On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards)
Joyce Bupp
Marketing specialists call it
“value added.”
That’s taking a basic commod
ity-type product or service and
enhancing it in some way which
increases its desirability to some
other person or entity.
Or, in other words, more sale
able worth more bucks than
it was to start with.
Like ready-to-serve chocolate
milk, for instance. Sliced, diced,
and somewhat-pre-cooked frozen
French fries. Pre-patted ham
burgers. Already baked bread,
cookies and pies. Pre-cut, pre-ar
ranged, fresh flowers.
Those are all value-added
goods we’ve taken for granted
for years. Stores are full of such
items that have been enhanced to
make them more useful, more at
tractive, more time-saving.
* *
AGCO Allis 8775
The streamlined 95 PTO hp AGCO Allis 8775 is built on a long tradition of performance and innova
tion As a direct descendant of the legendary Allis Chalmers, today's sophisticated AGCO Allis 8775
shares the heritage of a name that goes back nearly 100 years At the same time, it offers advanced
technology you know you can count on now and far into the future.
• AGCO Allis 600 series 6-cylmder, liquid-cooled
diesel engine
• 4-speed Powersoft transmission with optional
creeper
• Choice of POPS platform or climate-controlled
cab with convenient controls and a panoramic
view
• Closed-center hydraulic system
Come in for a test drive, details on our unbeatable 4-year, 4,000-hour warranty and a closer look at
the AQCO Allis 8775. It could be the start of a great new tradition for you.
SEE YOUR DEALER TODAY!
MANOR MOTORS
On Rte. 553
Penn Run, Pa.
724-254-4753
B.H.M. FARM
HERNLEY’S FARM EQUIP. INC.
EQUIP., INC. Annville, Pa.
Elizabethtown, Pa. 717-867-2211
717-367-8867
I’m in awe in envy, if you
will of what the retailing busi
ness comes out with in value
added year after year. Some of it
in the “now why didn’t I think of
that?” category. Other more
along the lines of “do we really
need this?”
Hustling through the produce
section of a local supermarket a
few weeks ago, intent on grab
bing lettuce, celery and hightail
ing it to the register, I was
stopped dead in my tracks by a
new product. Packaged in a
fancy plastic “squirter” bottle,
like the ones containing tub-n
-tile-type cleaners, the label pro
claimed it to be a fruit and vege
table “washing” product.
What constituted a produce
washing liquid was intriguing
enough that I paused to pick up
Build Your Future
NICHOLS FARM
EQUIP.
Bloomsburg, Pa.
570-784-7731
B. EQUIP., INC.
Waynesboro, Pa.
717-762-3193
one and read the label. In addi
tion to water, it contained some
sort of citric acid product (lemon
juice, maybe?) and a few other
minor, relatively innocuous in
gredients. Within a day or so, a
coupon showed up in the mail
for a similar product, this one in
cluding vinegar.
Uhhh, whatever happened to
good ole’ water and soap? And
who decided those weren’t good
enough for getting apples and
celery clean?
Why, the “value added” mar
keters, that’s who.
On the heels of that mystifying
and amusing find came a flyer in
the mail from one of my favorite
craft franchise stores. While I
have little time to do “crafts,”
those stores stir my imagination
with ideas of wonderful things to
do with my spare time. Someday.
One of the specials advertised,
along with other seasonal items,
was for straw bales.
“Straw bale” announced the
flyer, in Vi-inch, dark black let
ters, followed by the price in Vi
inch black 1etter5...“58.99.”
To this farmer, that sounded a
bit pricey for a bale of straw,
which we generally sell to neigh
bors wanting to seed lawn, or
cover strawberries, or bed their
dog boxes, or shoot archery, for a
couple of bucks. What really
blew my mind was the literally
AGCO
AQCO t ALUS
mmtHHG on rn&nntON
• A choice of 2 WD or AWD with a front wheel
steering angle as tight as 55° on AWD
models
• Independent PTO with 540/1000 rpm and
economy operating mode
• Electronic 3-pomt hitch with Automatic
Transport Control
GRUMELLI HOLTRY’S
FARM SERVICE EQUIPMENT
Quarryville, Pa
717-786-7318
WERTZ
FARM & POWER
EQUIPMENT, INC.
PA Rt. 516,
Glen Rock, Pa.
717-235-0111
Roxbury, Pa
717-532-7261
C.J. WONSIDLER
BROS.
Quakertown, Pa
215-536-7523
New Tripoli, Pa.
215-767-7611
Oley, Pa.
215-987-6257
The Great Debate:
Genetically Engineered Foods
WEST CHESTER (Chester
Co.) With the promise of cur
ing Cystic Fibrosis, the advent of
weed-free crops, demand for to
matoes with brilliant red color
and a shelf life of weeks and a
host of health and moral ques
tions Chester County homemak
ers, supermarkets, medical indus
tries and farmers have burst into
the 21st century.
Chester County Cooperative
Extension, a part of Penn State
dedicated to serving the commu
nity at large, has assembled a
panel of scientific experts that
represent some radically different
view points to address develop
ments in the field of genetically
engineered plants.
The debate will be held Nov. 9,
at the Italian Social Club, West
Chester. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Dinner is 7 p.m.
Questions may only be sub
mitted in advance by attending
fine print. Those straw bales
were 9-inches by 9-inches by
18-inches.
$8.99! For a baby straw bale?
Now THAT’S value added.
Deciding that it was time to
get into the value-added busi
ness, our grandsons trekked to
the fields to gather a batch of
cornstalks which The Farmer
had run down on field comers as
he chopped silage. Using re
cycled bale strings, and some
help from their mother they
tied stalks into decorative com
shocks, set them up on a busy
comer of our rural residential
neighborhood with a “For Sale”
sign, in a marketing ventured
geared to generating a few dol
lars spending-money for these
fledgling capitalists.
The com shocks sold. Bags of
salvaged ear com packaged up
Maintenance Free Railings For
Porches. Decks or Balconies
We have the expertise to design & create a system just to fit your need.
Any Size, Different Styles
Quality Workmanship 717 I
SSSSSSSta. New Holland PA Pi —t
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 14, 2000-B5
press and ticket holders. The
deadline for submitting questions
and purchasing tickets is Nov. 1.
Ticket price is $2O per person.
Questions with ticket holders
name must be sent to Chester
County Cooperative Extension:
via e-mail at ChesterExt@
psu.edu; fax (610) 696-4831; or
mail: 601 Westtown Road, Suite
370, P.O. Box 2747, West Chester,
PA 19380-0990. For more inform
ation about Chester County Co
operative Extension and Penn
State, visit us at the web address:
http://chester.
extension.psu.edu/. Click on the
annual meeting, Great Debate
button for a complete agenda and
ticket ordering form. If you don’t
have access to the internet, simple
call (610) 696-3500. Space is
limited and tickets will be sold on
a first paid basis.
for squirrel-feed sold. Even a
pumpkin, set there for decora
tion with no price tag...sold.
I’m debating crawling up into
the straw mow and typing to
gether neat little clusters of the
plentiful mounds of loose straw
resulting from mice chewing off
the bale strings. Even at $5 each,
maybe I could undercut the
baby-bale competition and still
turn a tidy profit on my own
value-added venture.
Even as I write this, a coupon
has arrived for yet another prod
uct promoting itself as a “natu
ral” produce cleaner. This one is
for a dry powder in a plastic
shaker container. It con
tains...baking soda.
In our current consumer envi
ronment, where the hottest-sell
ing beverage is water, why
should I be surprised?
VINYL RAILING
SYSTEMS