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A32-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 17,1998
“I declare the 1998 Pennsylvania Farm Show officially open,” said Gov. Tom Ridge to the full house in
the large arena Saturday morning. “Let the show begin.” And it didl
Gov. Tom Ridge Keynotes Banquet, Opens Farm Show
(Continued from Page Al) be open overseas. That is up from
According to Ridge, 1997 Pen- ® our J us * uee y* an *B°*
nsylvania exports have continued usual, the agribusiness
upward, totalling nearly a billion swards were presented. R. W.
dollars. This is an increase of 5.5 Sauder Inc., of Lititz, Lancaster
percent The administration and County, and Stoneboro Nurseries
department of agriculture have Inc, ofStoncboro, Mercer County,
held trade missions to six coun- received the awards,
tries, and more are planned. By the "These two companies have
end of this year. Ridge pledged that made significant contributions to
17 Pennsylvania trade offices will the development and expansion of
Don Bair from Biglerville presents flowra to Gov. Ridge
at the plant atand In the main exhibition hall.
agribusiness in Pennsylvania and
to their communities as well,"
said Samuel Hayes Jr., state ag
secretary.
Stoneboro Nurseries, a diverse
wholesale nursery, houses Penn
sylvania's only tissue culture
laboratory producing woody or
namentals mid a herd of registered
Angus cattle. They received the
award in the small company cate
gory.
A family-held corporation,
Stoneboro Nurseries is now man
aged by the second generation
with the third generation contrib
uting to the company's effort. Es
tablished in 1962, they grew from
a two-person operation with 56
acres to 66 employees and 400
acres of land. With die majority of
its stock coming from Pennsylva
nia growers and its products
shipped to customers across the
United States and Canada, they
contributed greatly to the prosper
ity of the Commonwealth’s agri
culture industry.
R. W. Sauder processes and
markets fresh shell eggs and hard
cooked eggs to the northeastern
United States and the export mar
ket. They were recognized in the
large business category for their
contributions to Pennsylvania’s
agribusinesses.
The company, established in
1945, has been a leader in food
safety initiatives. They have their
own 11-step Sander's Tested Qual
ity check Process that prevents
their eggs from contamination and
helped in the development of the
Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assur
ance Program, which covers 80
percent of the eggs produced in the
Commonwealth.
Sauder, which' processes
600,000 eggs an hour and 36 mil
lion eggs a week, also is a large
contributor to Pennsylvania's
economy. The company pur-
chases $65 million of eggs, sup
plies and services from state ven
dors, and employs more than 350
workers at its Pennsylvania loca
tions.
R. W. Sauder has plants in Li
titz, Ephrata, Mt. Joy, and Lan
caster. Other plants are in Ohio
and Maryland. They participate
annually in the Pennsylvania
Farm Show capturing many first
place honors.
Also in the second year of com
petition, die Farm Show Wine
Award went to Clover Hill Viney
ards and Winery of Breinigsvillc,
Lehigh County. Owned by John
Skrip Jr., the winery had a very
successful year with its raspberry
wine named “Best of Show,” “Best
Fruit,” gold-medal honors and the
Governor’s Cup among other hon
ors. The 40-acre vineyard and win
ery operates three year-round
stores in die state and is die third
largest in Pennsylvania with 10
full-time and 50 part-time
employees.
Other medal winners include:
Upon arrival, Qov. Ridga la graated outside the Farm
Show Complex by Sam Hayea Jr., ag secretary, left, and
Dennis Grumbine, show commissioner.
Calvaiesi Winciy, Bcmvil
-Ic, Berks County, one silver;
Blue Mountain Vineyards,
New Tripoli, Lehigh County, two
gold, four silver and two bronze;
Presque Isle Wine Cellars,
North East, Erie County, three
bronze;
Strasburg Cellars Ltd., Gap,
Lancaster County, two bronze;
Conneaut Cellars Winery,
Conneaut Lake, Crawford Coun
ty, three silver and two bronze;’
Pinnacle Ridge Winciy,
Kutztown, Berks County, one
gold, one silver, two bronze and
“Best Sparkling”;
Mount Nittany Winery,
Centre Hall, Centre County, one
gold, one silver, two bronze and
“Best Vinfcra”;
Peace Valley Winciy Inc.,
Chalfont, Bucks County, three
bronze;
French Creek Ridge Viney
ards, Elverson, Chester County,
one silver and three bronze;
Nissley Vineyards, Bain-
(Tum lo Pag* A 33)