Wayne County Fanner Sees Volunteering
As Crucial Part Of His Dairy Operation
(Continued from Pago A 1)
Technically Dix hasn’t re
ceived the award in person yet,
since he was unable to attend
last week’s meeting duetto a
scheduling conflict. He expects
to have it presented to him
during the Wayne County
DHIA banquet this fall. The
award is a wristwatch that com
memorates the time that Dix
donates to farm organizations
such as the DHIA.
Dix and his wife Daisy milk
50 cows on Ellday Farms just
outside of Pleasant Mountain.
Rotationally grazing the herd,
Dix maintains a-rolling herd av
erage of 18,491 pounds milk,
672 pounds fat, and 604 pounds
protein. They own 271 acres,
with 35 for intensive grazing
and 50 in meadow land. The rest
is mostly wooded land.
Dix was one of the first farm
ers in Wayne County to switch
to rotational grazing. Since then,
he has hosted several educa
tional meetings on his farm to
help other farmers learn more
about grazing.
According to Dix, he is still
one of only a few who rotation
ally graze in the county. But
more switch to it every year.
“Grazing does take time, and
it’s not right for every farmer,”
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said Dix. “But a lot of the land
in Wayne County is unsuitable
for other cropping, and it’s
cheaper to take the cows to the
grass than it is to take the grass
to the cows.”
Dix dispels the myth that
grazing is less labor intensive
than other types of dairying.
The cows on his farm are
switched twice a day and on pas
ture 24 hours a day during the
summer. In the winter, he feeds
baieage, dry hay, and a concen
trated grain mix.
For Dix, grazing is the most
profitable way to dairy farm. “I
make more money with cows on
pasture than I do when they’re
in the bam,” said Dix. “The
cows also last longer. Some last
15 to 16 years.”
Dix even had one cow who
stayed in the herd until she was
21 years old. That cow held
Wayne County’s lifetime pro
duction record at 273,160
pounds for quite a few years.
Since then, the record has been
broken twice, this year by a cow
from another herd producing
more than 300,000 pounds of
milk.
The 21-year-old cow was clas
sified as very good. She pro
duced one excellent cow and
three other offspring that all
stood as grand champions of the
Wayne County Fair.
Dix has four excellent cows in
his 50-cow herd right now. His
B.A.A. is 103.6.
The Dixs have four children
who showed animals in 4-H
while they were growing up. For
seventeen years, Ellday Farms
had dairy cattle at the Wayne
County Fair. Now, with his
grandchildren starting in 4-H,
dairy animals from Dix’s farm
are appearing at the Fair again.
Several years ago, Dix and his
family were featured in the
Pennsylvania Holstein Profiles
because of their quality Hol
steins. The family and some of
their best animals appeared on
the front cover of that magazine.
Along with the Holsteins, Dix
also has a few Brown Swiss that
his grandchildren show.
Dix’s children are Darlene,
Charles, Karen, and Roger.
Roger, a milk truck driver for
Dairy Farmers of America,
helps out on the farm when he
can. Working for an environ
mental company in southern
Pennsylvania, Charles also
comes home on the weekends to
help. But Ellis and Daisy handle
most of the work on the farm.
Karen is a registered nurse,
while Darlene and her husband
live in New Jersey where he
serves in the Navy.
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Wearing a suit and tie is something Dix does often be
cause of the many organizations for which he volun
teers. Volunteering for these organizations, according
to Dix, is the way to make them work.
The Dixs have five grand chil- the farm. He is the fifth genera
dren. Darlene and her husband, tion of Dixs to farm in Wayne
Paul Hoffman, have a son County. All five generations
named Jacob. Roger and his farmed on separate farms.
wife, Kathryn, have two chil
dren, Ashley and Adam. Karen
and her husband, Don Jonas,
also have two children, Will and
Kayla.
Dix attributes his passion for
getting involved to what he
learned while enrolled in voca
tional agriculture classes and as
a 4-H member growing up on
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Dix and his wife purchased
the farm where they live in 1961.
Now at 63 years old, he plans to
keep farming for some time.
“My grandfather said he
would farm until he was 90
years old, and he did,” said Dix.
Over the years, Dix has been
involved and held offices in
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(Turn to Page A3O)
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