iter Farming, Friday, January 9, 1998
A26-Uncas<
Pair Of Cousins Sweep Lancaster Tobacco Show
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
There were two cousins, you
see
No, not the two that formed the
garage, pasta place, minimall, or
shoe store.
We’re talking about the two
cousins that formed a unique
tobacco growing championship.
They’re second cousins, actual
ly, but Jessica Neff and Andy
Burkholder more than a fam
ily tradition of growing the coun
ty’s premier cash crop. They also
shared grand champion honors
Tuesday afternoon at the Lancaster
County Tobacco Show at the Farm
and Home Center.
By telephone, Jessica told Lan
caster Farming that her father,
Gary Neff, is cousin to Andy Burk
holder’s mother, Mary.
Jessica, 20, won grand champ
ion Pennsylvania-grown smoking
tobacco with her 16-leaf hand from
Class 6, tops. Jessica, daughter of
Gary and Dianne Neff, Millersvil
le, is a 1996 graduate of Penn Man
or High School She is a sopho
more at Penn State studying ag
business.
Her cousin Andy Burkholder,
17, won grand champion Pennsyl
vania Type 41 tobacco from the
ClasslY, wrappers. Andy, son of
Tina and Shaman Burkholder,
Millersville, is in the 11th grade at
Penn Manor.
l-ikit cousin Jessica, Andy is
enrolled in FFA. Jessica served as
chapter secretary. Andy works at a
wholesale flower company in
Washington Boro.
Tobacco Growers Wait
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
PARADISE (Lancaster Co.)
Once again, as millions of dollars
worth of tobacco waits in the ware
house, the auction has been put on
further standby.
The auction season stalled again
on Monday as growers await word
on activity by the major processors
to give buyers the go-ahead to bid.
It was reported in the local
newspapers on Tuesday that since
Dec. 8, when the auction season
was set to open, no buyers bid at
Machinery Has Changed From Small To Big To Small Again
In This Man’s Farm Show Memory
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
CHALFONT (Bucks Co.)
“Over the years, the machinery got
bigger and bigger. Now it’s gone
the other way.”
Only recently did Joseph Nowa
kowski, who’s attended farm
shows for 43 years in a row since
1955, comment about the chang
ing look of Pennsylvania agricul
ture’s big event
Nowakowski said that, when he
attended Farm Show as a child, he
remembers the equipment being
displayed as small, made for the
small farmer. In die years since,
the exhibition hall has grown with
the size of the tractors and
implements.
Now the tide has changed, and
the focus has “gone the other
way,” he noted, “back to the small
equipment and the small farmer.”
in many cases the farmer working
part time.
Both work as seasonal Cum
hands on the 14-acre Neff Brothers
farm in Manor Township, Jessica
noted. Jessica and Andy have
helped in all stages of tobacco pro
duction. from planting the trans
plants grown at the farm to hoeing,
cutting, stripping, and “sharing
information about tobacco,” she
said. Jessica indicated the Neff
Brothers have been growing tobac
co for SO years.
Jessica said this year, being dry,
provided a “better chance of get
ting a more clean leaf,” with fewer
holes. It was a “pretty good year
for growing,” she said. They fol
low a planned insecticide program
to control aphids and “fortunately
had no problems with blue mold.”
This was Andy Burkholder’s
first champion. Jessica has
received champion at the show
before.
In choosing a potentially win
ning hand of tobacco leaves, Andy
said, “We look for thickness and
color and size.” Jessica said her
father, Gary, helped her choose
some good leaves because of his
tobacco growing knowledge.
Judges for the Lancaster County
Tobacco Show were Geoffrey H.
Ranck, Domestic Tobacco Com
pany, and Raymond Rinehart, leaf
purchaser with Lancaster Leaf.
Ranck said the winners were
selected because of a “gut grab”
type of feeling. “One smellwl the
most, had the light on it,” he said.
The overall appeal brought it to
their attention. The judges look for
the uniformity of leaf, stretch, tex
ture. and overall color. Any kinds
of holes, blemishes, or spotting can
the auction and no buyers are mak
ing offers on the farm.
“We told farmers not to panic,”
said Eric Probst of Paradise Auc
tion, where 600,000 pounds wait
for buyers to bid. “It seems to me
that everybody is on hold.”
The only tobacco moving are
bales under contract for $1.60 per
pound. The contracts were written
last winter, and the tobacco is due
next week.
Buyers were anticipating bid
ding to $l.BO per pound, but some
buyers wanted only the lop leaves.
Tha memories of the early
days of attending Farm Show
are strong In Joe Nowakows*
M’s mind. He remembers, as a
vo-ag student and Central
Bucks FFA member In high
school, that he helped set up
the FFA project displays.
The memories of the early days
of attending Farm Show are strong
in Nowakowski’s mind. He
remembers, as a vo-ag student and
Central Bucks FFA member in
work against a final grade.
For the smoking tobacco, Ranck
noted that you really should take
the leaves being judged and “set
them on fire” to see how they bum,
he said. Size is not always the
determining factor, as long as it is
img enough it doesn’t have to
be the biggest leaf. But burning the
leaf is one way to determine exact
ly the quality of the tobacco.
The county tobacco show serves
as a “prelude” to the state show,
scheduled at the Farm Show Com
plex tomorrow on the second floor
of the Northeast building. Judging
begins at 9 am. Show judge is
John Yocum, manager of the Penn
State Southeast Extension
Research Center in Landis ville.
At the show on Tuesday, there
were a total of 39 exhibitors and
107 exhibits. Following is a list of
Lancaster County Tobacco Show
results.
LANCASTER COUNTY
TOBACCO SHOW
RESULTS
OPEN CLASSES
TYPE 41
PA.-GROWN SEEOLEAF
OR BROAOLEAF
Out 1 Wrappara: 1. Gary R. Naff. 2.
Mchoal Rohrar. 3. A. Loi* Burkholdar.
CtaM 2 Filar*: 1. Collin Bins. 2.Tony Bins.
3. Raymond Burkholdar.
Clau 3 Bindara: 1. Eugana Rohrar. 2.
Mfchaal Rohrar. 3. Gary R. Naff.
PA. GROWN SMOKING
Clau 4 Bottom Ona-Thlrd: 1. JaailcaNaff.
2. Hanry Barlay. 3. John Burkholdar.
Oast S MWdta Ona-Thlrd: 1. Jaaalca Naff.
2. Ronald Urich. 3. Ryan Mchaal Meflott.
Clau 6 Top Ona-Thlrd; 1. Jaaalca Naff. 2.
John Burkholdar. 3. Adana Bingaman.
YOUTH CLASSES
Ctau IV Wrappara; 1. Andraw Burkhol
dar. 2. Mark Rohrar. 3. Adam Entarlina.
Clau 2Y Fillara: 1. Klim Fray. 2. Stephan
Knight 3. Audrey Niulay.
While Auction Season Stalls
One buyer, Geoffrey Ranck
with Domestic Tobacco, said his
company purchases only the top
end for cigars, the binders and
wrappers and long filler, using
strictly Pa. 41 type. Ranck said he
doesn’t deal with Maryland 609
the tobacco waiting for sale at the
Paradise warehouse.
But while Ranck said he can’t
answer about the 609 tobacco at
the warehouse, he suspects that the
major processors are waiting on
world conditions to improve and
world demand to dictate what to
high school, that he helped set up
the FFA project displays.
But the Chalfont farmer recalls a
great deal of what he loved about
the show that’s still true today: the
livestock shows, the exhibits, and
the overall flavor of focusing on
Pennsylvania agriculture.
His favorite aspect of Farm
Show has always been the machin
ery. The prices often were too
exorbitant. So he’d simply wait for
10 years and purchase the equip
ment he saw at the Farm Show
through auction or private sales, he
noted.
Nowakowsld grew up on a dairy
farm in ChalfonL Now he main
tains about 31 acres on the home
farm and manages another 200
acres of leased ground. He cares
for a herd of beef heifers and grows
produce for a farm stand.
Nowakowsld was graduated
from Central Bucks High School
in 1958. He enrolled at Delaware
Judges for the Lancaster County Tobacco Show were
Geoffrey H. Ranch, Domestic Tobacco Company, pictured
here, and Raymond Rinehart, leaf purchaser with Lancaster
Leaf. Ranch said the winners were selected because of a
“gut grab” type of feeling. “One smelled the most, had the
light on It,” he said.
Oaaa 3Y Binder: 1. Garrett Neff. 2. Andraw
Burkholdar. 3. Mark Rohrar.
Oaaa 4Y Vo Ag Smoking Bottoma; 1. Gar
rett Naff. 2. Wendy Winner.
Claaa SY Vo-Ag Smoking Mddlaa; 1. Gar
rett Naff. 2. Klim Fray. 3. Adam Niulay.
Claaa 6Y Vo-Ag Smoking Tope: 1. Wendy
Wltmar. 2. Adam Niaalay. 3. Garrett Naff.
According to Clark Stauffer,
Ephrata, a buyer for Golden Leaf,
demand has been light for the large
amounts of lighter-type tobacco
waiting at the auction. Demand is
up for the darker tips and bottom
stalks of the plant
Golden Leaf, based in Keysvil
le, Va., purchases only contracted
product in this region. That tobac
co was contracted last December
and delivery is scheduled now to
the 14th of the month.
As for the 600,000 pounds
remaining in the warehouse, Stauf-
Valley College and was graduated
in 1963 with a degree in dairy
husbandry.
Since graduating Grom Del Val,
he has driven school bus every
year.
Nowakowsld recalls his “worst”
Farm Show weather experience.
About 22 years ago, he remem
bers looking out the window from
the Farm Show and it looked “all
gray” outside, he said. When they
decided to leave, snow started to
fall. It took them 4-S hours to drive
the normal VA hour distance home
to their Cum in ChalfonL
Nowakowsld is married to
JoAnne. They have a daughter,
Lynn, who is involved in the dried
flower business with a degree in
horticulture from Del VaL
One improvement in die Farm
Show Complex itself that is satis
factory to Nowakowsld is the
building’s “no smoking” policy,
which he said has been helpful. He
GRAND CHAMPION
PA. TYPE 41
Andraw Burkholdar
GRAND CHAMPION
SMOKING TYPE
Jauica Naff
Again
fer said it is important that the
tobacco is stripped dry and in good
condition to prevent spoilage.
Tobacco stripped dry and in good
condition, as long as the weather
remains cool, will hold for some
time.
Tobacco stripped wet can start
getting “warm” and begin to pro
duce a discemable odor, according
to Stauffer. Spoilage can create
real problems when it comes time
to market it
A Paradise Auction spokesper
son noted that they will try to get
the season started on Monday, Jan.
12.
appreciates the amount of innova
tion in the size of the show, the
builrfings, and the events that have
begun in the time since he started
attending Farm Show 43 years
ago.
Despite a bout with colon cancer
a few years ago, in which he spend
seven weeks in the hospital in the
summer, Nowakowski still recov
ered in time to attend the Farm
Show and keep the streak alive.
One improvement die Farm
Show made was to switch the
opening Day from Sunday to
Saturday, giving families the
weekend to enjoy the show. He
said he probably will attend the
show Saturday.
“I enjoy all the parts of the Farm
Show,” he said. “I wouldn’t want
to take anything away from it, and
nothing to add to it I’ve enjoyed
myself better last year at the show
than in many of the previous
years."