614-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 25, 1998 (Continued from Page B 2) and Dave added a 44-foot addi tion onto the original 60-foot barn and added a dumping sta tion for the milk. At this time there were milking 40 cows. It was also in 1976 that Dave met his future wife, Donna. According to Donna, she was definitely not a farm girl and was actually afraid of cows. Even though she says she wasn’t sure she wanted to become a farm wife, Dave and Donna were married in 1978, and in 1980 purchased the farm. Improvements and expansion continued with the addition of a pipeline, a modified Virginia style heifer barn and additional silos. Their family was also expanded by one when a daugh ter, Brandi, was born in 1982. Additional land was purchased in 1990 and they also rent 80 acres. The Clevelands raise 90 acres of corn, 50 acres of alfalfa, 11 acres of barley, 11 acres of oats and 100 acres of mixed hay. The Clevelands milk in a 40- cow tie stall barn. All replace ments are raised, bringing their total animal count to 99 grade Holsteins and one Jersey. In 1982 the family began testing their milk with DHIA. At that time, the herd average was 14.000 pounds. Today the herd average tops 21,000 pounds and in 1996 the Clevelands were honored with the Dairy Herd Management Award. One cow in particular has captured the attention of the Cleveland family. Now seven years old, Kate had a record 44.000 pounds of milk in 1996. “That’s 56,320 eight-ounce glasses of milk,” said tour guide Tim Kreger, as he related the story about the Cleveland family farm. Tour stops included a visit with Howard Rutledge, of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As visitors enjoyed the view of colorful strips of corn and hay, Rutledge explained the benefits of contour farming. “The goal is to keep the soil on the hill, where they can use it to grow crops, and to keep it out of the streams, so that when you come out here to use the streams, they’re clean,” he explained. He also noted how small grains are used in con junction with new seedlings to establish a new hay crop. At the next wagon stop, Dan Hartranft started his chain saw to show visitors a little bit about chain saw safety. He also explained that 67 percent of forests in Pennsylvania are pri- Tioga Farm City Day Draws 2,000 People were all neighboring farmers.” Questions asked by some vis itors helped farm volunteers understand how important reaching out to the surrounding community can be. “We made a point to get to last year’s Farm City Day,” said Cleveland. “I was a tour guide and I couldn’t believe how little people knew about farming. A lot of people didn’t know that a cow had to have a calf to give milk. Here we have one Jersey and people believe she gives chocolate milk.” vately owned, making the need for education important. “We grow crops just like farmers. The only difference is that it take us a lot more years to grow our product,” said Hartranft. Besides the wagon tours, vis itors could spend time at the children’s farm where animals from rabbits to goats to ducks were available for up close inspection. Other exhibitions included sheep shearing, hoof trimming, cow milking, and Christmas tree trimming, in addition to exhibits sponsored by various agricultur al groups. The day also provided a chance for people to help fund the Farm City Day activities by placing a bid at an auction, to watch as pedal tractor pulling contest, try their hand at stack ing hay bales or splicing a barbed wire fence. As always, the goal is to edu cate the public about the impor tance of farming. “The committee would like to stress the importance of how society depends on farming and how many people are affected by the every day decisions, prod ucts and work of the farmer,” said committee members in a brochure developed to promote the event. Secretary of Agriculture Samuel Hayes who made a stop at the event reiterated the importance of family farms dur ing the opening ceremonies as he identified three principles that Pennsylvanians need to keep in mind regarding agricul ture. First the state must work hard to preserve natural resources. Second we must pro tect the men and women in agri cultures terms of opportunities to farm and third, we must not expect them to work for free. “If we do these three things,” said Hayes, “young people will have opportunities in agricul ture into the 21st century. Pennsylvania will be what you and I want it to be and you and it will be help keep America strong—able to feed itself, able to clothe itself, and able to shel ter itself.” All of the activity and the planning couldn’t be possible without the help of many people. According to chairperson Bonnie Keil, more than 80 vol unteers gave time. They’re the people who make the day possi ble.” Donna Cleveland echoes the sentiments of Keil. “It was a really enjoyable day,” said Cleveland. “Everything went better than expected. There were no acci- dents. I encourage more farmers to do it if they get the chance. We really worked hard to get ready, but once Saturday came we were ready. It shows the other half how we live.” She also appreciated the help of the many volunteers who helped make the day successful. “Everybody who committed was here. Everybody did their job. We had about 13 wagons and 13 tractors giving tours and bring ing people in from the parking lot. A lot of those drivers didn’t even get a lunch break. They Two-year-old Ashley Mitchell, of Westfield looks the goat In the eye as she ei her stay at Tioga County Farm city Day. Senator Roger Madlgan, left, and Tioga County Chamber of Commerce represen* tative Mary Worthington, light, try to out milk each other In a celebrity cow milking contest. After the celebrities had their turns, anyone who wanted to learn how to milk a cow had a chance to try their hand at the task. I / f The Cleveland family also had the opportunity to follow up on some of the history of the farm. Before the day, Donna had prepared a display featuring early pictures of the property as well as some of the early deeds. In 1870, William Bache pur chased the land that the Cleveland farm now is on. Once of the descendants of William Bache has returned to Tioga County and made it a point to visit with the Cleveland family. “That really made my day,” said Donna. and a team of horses was one of the de- A N V-.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers