'age 18—Dairy of Distinction Supplement to Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 25, 1998
Pi
In the photo on the left, this new farm sign at the end of the lane along
Chestnut Tree Road, along with fresh paint on the house, barn and out
buildings, and lots of landscaping care by Josie Gable, caps years of effort
to transform the farm into a modern Dairy of Distinction. In the right photo,
the tightly woven Charles and Don Gable families, and the father/son dairy
operation, has been recognized nationally as an outstanding Ayrshire
breeding operation, and more locally as a Dairy of Distinction. From the left
Conebella Farm Is Constructive Dairy Of Distinction
VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
MORGANTOWN (Chester
Co.) Among members of the
National Ayrshire Association, the
Ayrshire herd of 70 or more cows
with the top average production
per cow is at Conebella Farm,
owned and operated by the Don
Gable family, south of Morgan
town, in Chester County.
In fact, out of 229 cows recog
nized by the national breed organi
zation, 35 were bred and owned by
Conebella. One other was bred by
Conebella, but is owned by some
one else.
That means that, out of all the
Ayrshires owned by association
members across the United States,
almost 11 percent of those recog
nized by the association were bred
and owned by the Gables.
Based on energy corrected milk
(ECM) calculations, the Conebclla
herd is the top herd with greater
than 70 cows for production. The
Gable family also earned an Ayr
shire Association’s French Tro
phy, which is presented to the lop
herds, according to number of ani
mals and herd average production.
The announcement of the
achievements was made recently
during the National Ayrshire
Association’s annual convention,
held in Cedar Rapids, lowa.
The actual average production
on 73 milking cows was 21,671
pounds of milk and 803 pounds of
fat, with 95 percent of the herd
owner bred. The ECM production
was 22,687 pounds milk.
Second place was the Delaware
Valley College herd with 10 cows
and actual production of 20,506
pounds of milk, with 80 percent
owner bred.
(Third place was James and
Joan Mueller of Cuba City,
Wisconsin.)
The farm was also recognized
for 40 consecutive years winning
the association’s “constructive
breeder award,” analagous to the
Holstein Association’s progres
sive breeder award.
The farm is also a 1998 Dairy of
r\
/CHESTER
ty
Distinction. That means some
thing to the Gables.
“A well kept, well maintained
farm makes a nice impression and
a nice place to work,” Don said.
“That’s the hope."
The fann is run by Don Gable
and wife Pam, who have three
boys Joshua, 7, Tyler, 5, and
Kevin, 10 months. While the farm
is in transition to Don and Pam,
Don’s parents Charles and Josie
are integral to the operation, and
live in a house close to, but out of
earshot of, the main farmhouse,
where Don, Pam and the boys
reside.
Don is the fourth generation
Gable to live on the farm. He took
over the business in 1996.
The farm probably could have
been accepted into tire Dairy of
Distinction program for years,
though fresh paint and some other
fixing up to prepare for a national
Ayrshire tour last year provided
the impetus to add finishing touch
es, such as a new full color farm
sign, at the end of their lane.
The family also prepared a brief
histoiy of the farm for the tour,
which saw about 250 people in two
groups visit.
Located in Chester County’s
West Nantmeal Township (“nant
meal” is the Welsh word for
“sweet water”) with the Welsh
Mountain ridge as the backdrop to
the farm, the slightly rolling area is
fairly rich in histoiy.
The farm is southeast of the
town of Morgantown, actually
closer to Elverson, and the area is
where three counties meet
Chester, Berks and Lancaster.
It has been a long time dairying
area, though just last year a farm
adjacent to the Conebella Farm
was developed and 36 new homes
Dairy
of mt
Distinction
now loom over the com fields on
part of the horizon view from the
farm house.
It’s easy to see why residential
demand is there. The pastoral
scenery, a couple of area gentle
man horse farms, and renovated
old stone homes exude a sense of
well-off families and a quieter
pace.
Brownstone fence walls and
older trees are common in the area,
and, according to Charles, when he
was young there were many stone
fence lines dividing the farm into
smaller pastures. Many of the
stone fences were removed or bur
ied, but there is a remaining one
along West Chestnut Road that
fronts the farm.
The farm name was derived
from the names of two railroads
that crossed on opposite side of tire
farm the ConCsloga and the
Isabella. Hence, the condensed
name reflects the railroads.
During the late 19305, Charles’
father C. Harold Gable purchased
some Ayrshire heifers from Dun
woody Home Farms. Those heif
ers had Penshurst breeding. At that
time, Dunwoody Farms was man
aged by Charle’s late brother John.
The present herd is descended
from those heifers.
There are 198 acres that are
planted in com and alfalfa, and
everything goes to feed the cows.
The bank bam is tie-stalls and
that's where the milking is done.
Evety day or two the cows are let
out on fresh pasture, a practice that
has made a resurgence in recent
years with United State university
research into New Zealand daity
ing practices, and with high tech
nology production techniques
requiring -equally high costs of
production.
are Josie and Charles Gable, Don’s wife Pam holding son Kevin, while their
other sons, Joshua and Tyler, stand in front, and Don Gable holds the halter
of one of the strong brood cows of the herd Conebella Rewards Trudy, a
4-year-old 87-point with more than 29,000 pounds milk that has drawn inter
est from Canadian breeders in getting a bull from her for breeding
purposes.
Don uses a totally mixed ration,
and injectable bovine somatotro
pin to stimulate milk production in
some of the cows, but they really
don’t push hard.
Charles said that grazing has
been practiced on the farm for as
long as he can remember, though
now it is considered a supplement
to the ensiled forages and mixed
cation.
A semi-Virginia-style heifer
bam was built in the 1970 s by
Charles. It sits behind the bank
bam and Charles said that when he
finished building it, an uncle of his
who was the dairy expert in the
family at the time came to see it
and told him the heifers would all
die from exposure.
His uncle died a couple years
later and when his aunt came to the
farm she asked if he didn't get the
money yet to finish the heifer bam.
Now, Charles said, experts
come to the farm and say he needs
to removed more of the walls, to
open it up even more.
The old railroad bed is buried,
but raised and can be seen among
the trees at the far end of the front
pastures. In the front pasture is a
two-acre pond.
Charles explained that the low
lying area had at one time been
wetland and, though it probably
wouldn’t be allowed now, it was
converted into two additional acres
of dry pasture and the two-acre
pond. ,
He said, “Isn’t it funny how
today we have to save wetlands,
but farmland is being destroyed (at
a rapid pace)?”
The Conebella farmhouse is
stone covered with stucco and the
yard has several large nul/shade
trees, and a shade maple.
Charles has a picture of himself
as a young boy standing next the
recently planted English walnut in
the front yard. The tree trunk is at
least a yard in girth.
Chestnut Tree Road is tree-line
and the farm lane divides the road
frontage properly between pasture
and cornfield.
A couple of large trees at the
lane end and a flower bed in front
of the sign create a balanced scene
and help frame the view.
An older spring house is located
away from the main farm and
bams and silos and machine and
storage sheds, and all the buildings
arc painted primarly white.
The farm has some woodland
strips and a semi-concealed pas
ture in the back acres. Dry cows
and heifers use the pasture.
Charles helps with milking and
field work and Josie is the land
scape maintenance person. She
cuts the lawns, the edging of the
lane, and trims weeds along the
roadfront stone wall, as well as
tending to flower beds.
While the farm depends on the
sale of milk, it also seeks to market
breeding stock, and it has been
recommended that a well main
tained operation not only helps
convey the perception of quality
milk production and safety to the
general public; but can help with
marketing stock.
If nothing else, after the last
milking of the day is done, relax
ing on a freshly painted farm porch
in the shade of large trees planted
by an older generation of family
members, with a herd of brown
and while Ayrshires in a lush
colored pasture, and reflections of
the horizon dancing on the surface
of a pond, and gentle summer
breezes tinged with the musk of
cattle and sweetness of flowers,
being a Daily of Distinction can
just mean living better.
Dairy
of fl|
Distinction