County conservation farmer John
Hicks saw what he believes were
the “damaging effects of large
farming” to the soil on his dairy in
West Chester.
On his own farm and on subse
quent farms that he has since man
aged, Hicks worked hard to pre
vent water and soil from leaving
his farm.
Along the way, he picked up
many clues about how important it
is not only to preserve the soil but
to preserve nature’s habitat on the
land. And in the two decades since
he left dairying, he has been able to
mesh the best of both worlds
farming for a living and farming to
preserve the environment.
For his efforts as manager of the
Double-D Farm owned by
Gwynne McDevitt just inside the
Chester County border, Hicks was
honored with the 1996 Conserva
tion Innovation Award by the
Chester County Conservation Dis
trict, presented to the farm
ary at the county crops day.
to the National Holstein Conven
tion in Grand Rapids, Mich., in
June.
Ed Fry Jr. gave a report on a
proposed dairy price support MIL
He encouraged everyone to call
Association certification rules.
A local chapter of OCIA was
formed to oversee the certification
process. The local board of review
consists of dairy producers, a dairy
processor, and a retailer of organic
Ned MacArthur and Dan Longacre show two of the organ
ic milk products processed at the Longacre’s Modem Dairy.
$27.50 Per Year
Hicks manages a farm that is
comprised of a little more than ISO
acres on which Gordon Highland
Setters are trained. The farm is
used to train die field trial dogs and
prepare them for nationwide con
tests, of which McDevitt has won
several.
Bill Wolter, a conservationist
and fanner from Greenwood, Del.,
is instrumental with McDevitt in
the training of the dogs. Wolter
also brought the VA-70 Lespedeza
to be used as border.
At the McDevitt Farm, Hicks
has installed a wide variety of best
management practices with the
training of the dogs (14 in all) in
mind—as well as the preservation
of the environment.
“I was a dairy farmer before this
—an intense dairy farmer at that,”
Hicks told Lancaster Farming at
the McDevitt Farm last week.
Hicks operated a 600-acre dairy
farm with his father and uncle in
West Chester fora number of years
and took over the farm when he
was graduated from Wilmington
College in Wilmington, Ohio with
ap ag degree in 1964.
(Turn to Page A 24)
their federal representative and ask
them to support the bill
The current officers Jason
Myers, president: Carl Bender,
vice president; and Anita Hill,
(Turn to Page A 18)
dairy product Determination of an
applicant for designation as an
'Organic farm depends upon
approval from the board. The
board also sets conditions for con-
* (Turn to Page A3O)
601 Per Copy