V 01.45 No. 13
The 1996 Pennsylvania fair Queen Julie Sechler con
gratulates newly-crowned state fair royalty, Pennsylva
nia fair Queen Jana. Out&y from Clearfield County fair
and first IHunnor-Up Katie Cornish from Dayton Fair.
See stery oh page 814, Photo by Joyno Sobright
Mt. Joy Dairy Co-op
. Increases Handled
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Editor
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) • After several postpone
ments early in the.
of the snow stbrm, nit. Joy
Farmers Cooperative members
held their one . annual meeting
on Thursday at Yoder’s, and
were sch ( ednled
second annual meeting, at the
Gathering Place in Mt. Joy,
Friday after publication of this
issue of Lancaster Farming.
Officials again reported a
good year for (he cooperfftive. At
die meeting last year, milk
Russell Shopp of York Countyha* donated a Dunlog
gin dispersal Catalog to lie auctioned off during the up
coming Pennsylvania Holstein Convention. The Junior
Holstein Convention is Peb. 4-6, and the annual Conven
tion and Sate wfll be held Feb. 17-18.8e# story on page
812. Photo by Jayne Sebright
Five Section*
prices were, at an aU-timehsh,
this year at a 20-year low. And
'■''iJteSoutlook is'for low prices for
the next several months with
hope for improvement later in
the year.
Overall, the average gross
ipUk price paid to Mt. Joy pa
trons for 1999 was $15.50 per
hundredweight, the highest in
w *’tfßP||story of the Cooperative.
Net price to patrons was $14.75,
the highest in the last four years.
Management was able to keep
the operating costs to 59 cents
|riHit«dred>yeight, the same as
(Rmi to PaosA2S)
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 29, 2000
Extended-Season Produce Key
To Keeping Customer Relations
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Stuff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
While interest in organic farm
ing and growing fruits and vege
tables for the “niche” market
increases, growers need to listen
to the manager of a successful
south central growers’ coopera
tive.
“Our growth has not come in
finding more customers, but
supplying existing customers
with what they want over a long
ItftCttnfr inclement weather held attendance down the day the Mid-Atlantic
Fruit and Vegetable Convention opened Tuesday In Hershey. But by Wednesday
more growers and agri-industry representatives were on hand to tour the exhib
its. Photo by Andy Andrews
Dairy Of Distinction Is Public Relations Tool
For Farm And Industry
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) Perception is reality. For
the urban public, what they see
when they drive by neighboring
farms affects what they think
about the foods they eat.
Since 1983, the Dairy of Dis
tinction program has honored
dairy farmers for keeping their
farms neat and clean. Non
farmers who drive by these pris
tine-looking farms are left with
a positive message about dairy
products.
“It’s an excellent way to pro
mote milk,” said Janet Hileman,
District 14 Coordinator. "When
urban people come and see these
attractive farms, they think,
‘Gee, drinking milk from that
firm would be a delight.’ ”
Hileman and her committee
made up of one person from
each of the six counties in Dls-
$31.00 Per Year
period of time,” said Chris
Fullerton, Tuscarora Organic
Growers Cooperative, Huston
town.
Fullerton spoke Wednesday
afternoon during a special ses
sion on farmers’ markets, auc
tions, and cooperatives at the
2000 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and
Vegetable Convention at the
Hershey Lodge and Convention
Center.
Fullerton noted that the coop
erative, founded in 1988, has
trict 14 actually visit attractive
looking farms and encdlirage
the farmers to apply. Last year
District 14 had 15 applicants
and nine winners in the pro
gram.
“It’s an incentive for the
farmer to keep the farm nice,”
said Hileman. "We acknowl
edge the farmer for their hard
work because it can be costly
and time-consuming. But it’s
worth it.”
Corn Talk Includes Hybrid
Reports, Conference Preview
This week’s Lancaster Farming includes Com Talk, the
newsletter of the Pennsylvania Master Corn Growers Association
(PMCGA). The issue features a preview of the upcoming com and
soybean conference, the 1999 Pennsylvania hybrid com reports,
an upcoming list of corn grower meetings and activities, and other
news of interest to the grower. Also scheduled are comments from
the PMCGA and advertising messages.
60c Per Copy
grown to include 20 grower
members who work with 25
farmers to supply restaurant
managers and retailers in the
Washington, D.C. area.
The cooperative, with growers
on both sides of the Tuscarora
Mountain in south central Penn
sylvania, began with the help of
grower Jim Crawford. All the
family farms are small, with the
largest grower comprising less
than 100 acres, and most in the
(Turn to Pag* A2O)
Brenda Zimmerman agrees.
She and her husband, Paul, were
awarded Dairy of Distinction in
District 19 last year. They own a
83-acre dairy farm in Lititz and
milk around 90 cows.
“I saw the Dairy of Distinc
tion signs at other places, and I
always thought that those
people were going over and
beyond what the average farmer
(Turn to Pag* A 32)