(Continued from Page A 34)
With Gov. Glendening support
ing legislation that would create
statewide, mandatory,
phosphorus-emphasized nutrient
management planning that many
conjecture would place most of the
state's farms into further economic
turmoil, it would seem that Herbst
could be cynical about the award.
In fact, John Herbst is against
the proposals in the Maryland
Legislature that would undo their
statewide voluntary nutrient man
agement program.
Many have concluded that what
is proposed is nothing more than a
political knee-jerk reaction to
place blame for a Pflesteria prob
lem in the Chesapeake Bay that,
according to recent reports, caused
about $4O million in lost seafood
sales just during the last quarter of
1997.
“They’re jumping the gun as far
as regulations,” Herbst said.
“There’s no scienfitic proof, as of
yet, that it was caused by
phosphorus.
“We’re working to get rural
legislators to submit our own legis
lation to keep voluntaiy (planning)
until there’re proof.”
John said he is willing to make
nutrient management plans based
on nitrogen or phosphorus, though
the penalties and fines and teams
of inspectors that would come
through the farm every three years
to check on compliance is
excessive.
So, he suspects, would be the
associated costs.
Maryland agriculture has been
pressured from urban sprawl deve
lopment pressures, high costs of
living, and, for the Herbst family
and other dairy farmers, low dairy
prices.
Of course, most dairy farmers
across the United States have had
to deal with low returns on invest
ment, but the Maryland dairy
farming community seems to have
been subjected to multiple nega
tive influences.
While the rest of the nation’s
dairy farmers may well have
unique situations on their own
Walking along the farm lane of the family Misty Meadow
Farm, Jenny Herbst holds a Labrador puppy, “Holly,” while
sister Kimberly looks on.
Maryland Hall Of Fame Award Is Great Honor
farms and in their own states that
sets them at some disadvantage,
Maryland’s dairy fanners have had
disadvantages in almost every
aspect except, perhaps, access to
market place.
The state has had a governor
appointed official agricultural
advisory committee make recom
mendations to help protect its
farming enterprises and support
services, and preserve open spaces
for all the residents, especially the
new occupants of urban sprawl.
The recommendations of the
committee have largely been
ignored by the state’s political
leaders.
One of the ignored recommen
dations was to provide the state
agriculture secretary with the
authority to set minimum prices
and over-order premiums for milk,
similar to authorities and programs
in surrounding states.
Testimony at public hearings
were fairly consistent that Mary
land was losing its dairy farms and
processors because of predatory
pricing due to beneficial margins
allowed by neighboring states.
One recommendation saw
realization the formation of the
Maryland Dairy Industry Associa
tion two years ago. For the first
time, Maryland established an
organization representing dairy
farmers.
Previously, dairy farmers were
lumped in with agriculture as a
whole and were more or less repre
sented by the Maryland Farm
Bureau, dairy processors and
cooperatives.
But Herbst isn’t cynical about
the Hall of Fame award.
It really means something.
And he isn’t cynical about the
intent of most of the people
involved with committees work
ing to provide meaningful recom
mendations to improve the work
ing and social climate.
To his mind, the only way to
change something for the better is
to become involved, and the loss of
fanners sitting on committees and
filling municipal posts is more a
sad commentary on the lack of far
mers and the lack of time fror com-
Tilt waterers, matresses and slotted
built post-and-beam, 132-freestall barn
munity service.
Herbst said that one year he
attended more than 90 meetings to
help develop the first comprehen
sive plan for his county.
“It takes a lot of cooperation
from those at home,” he said. “A
lot of times I felt I would have been
better off financially if I would
have stayed at home.”
But in the end, he said that’s not
what he was brought up to believe,
and experience hasn’t change that.
“I always thought, if you live in
a community it’s important to be
involved.”
He said one of the greatest tri
butes paid to him was when some
citizens were being troubled with
zoning, a state senator referred the
citizens to John, because he was
recognized as being
knowledgable.
Also, John said he truly believes
that his vote counts.
Currently he is a member of his
Dairy Herd Improvement Associa
tion board of directors, and be
serves on the country fair board.
Both involvements began with
children's activities and 4-H. They
went on test when they has a regis
terd 4-H animal that calved and
needed records. He got on the 4-H
board through his children show
ing 4-H project animals.
Herbst has something else in his
experience that provides him with
more calmness about the issues
several times during his lifetime
he has witnessed events that could
have forced his family, and per
haps did force others, out of
farming.
In 1950, he originally started
farming on his father Raymond’s
50-acre farm, about six miles
away. Raymond had purchased
that farm in 1919.
Then in 1957 a toad came
through the farm, splitting the
intersecting at the middle of the
farm, creating a X-crossroads with
fields on all four comets.
“I was about to give up when we
purchased this farm from Cirus
Newcomber,” he said. It was 87
acres and started with eight cows,
two horses, a 20-horse power trac
tor and a lot of used stuff,” he
said.
He had sold milk to Supple E,
headquartered in Philadelphia with
an outlet in Hagerstown.
When he moved to the new farm
he joined what is now the
Maryland/Virginia Dairy
Cooperative. He’s been with them
for 40 years.
After milking by hand for
flooring are part of the details in this recently
with side vents and capacity for tunneling air.
awhile, he purchased his parents
milkers. When they retired he
bought the farm.
He had about 25 cows by then.
Over the years John said it
worked out well that when he and
Betty became debt free some adja
cent farmland would come up for
sale. They were able to add it to
their total operation and then work
to pay that off.
Now in a partnership with son
David and his wife Betsy, who
together have four children
(Andrew, Jenny, Katie, and Kim
berly), the farm has grown to 370
acres owned and 70 acres rented.
A 132-tie stall barn, built post
and-bcam style was recently con
structed away from the old barn,
sited so that, just in case they want
to expand the operation in later
years, it can be done fairly easily.
The manure storage is beneath
the bam, which is outfitted with
slotted floors. Sidewall curtains
and end walls outfitted with large,
closeable openings provide plenty
of air flow for the herd.
John said he is proud of his son,
and David said his father has
taught all of his sons well, lessons
passed on from Raymond.
John has two other sons; the old
est is a minister in Cumberland,
Maryland, the other an accountant
in Texas.
David said he never wanted to
do anything else but farm, and he
said he learned to work and the val
ue of self dependence from his
father.
John said, “I grew up with lean
years,” explaining that he worked
on six farms growing up to cam
money, and he also worked a
thrasher for his grandfather. He
said that when he told his grand
father that he was getting tired, his
grandfather would say, “Come on
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boy, you’re not tired, you’re lazy.”
He said his grandfather had an
old mule, “Kit,” that would bring
him home from the fields at night
while his grandfather slept
“I’ve tried to impress that on our
sons and grandsons,” John said.
David laughed and said he did
leant the lesson, which essentially
is, don’t give up easily, and don’t
give up before you’ve given ity our
absolutely best effort
John said that people growing
up today don’t seem to have been
taught how to work. He’s not alone
in that assessment Earlier this year
the same sentiment was the main
thrust of a broadcast feature rat
National Public Radio.
John attended the one-room
schoolhouse that sits adjacent to
and overlooks his farm. He loved
playing softball and that’s how he
met Ms wife Betty. During a soft
ball competition in Mgh school,
Betty played second base for the
other team.
He said he was taken by her, and
finally got up the nerve to ask her
to the prom.
Betty went on to college and
became a nurse. She retired 12
years ago, but has continued work
ing part time as a supervisor at
Washington County Hospital in
Hagerstown.
John said he has been lucky in
life, because by staying involved
he’s been able to keep up with new
things coming along (he was one
of the first to raise soybeans and
no-till com), and by maintaining a
steady work ethic and focusing on
becoming debt free, they’ve been
able to take advantage of oppor
tunities that have allowed them to
continue farming.
That’s the way he and David
said they intend to continue, farm
ing day by day, and with an eye and
ear to the future.