Vol. 42 No. 25
For Fruit Growers, Cold Weather Damage
Will Depend On Location, Varieties
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
BIRD IN HAND (Lancaster
Co.) Cold weather the first
weekend in April didn’t necessari
ly spell catastrophic losses for fruit
growers, as some in the industry
originally thought.
Actually, for peach growers, it
may have helped to thin the fruit
Convention Brings Jersey Enthusiasts Together
CAROLYN N. MOYER
Bradford Co. Correspondent
POTTSVILLE (Schuylkill Co.)
Jersey breeders from across
Pennsylvania gathered in Potts
ville April 18 and 19 to celebrate
achievements, present awards,
and conduct their annual meeting.
The convention opened Friday
night with an awards banquet
highlighted by the crowning of the
1997 Pennsylvania Jersey Queen.
After delivering a presentation
and answering an impromptu
question, Jennifer Harris of Le
The well-kept dairy farm of Norm and Kathy Hershey and eon and
daughter-in-law Mike and Tina, and grandson Tyler represents the Bth gen-
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
GORDONVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) - “Good cows, good feeds,
and hard working people have
made a lot of successful dairy far
mers in the past and will do so in
the future.”
This quote came from an on
fann interview with Norm Her
shey, the new national director of
Four Sections
set.
But for growers of Red Deli
cious apples and for growers in
certain locations, crop damage
could have been extensive and
costly.
Growers in the south central part
of the state with orchards on south
slopes of hills below the mountains
should be concerned that certain
high County was chosen to wear
the crown and succeed 1996 Penn
sylvania Jersey Queen, Roberta
McConnell.
Also a current Northampton/
DAIRY WEEK
DAIRY MARKET PRICE COMMENTARY
This week, Lancaster Farming begins a new weekly
market commentary for dairy farmers. As government moves
away from dairy price supports, the need to follow dairy
markets increases. Dairy Week will appear near the end of
our regular market pages—this week turn to page A2O.
DHIA National Director, State President
Gives Thoughts On The Dairy Situation
DHIA. In addition, on Wednesday,
the Pennsylvania DHIA board
elected Hershey president of the
state organization.
At home where Hershey’s fami
ly farm, located along Route 340
east of Intercourse, now extends to
the Bth generation, dairy philoso
phy is turned into everyday
practice.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 26, 1997
apple and peach varieties (espe
cially early varieties of peaches)
could have experienced damage
because of cold temperatures in
which temperatures dropped to 24
degrees or below, according to
Tim Elkner, Lancaster horticulture
agent
Peach tree blossom damage
(Turn to Page A 22)
Lehigh County Dairy Princess,
Harris is a senior at Northwestern
High School. She is the daughter
of Lynn and Renee Harris and
(Turn to Page A 25)
Quality forages are grown on the
300 farmed acres. These home
grown feeds are balanced in a TMR
mix made to accommodate a one
group cow operation.
‘The most important manage
ment activity on the farm is pro
ducing the best forages possible,”
Hershey said. “This is true espe
cially where farmland comes with
On Tuesday afternoon this week, Ken Kauffman, orchard
manager with A.L. Kauffman Sons, inspects peach trees at
the Kauffman’s Bird in Hand location. A.L. Kauffman and
Sons, In the industry since 1915, grows about 40 varieties of
peaches on 35 acres. They grow 80 acres of apples,
IVi acres of plums, three acres of pears, and Vh acres of
cherries. ***»
eratlon of the family to live on the farm and is located along Route 340 east
of Intercourse In Lancaster County.
such a high value land base. With
high fixed costs and overhead, you
must get production to pay the
bills. If you have the farm paid for
and want to coast, that’s fine. But if
you have a mortgage to pay, you
need to shoot for high production.”
For Norm and his wife Kathy
and their son, Mike, daughter-in
law Tina and grandson, Tyler, age
$27.50 Per Year
1, this translates into a 21,000 lb.
herd average on 65 registered
Holsteins. They raise all the heifer
calves for replacements and cash
crop soybeans. But most of the
farming operation revolves around
producing milk.
With his new responsibilities in
both the national and state DHIA
(Turn to Page A 27)
60* Per Copy