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Vol. 43 No. 36
Penn Manor Hosts
State Ag Teachers
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Fanning Staff
MILLERSVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) Dr. Blannie Bowen, head
ot the Agriculture and Extension
Education Department in Penn
State’s College of Agriculture,
told a group of agriculture teachers
Wednesday night that the depart
ment will be “very aggressive well
into the next century.”
Bowen’s speech to the more
than 100 teachers from around the
state in the Penn Manor High
School Library capped a four-day
conference, the Professional Tech
nical Institute for Agricultural
Educators sponsored by the Pen
nsylvania Vocational Agriculture
Teacher’s Association (PVATA).
Through improved faculty
development and retooling prog
rams where necessary, according
to Bowen, work can be done to
provide better teachers. Where
Penn State is ranked by some as in
the top two or three of all educa
tional schools in the country, Bow-
Berks Cou.nty Dairy Adds
New Level To Milking System
VERNON ACHENBACH JR-
Lancaster Fanning Staff
SHARTELSVILLE (Berks
Co.) Even the dogs had name
tags at a recent open house in
Berks County of the Skyline Acres
daily facilities.
Members of the family, and the
various business representatives
all wore name tags, and, according
to the family, why not the dogs?
A roughly estimated one thou
sand visitors toured new facilities
for housing and milking 450 cows,
owned by the two-family dairy
fanning operation of John and
The Schnecksvllle Community Fair in Lehigh County had Pennsylvania Ag Secret
ary, Samuel Hayes, Jr., as the featured speaker for their opening ceremony. Hayes,
left, is shown here with Paul Schwarz, president of the fair. The display features this
year’s chosen commodity, apples. For more pictures from the Schnecksvllle Fair see
page. A 24. __ ~ _
Five Sections
en said his goal is to provide “the
best ag education program in the
country.”
The four-day state program at
the host school, Penn Manor,
allowed ag educational profession
als to tour other schools that have
renovated and expanded their agri-.
culture instruction facilities.
Included were tours of Solanco
High School, remodeled during
the 1997-1998 school year.
Solanco features a technology
classroom and a newly designed
mechanics lab with materials
handling and storage.
Another school tour of Man
heim Central featured renovations
that were completed in 1997. New
additions at Manheim include an
expanded welding facility, two
classrooms, and a horticulture
area.,
The host school for the confer
ence, Penn Manor, completed
renovations this year. The school
includes new classrooms, a green
(Turn to Page A2O)
Donna Hix, and Tcny and Kim
Hix.
There were visitors from at least
three states, according to car
license plates.
While the new facilities went
into use in December, it was only
more recently that some of the fin
ishing toudhes were done in order
to have a proper public showing.
The open house experience can
be priceless for the education and
insight gained.
This open house was no
exception.
However, there were several
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 11, 1998
Doug Martin, right and partner Paul Holderman are members of the Franklin County
Graziers. They believe “open air” housing provides enough room to ensure the cows
get enough to eat, are comfortable, can be readily milked, and easily handled. Find out
more about their Jersey herd In the special section, Foraging Around, this issue. Photo
by Andy Andrews
things different about this open
house.
While there arc a variety of
dairy setups in Pennsylvania
everything from very old, thick
walled bank barns; to low
ceilinged tic-stalL bams with tun
nel ventilation; to the newer open
ridged, open-walled post and beam
bams the Hixes’ setup is espe
cially unique because it was built
to maximize the use of natural ven
tilation, to easily increase capacity
to double the herd size, because
aesthetics were given a high priori
(Turn to Page A 26)
$29.50 Per Year
The winners of the National Holstein Women’s Scholar
ships at the National Holstein Convention last week are
from left, seated, Christopher Connelly, Pennylvanla and
Andrew Genascl, California. Standing, Joyce Haggerty,
scholarship committee; Jenny Kelsey. New York;
pher Lahmers, Ohio; Eric Sonnek, Minnesota, and Shirley
Keene, scholarship committee. See other photographs on
page A2O from the National Convention where both Pennyl
vania dairy bowl teams topped the national contest.
CrOi'i 's ScfiOOi I
‘ Life-Changing JE vent'
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Pennsylvania Governor’s
School for the Agricultural Sci
ences “has been documented as a
life-changing event for students in
powerful, positive ways,” said Dr.
Marianne L. Fivek.
. Fw*k,,4imqr>gt Uv, tetod.,,
60c Per Copy
recently spoke about the goals of
the program, which has been
underway since June 28 at Penn
State and continues until Aug. 1.
Importantly, according to
Fivek, an additional “impact”
study will be completed next year
to show the scope of the school on
the lives of graduates. The study
~, , (Tppv A 35) ~ y