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Educational Center And Working Farm Opening In Annapolis
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
ANNAPOLIS, Md. In the
heart of the Chesapeake Bay
watershed, a 575-acre working
dairy farm will be used to edu
cate urbanites about agriculture
and its role in supplying food
and preserving the environment.
Horizon Dairy, an organic
milk processor, purchased the
farm from the Naval Academy,
which ran the farm for the past
100 years to supply its mid
shipmen with fresh milk and
dairy products.
At peak production, the Navy
milked 400 cows in the dairy fa
cilities. About 60 employees
packaged, processed, and sent
the milk to various Navy bases.
Two years ago, the cows were
sold and the farm was put on
market when the Navy decided
farming wasn’t part of its mis
sion.
At the same time, Horizon
Dairy was looking for a facility
to use as an educational farm.
(Turn to Pago A2B)
This 575-acre farm was purchased by the Naval Academy in
the early 1900 s to provide‘4ieaHMMMMlk to its midshipmen. At
its peak, the dairy facilittegybgMseiLAOO' soo cows. Now Hori
zon Dairy plans to re-opfenthe dairy facilities and eventually
milk about 300 cows, raise organic crops, and invite the public
to the farm to educate them about agriculture.
Jan Stanton, manager of the farm and educational center,
has been working closely with designers to develop an in
teractive, educational center that will teach children about
agriculture and where food comes from. The center will be
housed in one of the existing barns. Photos by Jayne Sebright
Tribute To Dairy Month Next Week
June is dairy month. In next week’s issue, the Lancaster Farming
will pay tribute to the men and women involved in the dairy indus
try. Look for feature stories on dairy producers from all over Penn
sylvania, recipes using real dairy products, and columns reviewing
trends in the dairy industry. It’s sure to be “dairy-delightful.”
About 600 members of the Society of Farm Women of Pennsylvania gather recently for
the Spring Rally, Lebanon. Members, from left, Sharon Engle, Mary Boyd, Martee Ment
zler, Marie Bachman, and Luella Duppstadt enjoy renewing friendships in between ses
sions on happiness in the new millennium. Turn to page 814 for photos and story by Lou
Ann Good.
FOur Suctions
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27, 2000
$32.00 Per Year
Pork Cooperative Strives To
Capture Processing Dollars
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) “There is money in our
business, but we’re not getting
our fair share of it,” said John
Q. Adams, representative of the
newly formed Pork America Co
operative, at ’a meeting here
Monday evening.
Adams was referring to the
hog industry, which suffered its
worst depression a couple of
years ago yet is beginning to re
cover in a big way.
The East Coast in particular,
noted Adams, is ripe for a
packer/processor. We have ade
quate production to support ad
ditional packing capacity, he
noted.
Adams spoke to about two
dozen swine producers and agri
industry representatives at a
special meeting at the Pennsyl
vania Department of Agricul
ture building.
Adams outlined some pro
posed plans for the newly
formed cooperative.
The cooperative is aware of
600 Per Copy
the many opportunities in the
wake of a rapidly changing in
dustry.
Adams said that last June, at
the Pork Expo, a task force from
the National Pork Producers
Council (NPPC) met to study
the possibility of a new coopera
tive for producers. A task force
met last November in which 60
people, representing 20 million
hogs, met in Des Moines, lowa,
to create an interim board.
The mission of the co-op: cap
ture increased value for the pro
ducer by marketing pork, rather
than hogs.
“That’s what we envision,”
said Adams. “We’ve got to move
into the value-added part of it.
“We’re designing a profit
oriented business,” he said.
“Early on we may have to pool
market hogs as a stepping stone
to move to the meat, working
with existing players in the
chain to accomplish our goals.”
Finding those direct, niche
markets is key for many indus
(Turn to Pag* A 22)