Vol. 45 No. 31
Genetic Marketing Provides Extra Income For Berks Dairyman
Susan and Jim Younkers of Fleetwood, pictured here
with their children, Joel and Andy, haye become well
known both nationally and internattMMiiy for the cattle
they have marketed from Kirbyville Holsteins. Photo by
Jayne Sebright
Volatile Year For Dairy Industry
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)
Resiliency isn’t listed as a
prerequisite for dairy farming.
But it should be.
After the past year of tremen
dous highs and lows, it’s become
apparent that dairy producers
need to be resilient just to
survive.
“We are going to have highs
and lows in the dairy industry,
Linda Musser, pictured with her husband Kenneth and
children Kathy, Michael, Richard, and Doug, was one of
the many Lancaster Farming readers to contribute recipes
for our June Dairy Month recipe contest. Turn to page B 1
to preview these delicious dairy dishes.
Five Sections
and there are going to be lags in
between,” said Ken Bailey, pro
fessor of economics at Penn
State. “Farmers are going to
have to adjust to it, and we have
to think about how we are going
to do that.”
At this time last year, dairy
farmers were enjoying record
high prices with the all-milk
price for the Pennsylvania dairy
industry averaging $16.80 per
hundredweight. In March 2000,
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 3, 2000
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
Editor’s Note: This article is
the first in a series of four arti
cles addressing “Dairy Profit
Possibilities.” Scheduled to be
published during June Dairy
Month, the four articles will fea
ture dairy farmers who are in
volved in different aspects of the
industry.
FLEETWOOD (Berks Co.)
“If you’re going to go through
Gary Hennip
Bradford Co. Dairy Extension Agent
Milk production continues
to play a very important role in
the economy of Bradford
County. Dairy production is
the number one agriculture in
dustry in the county, and in
turn, agriculture continues to
be Bradford County’s prime
enterprise.
the all-milk price averaged
$12.90 per hundredweight, a
four-dollar drop from last year
at this time.
“When the commodity price
for cheese shot up to $1.70, that
signaled a crash in milk prices,”
said Bailey. “Supply caught up
with demand, and the growth in
milk supply continued, driving
milk prices down.”
Significant events that hap
pened from last June until now
included the drought of 1999,
which left farmers with losses on
their cash crops and poor qual
ity forages to feed their animals.
According to the Associated
Press, one-year rainfall totals in
1999 were 10 to 18 inches below
normal over much of eastern
and southern Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, central and western
Maryland and parts of Virginia.
In July, rainfall in parts of
Pennsylvania and Maryland was
below one inch, making it the
driest July on record.
(Turn to Pago A3l)
June is Dairy Month. Celebrate
with us as we pay tribute in this
special issue to the men and
women who work hard all year
long to produce high quality
dairy foods for everyone to enjoy.
all of the motions, why not do
the best job you can so you can
make some extra money from
it?” said Jim Younkers.
Younkers and his wife Susan
milk 65 cows at Kirbyville Hol
steins in Fleetwood.
“We register, classify, and
test the herd to get the most out
of the animals that we can,” said
Younkers. “But, with today’s
technology, it’s just extra money
thrown away if we don’t mer-
Dairy Trends In
Pennsylvania's Top
Producing' Counties.
June Dairy Issue Special
BRADFORD --
The county has 460 com
mercial dairy farms with the
average herd size around 66
cows. These producers sold
over 60 million dollars worth
of milk last year, making
Bradford County the 3rd larg
est dairy county in Pennsylva
nia, behind Lancaster and
Franklin.
What trends are we seeing in
Jennifer and Dave Stuck of Belleville, with their chil~
dren Julia and Laura, are one of the dairy farm families
featured in this week’s June Dairy Month issue. Not born
on a dairy farm, Dave thrives on improving his operation.
Turn to D 3 for the story. Photo by Gail Strock
DAIRY FARM FEATURES
Beardslee Family A2B
Delong Family A 34
Berneta Gable 812
Peachy Family E 4
$32.00 Per Year
June Dairy Month Features
For complete index, turn to page A 3.
600 Per Copy
chandise.”
The Younkers started farm
ing six years ago when an 85-
acre farm that his father Martin
Younkers had rented came up
for sale.
“I had been working for sev
eral years as an A I technician
and really wanted to start dairy
farming on my own,” said
Younkers. “My parents told me
that they helped me as much as
(Turn to Pag* A2B)
Third Largest
Dairy County’s
Milk Worth
$6O Million
our County’s dairy industry?
First, although we continue to
be 3rd in dairy cow numbers, a
look back 10 years ago gives us
some idea of changes that have
taken place and offers insight
as to possible trends in the
future.
Here’s the breakdown of the
Bradford County dairy indus
(Turn to Pag* A2B)
SPECIAL DAIRY FEATURES
Dairy 4-H’er Wins Contest ..810
Dairy Princess Inspired 812
Franklin Co. Dairy Trends... D 3
Lancaster Co. Dairy Trends ..E4