V 01.43 No. 28 Nina and James Burdette own and operate Windy Knoll View Farm, Mercersburg. James is the new Pennsylvania Holstein Association president.Phofo by Joyc» Bupp, York County correspondent ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Fanning Staff WEST CHESTER (Chester Co.) In suburban areas, straw berry picking isn’t what it used to be. The large-scale customers those who hand-pick dozens of quarts from pick-your-own opera tions may be the norm in areas of Lancaster County. But for the more urbanized parts of southeast ern Pennsylvania, especially near the big cities, consumers want only a day or two serving of pre-picked June Dairy Month Issue: June 6 Office Closed May 25 A special tribute to the daily industry is part of the annual June Dairy Month promotion. Lancaster Farming again plans to espe cially feature dairy in the June 6 issue. We are working to promote the dairy industry through special visits with farm families, DHIA reports, farm management reports, dairy recipes, and messages from our advertisers. Of special note: we plan to introduce the first module of a dairy management course written by a well-known dairy instructor that will be published in 10 weekly lessons and archived on our home page on die Internet for continuing review and use by dairy farmers around the world. Our office will be closed Monday, May 25, to observe Memorial Day but will open again for business at 8 a.m. Tuesday. If you have a news story or an advertising message to be placed in this special June Dairy Month issue, please contact our office any day, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our phone number is (717) 626-1164. Our fax is (717) 733-6058. Four Sections Chester County Orchardist Moves Focus Away From StEisvberries, Onto Tree Fruit strawberries that don’t need toffee cut, washed, and prepared. For growers such as Alan and Paula Johnson of Northbrook Orchards near the town of Union ville, the time has come to “rethink” their operation. “The strawberry business is a long cry from what it used to be,” said Alan Johnson. In the past, Johnson remembers a thriving business filled with cus tomers who would hand-pick box es of strawberries and rake them (Turn to Pago A2B) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 16, 1998 Pennsylvania Holstein President Says Job Is To Steady The Course JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent MERCERSBURG (Franklin Co.) Real people. Real cattle. Real money. Those are the three legs of the platform from which newly elected Pennsylvania Holstein As sociation (PHA) president Jim Burdette pi? ns to lead the state’s largest dairy breed organization. Burdette, his wife Nina, and their sons Justin and Kyle, own and operate Windy Knoll View Farm, Mercersburg. Their milking herd of 76 head and its offspring is internationally known and re peatedly All-American honored for type and showring accomp- Lebanon Youth Plant Riparian Buffer VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Farming Staff SOUTH ANNVHUE (Lebanon Co.) Those who walk, jog or drive along Brickcr Lane in South Annville Township will see some thing strange bordering Beck Creek. Lining the banks of the stream, from the bridge downstream, are egg-shell colored, 4-foot “sticks.” The light colored sticks are in stark contrast to the soft, lush Alan and Paula Johnson own Northbrook Orchard near West Chester. “The straw berry business is a long cry from what it used to be,” said Alan. In the past, Johnson remembers a thriving business filled with customers who would hand-pick boxes of strawberries and take them home to fill the freezer, bake pies, or make jams and jellies. Now, “people want the quarts picked for them.” Photo by Andy Andnwa $29.50 Per Year lishments, along with ongoing breed recognition for bloodlines and overall performance. In late February, at its annual state meeting and convention, the PHA board elected Burdette for a two-year term as its head. He came to the position well-pre pared, having served as Franklin County’s state director for five years before his election to the executive board four years ago, the last two as the state vice presi dent. Burdette’s involvement with the breed association has grown and matured in part through the family’s showing and mer chandising activities as well as his greenery of the alfalfa fields on either side of the stream, the tall grasses along the stream edge, and die watercress and aquatic plants undulating in the clear stream. The sticks arc tree protectors. A closer look reveals they arc actually corrugated plastic sleeves, slipped over a stake, used to pro tect tree seedlings. They were placed there by more than a hundred school students from four Lebanon County public 600 Per Copy early participation in PHA’s Pro grams Development and Educa tion committee. “One trip working with that committee and I was hooked,” he says of the quality of people and the exchange of ideas he was ex posed to among the organization’s pool of leadership and volunteers. He also credits several local Franklin County fellow breeders, like Harold Crider and Paul Eck stinc, with encouraging him to be come involved. As PHA’s presi dent, Burdette sees personal in volvement as the key to a member’s getting the most out of what the organization offers. (Turn to Page A2l) schools, along with some paroc hial and home-schooled students, who participated in a recent Leba non County Conservation District riparian buffer planting project. Doug Wolgang, district conser vationist, along with Andrea Long, district nutrient management spe cialist, spent a day recently at the streamside, as different groups of students arrived in automobiles (Turn to Page A 22)
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