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On the Reinholds 91-acre farm, Thomas Smith Is king, his wife Dale Is
queen, Elizabeth Is the Lancaster County dairy princess, and sons Brian and
King And
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
REINHOLDS (Lancaster Co.)
King and Queen Farm finally
has a teal princess living on it
At the Reinholds 91-acre farm,
Thomas Smith is king and his wife
Dale is queen. Their 19-year-old
daughter was recently crowned the
Lancaster County dairy princess—
a dream come true for her father
who always wanted her to fill the
role of dairy princess.
Elizabeth Is well-qualified to represent the dt jstry.
Milk has always been her drink by choice. She is intent on
helping women realize the severity of osteoporosis that
results from not Including enough dairy products In their
diets during their growing and young adult years.
Queen Farm Finally Has A Real Princess
Two brothers, Andrew and
Brian, are just as thrilled as their
father to have their sister selected
as dairy princess. An older sister,
Mary, is married to Andy Sims.
Although Elizabeth shared her
father’s dream of becoming a dairy
princess, she postponed the event
longer than most contestants “until
it seemed like the right time.” A
time when she could be most effec
tive to the dairy industry.
Poised to begin her second year
of college at the Penn State Berks
Campus, Elizabeth plans to use the
pointers she receives as a commu
nication major to represent the
dairy industry.
Until 1988, the Smiths farmed
in Allentown, New Jersey. It was
difficult to move from the farm
that had been in the family for
three generations, but the surbur
ban sprawl brought a new breed of
neighbors.
“One neighboring family
washed the outside of their house
every Sunday because they didn’t
like flies that they said came from
living near a farm,’’ Elizabeth said.
Although the soils were about
the same for growing effectiveness
in the two states, one major differ
ence surprised Smith.
He said, “In New Jersey I could
park a wagon and expect.it to stay
on the same spot But here, after
several wagon escapes, 1 learned to
get used to putting a rock in back of
the wagon wheel.”
When they moved, the Smiths
were also surprised to be greeted
by a bunch of neighbors who
helped them move in. The machin
ery had been steadily moved
before the actual moving day. On
moving day, cows were brought in
by truck one day and the heifers the
next
“We were surprised at how well
and how quickly the herd
adjusted,” Smith said.
The family has a 100-head herd
with S 3 milking cows, which are
fairly evenly divided between
Holsteins and Brown Swiss
breeds.
When Elizabeth was six years
old, her parents presented her with
a birthday present—a Holstein
cow. She was thrilled. Later, her
parents gave her a Brown Swiss.
“It’s my favorite breed. I love
them to death,” she said of the 10
head she now owns.
Elizabeth considers the color
variations intriquing. “It’s always
a surprise to see whit the new calf
looks like. A dark brown cow may
have white offspring.”
The calves usually start off as
Andy complete the royal court.
pink or peach when bom and
become darker. She said that
Brown Swiss can appear dark
haired until clipped, which reveals
light-colored hair underneath.
Each cow’s distinctive facial
features enables her to easily dif
ferentiate who’s who among the'
herd. “But all of them have big
beautiful eyes,” Elizabeth said.
“Brown Swiss normally go past
their due date, but give a grand
entrance with no birthing problems
even if a bigger than a normal one.
When they are first born, the
calves resist drinking from a bottle
but soon relent and will playfully
chase after the person who feeds
them.” she said.
Sharing the work load is a way
of life for the Smith family. Eli
zabeth considers her parents excel
lent and credits them for instilling
high values within her.
Elizabeth arises at S:4S a.m. dai
ly to feed the calves and help her
dad finish milldng the cows. After
milking, Brian and she take care of
teat dipping before letting the cows
out to pasture.
On the Smith farm, the cows are
put out to pasture every day of the
year to exercise. A stream runs
through the pasture that is divided
into two padlocks. Even during the
blizzard that coated the county two
years ago, the cows were able to go
outside because of the way the
wind had blown the snow.
“Having the cows go outside,
gets them off the concrete, heat
detection is easier, and it gives me
time to clean the bam,” Elizabeth’s
dad said.
After breakfast prepared by her
mother, Elizabeth vacuums while
her dad cleans the bam. Depending
on the duties of the day, Eli-
Homestead
NOTES
zabeth’s responsibilities vary. She
helps bale hay and straw. Usual!/'
square bales are made, but thisX
year the Smiths were experiment
ing with something different They' -
had a neighbor use his round baler./.
Another new experiment this sea-V"
son is using no-till planting. Time ~
was the major factor in making thir
decision because of the fields/*
being too wet in early spring.
In addition to crop farming 91'
acres on the farm, another 40 acres
two miles away are also farmed by
the Smiths.
“Most of the land is cropable
and none is wasted in woodland.”
Tom said.
In the afternoon, Elizabeth often
works with her show animals. At
2:30 p.m., she feeds the calves and
puts in new bedding.
Sometimes, Elizabeth’s mother
finishes the evening chores
because Elizabeth works at a
supermarket from S p.m.-9 p.m.
several times a week.
Since the Smiths moved to the
Reinholds’ farm, new heifer facili
ties were built and comffrrt stalls
added. An open-front calf bam has
sides that can be moved down dur
ing cold months. Eight calf pens,
which can easily be cleaned out
with a tractor and divided into half
if more space is needed, have been
erected near the open-front barn.
One great advantage of moving
to Lancaster County, Smith said,
was the many agricultural services
available in die area.
Elizabeth has first-hand experi
ence when she talks about the
plight of fanners. She said, “Far
mers are being pushed to the side.
It’s impossible to survive because
people can’t grasp the effects of
V.
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(Turn to Pago B 4)