TCA-roos .0 yisunsl. .yebiuißS .gnirmel istetoneJ A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 6, 2001 ‘Stating It In A Letter’ Proved Profitable For Fairbairn 4-H’ers ANDY ANDREWS Lancaster Farming Staff COATESVILLE (Chester Co.) When you want to really accomplish something big, write a letter. Caitlin Fairbairn, Lisnageei Farm, did just that before the Chester County 4-H Roundup last summer. In the hopes of getting busi ness to bid, Caitlin, 12, took the time to write, in longhand, a letter to Jay Heim, HSC Con tracting, Exton, to purchase her steer. Heim, of Glenn Oak Farms, Glenmoore, was so impressed that he arrived at the sale and bid $2.25 a pound. It’s those “life skills” that 4-H teaches writing and speaking to people, looking at costs of cre ating and marketing items that was indelibly impressed on the children of Bill and Cheryl Fairbairn. Caitlin’s brother Ryan, 11, wrote a letter in the summer of 1999 to Jim Herr, Herr’s Potato Chips, Nottingham. Herr noted to Ryan’s dad, Bill, that he was so impressed with the letter that, at roundup, he bid $1.45 a pound for Ryan’s steer. Both Ryan and Caitlin will be taking some hogs this year to the state Farm Show. Writing a letter is something of a challenge for Ryan. It took him a good 10-15 minutes per page for the Herr letter. For Caitlin’s Heim letter, the time was easily spent, and she en joyed composing it. Both children sent “thank you” cards out too, noted their mom, Cheryl Fairbaim, who also serves as Chester County livestock agent. Each card had a letter “C” for her daughter Caitlin and “R” for son Ryan inscribed on the paper. Each child will be taking a Blue Butt and purebred Duroc to the Farm Show. The hogs were obtained from Rick Pfautz, Lititz. Caitlin noted that, originally, the Blue Butt was named “Jimmy” since it was somewhat small, she said. “It seemed like a Jimmy,” she noted. Originally it was to be a freezer pig, but “it got nice and big.” So she “renicknamed” the hog “Frederick.” Why Frederick? The hog “sounded big,” Cait lyn said. “It looked like a Fred erick.” Ryan noted he and his sister have been showing heifers at the Unionville and Goshen Fairs, in addition to Keystone Interna tional Livestock Expo (KILE). This was the first year they took heifers to KILE. Ryan placed third in his heifer class with a junior year ling at KILE. Caitlin placed fourth. Ryan said he had the grand champion heifer at Unionville with a junior yearling. Ryan’s hog, a purebred Duroc, is bright red, so he nick named it “Mayflower.” The other is called “Red Rose.” (Its prior name was “Deep Rose,” because Ryan and Caitlin like to change names with their hogs.) The hog was named in honor of the ship Columbus sailed on to discover America. Ryan, in the sixth grade at Coatesville Area Catholic Ele mentary School, said his first year in 4-H, in 1997, he showed “Jimmy.” Caitlin, in the seventh grade at the junior high portion of the same school, won grand cham pion her first year of showing at " e * or » a °d “do the fi the roundup (then in New Hoi- s * le sa *d> to determine land) in 1996 with a spotted 1 , hog was profitable. Blue Butt named “Pinky.” c Last year, Ryan made the “I thought pigs were pink at , arm s «ow sale with a fourth that age,” she said. P ,a “ a, } d sold th ® hog for $4OO, Caitlin and Ryan walk their . hogs, when possible, about a half _ Cheryl noted the excellent mile each day. They are also “PP ort hy many businesses in careful and “secretive,” said ® county at roundup, their father, Bill, about their . caitlin said she enjoys meet feed programs. ' ng th c e . ma "y fnends at the The feed is obtained from f*™;^? w - R X a "h kes the show Gerard Nissley, Morgantown, a 1 r .... ? an {” e , r activities, “big supporter of pigs at the haS ***? takin B roundup,” noted Cheryl. " astlcs ,esso " s s ‘" c was Every year, the Fairbairn £ re ® AJS Pan cott, farm is host to 4-H hog projects. ” est Chester She puts in four Each year the number of housed hou [ s afte [ school four days a 4-H projects increases, from ) ve f k ’ mc ' udin 8 Saturday, to seven the first year in 1998 to 18 tra ‘ n for me ® ts - 0 , last year. 4-H members clean the . X ar V a ®°X Scout, has been pens, feed the pigs, and other ™ m _ min S for about 5-6 years, tasks as part of their 4-H proj- team was once called the ects. Rock Lobsters. It’s affiliated Also, Cheryl noted that the 4- with the Brandywine- H members must also look over Coatesville YMCA. invoices after the sale, see what Ryan has been a lector at St. Ryan, loft, and Caitlin Fairbairn with the hogs they plan to take to Farm Show. Make Dairy Your Final Answer At Farm Show HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Ring in the new millen nium at the 2001 Farm Show, Saturday, Jan. 6 through Thurs day, Jan. 11, here at the Farm Show Complex. The Keystone State’s dairy promotion programs, the Amer ican Dairy Association/Dairy Council Middle Atlantic, the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program (PDPP), and the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Mid East have joined forces to cast light on the state’s top-ranked agri culture industry. “Pennsylvania has more than 9,900 dairy farms that produce 1.36 billion gallons of milk each year,” said Debra Summerall, spokesperson for PDPP. “What better place to showcase the im portance and versatility of dairy than at Pennsylvania’s premier agricultural gathering, the Pennsylvania Farm Show.” Dairy farmers are invited to Glickman Announces $l3 Million For Rural Business, Community Development Efforts IT ? C ‘ r. ing loan funds and expand leaders, we will help open addi- ness revolving loan nroerams ~s“. , er ,handc ”'"- ssslst r s jsxtssttszi --w” !MSrSSS;SS fortr C^?^a 1 /Z deVe opmentef ’ our stron B national economy USDA announced that $6.6 businesses in rural areas and de u m stares. due to the lack of available capi- million in USDA Intermediary velop health and community fa- The funds will leverage pn- tal( expertise, or services,” said Relending Program loan funds dlities. y ra va . e ai r , ei j public funding to Glickman. “Through the com- will be used to establish or establish local business revolv- bined efforts of USDA and local expand locally controlled busi- visit the dairy promotion booth on the main exhibit floor, booth numbers 339, 348 and 349, near the McClay Street entrance of the Farm Show building. The booth has a fresh look this year as it cashes in on the popular game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and asks visitor “Who Wants to Be a Moollio naire?” The trivia game will be played every hour on the hour and will allow contestants to win differ ent levels of “got milk?®” prizes, given their final answer is cor rect. An interactive dairy nutri tion game will also be available throughout the week. Farmers are also reminded to bring their postcard to the pro motion booth to receive a free “got milk?®” license plate. Milk, cheese, butter and ice cream can all be found, in some form, at the Farm Show. “The butter sculpture is a fa vorite for many patrons,” said The Bill and Cheryl Fairbalrn family await Farm Show. After walking the hogs, they took time for a Lancaster Farming photo. In front are Caitlin, left, and Ryan. In back, Bill and Cheryl. At far left is Cinder, their 2-year-old Aus tralian Cattle Dog. Photo by Andy Andrews Cecilia Catholic Church, Coatesville, where he also serves as altar server. He lectors every year at the Children’s Mass on Christmas Eve. He’s also a member of the school track team as a long-distance runner. Caitlin enjoys riding her 25- year-old Arabian mare, Zena, named in honor of the TV war rior princess. Caitlin enjoyed riding her pony, Dixie, until it was donated to a friend, Laura Howe. * Ryan said going to the Farm Show is special because “we have a lot of friejids there anjl it’s really exciting to see them.” Cheryl noted the family ar rives Sunday and stays until Thursday. They must leave Farm Show Thursday night so Caitlin can catch a flight out of Philadelphia to compete in a gymnastics meet in San Fran- Summerall. “This year we are excited to showcase a large sculpture than in years past. The new 10-foot long cooler will allow us to have a more intricate and artistic sculpture for the new millennium.” Land O’Lakes has donated more than 700 pounds of butter for the display and sculptor Edward Shank of Middletown will again turn dairy’s golden product into a work of art. The addition of the new cooler has allowed dairy promo tion to get more bang for its buck as a new cheese display will be featured in the Food Court at Farm Show. “The cheese display will fill in the product gap we have heard farmers comment on,” Summer all said. “The new display will showcase cheeses made in Penn sylvania from our dairy farmers milk, and will remind con sumers of the wonderful variety of cheeses available in the mar- cisco during the weekend. This year, the junior swine show has been moved from its traditional Tuesday morning date to Monday morning. The junior lamb show is scheduled Tuesday morning and the steers, Wednesday. The Fairbaim’s Lisnageer Farm is home to 75 Angus brood cows and 200 acres of hay. They also keep a small Montadale sheep flock with four ewes. For the Farm Show, one im portant stop is crucial for the" Fairbairns during Farm Show. It’s something the famMy looks forward to and cherishes. The family visits the Cracker Barrel Restaurant, near Prospect Road. “It’s a family thing,” accord ing to Caitlin. “And it’s a time during the week we can be as a family, together.” ketplace for their enjoyment.” Cheese lovers won’t want to miss the creative cheese-carving contest, set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7, in the Family Living Area. Consumer finalists will demonstrate their creative side as they whittle away at a five-pound block of cheese, do nated by Mahoning Swiss Cheese of Smicksburg. “Pennsylvanians love cheese and cheese is good for them,” Summerall said. “A one-ounce serving of cheese is packed with calcium and eight other essen tial vitamins and minerals.” And who could forget the popular milk mustache? Farm Show visitors will have a chance to don their own milk mustache Monday, Jan. 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Family Living Center at the Farm Show build ing. Photos can be purchased for $1 with proceeds benefiting the Pennsylvania Dairy Princess and Promotion Services.
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