V 01.43 No. 11
Gov. Tom Ridge Keynotes Banquet, Opens Farm Show
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom
Ridge made himself at home with
the form community at die opening
of the 1998 Farm Show over last
weekend.
After serving as the keynote
speaker for the annual banquet Fri
day evening. Gov. Ridge held a
press conference Saturday morn
ing and was later joined by First
Lady Michele Ridge and his child
ren Lesley and Tom for a lour of
the livestock and dairy bams
before officially opening the show
from the large arena. Along the
way, the Ridge family posed with
the supreme champion hog, the
governor tried his hand at sheering
sheep, tried to milk a cow, chatted
with youthful steer showmen, and
Tom took lessons on hitching a
draft horse team.
Ridge told the banquet crowd of
1,200 persons, including 200 fore
ign visitors that spanned tables out
side the ballroom, that farming is
the backbone of the Common
wealth and that 600,000 Pennsyjr
vanians are employed by the ftod
industry. He said the Farm Show
brings us together as a state, but it
also shares Pennsylvania with the
rest of the world through the Inter
national Day and Trade Show that
has become a part of the event
(Turn to Pag* A 3 2)
Gerald AHsbaeh of Wlndsrmsro Farms in Spring Mills holds ths halter of the
supreme champion draft horse of ths 1998 Pstinsylvania Farm Show,as-yearoid Per*
chston stallion King Cong while Pennsylvania Draft Horse and Mule Associa
tion Quean Sarah Lang and stats Secrataryof Agriculture Samuel Hayes Jr. present
ths banner. See story page A3l.'Photo by Man Aohntvch. *»tf writ*.
Four Sections
On tour of the Farm Show, Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom
Ridge and hie family share a smile as they posed with the
supreme champion hog, a Yorkshire, owned by Rattlesnake
Mt. Farms, Julian. In the photo from left are, Sam Hayes Jr.,
Lancaster Farming, Friday, January 17, 1998
$28.50 Per Year
ag secretary; Gale Bressner, Judge; Charles and Mark Hall,
owners; Gov. Ridge, Tom Ridge, Lesley Ridge, and First
Lady Michele Ridge. Photo by Evaratt Nawawangar, managing
adttor.
Pennsylvania Queen
Clinches Lamb
Championship
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
It seems fitting that Pennsylva
nia’s Lam b and Wool Queen Heidi
Svonavec should know how to
raise champion sheep. Nonethe
less, competition is stiff at the state
Farm Show, where kids from
across the stale, bring their best
sheep to compete in the annual
event held Wednesday.
Out of 187 market lamb entries,
Heidi proved her expertise. The
17-year-old took the coveted
championship title with a home
grown crossbred.
“It’s the first time I’ve won
this,” Heidi said of her six years of
competing at the state event “It’s
so exciting.”
Abo startling to the Svonavec
family was that Heidi’s 16-year
old brother Lucas showed the
reserve market champion.
Judge Tim Hall remarked on the
outstanding length, muscle, pro
file, and loin on the homegrown
lamb. Generally market lambs are
crossbreds and not purebreds. But
60£ Per Copy
Lucas's reserve champion was a
purebred that later won the champ
ion Hampshire title in the youth
show that followed.
The siblings are the children of
- (Turn to Pago A 24)
Winner At
Farm Show
Drawing Named
Through this issue and into next
week we have extensive coverage
of the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
The traditional Farm Show weath
er did not move in this year and
record crowds at the begining of
the show matched the many visi
tors who registered at Lancaster
Farming’s booth for an original
old fashioned White Mountain Ice
Cream Freezer. We are pleased to
announce that the winner of the
drawing is: Dale M. Brillhart,
Spring Grove, in York County.
Congratulations to the winner and
. thanks to eveiyone who stopped
and entered the drawing. Our staff
enjoyed meeting you.