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V 01.46 No. 14
Honored at the banquet of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention with the
2000 Outstanding Grower Award was Lerew Brothers Orchard, York Springs. From left,
Ben, Tom, Terry, and Jim Lerew. Presenting the award was Roger Wood, president of
the National Peach Council. Photo by Andy Andrews
Cattle Feeder’s Day Features Quality Assurance
MICHELLE RANCK
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) Producing a quality
product, as any farmer will
attest, is not an accident but is
the result of education and expe
rience.
At Lancaster’s Cattle Feeder’s
Day Tuesday, producers took
the opportunity to educate
themselves on topics ranging
from the future of the business,
handling systems, process
verified cattle, food safety mea
sures, and quality assurance
certification.
Dept. Declares
Moratorium On
Planting In
Quarantine Area
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Late last week, Pennsyl
vania Agriculture Secretary
Samuel Hayes Jr. declared a
moratorium on the planting of
plum box virus (PPV) suscep
tible trees or shrubs in the plum
pox virus quarantine zones in
Adams and Cumberland coun
ties.
The moratorium includes res
idential or business plantings, as
well as new plantings in com
mercial orchards. •*' „
The planting ir ratonum
covers the same geographic area
as the quarantine, including all
of Dickinson Township, South
Middleton Township, and
Mount Holly Springs in
Cumberland County. In Adams
County, the area affected is
Huntington Township, Lati
more Township, York Springs,
the northern portion of Tyrone
Township and the eastern por
tion of Menallen Township.
(Turn to Page A3B)
Four Sections
Process Verified
Ken Jordan,'§an Saba, Texas,
is director of auction sales of the
Cattle Info Net, a branch of e
merge. He also directs several
auction markets for his family’s,
business. More than 200,000
cattle have passed through the
family’s three auction markets.
Take a proactive role, said
Jordan, and a portray a confi
dent stance that “You know
what you’re doing. If you sell
that, people will continue to con
sume beef.’’
Electronic eartags have been
an important tool in Jordan’s
process verified program.
Leon Ressler, left, will be Lancaster County Extension
Services director. John Schwartz, right, outgoing county
extension director (CED), will assume new duties as York
County’s CED. Photo by Andy Andrews
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 3,2001
This year Jordan hopes to ~ee
1 million head of cattle with the
electronic identification ear
tags, which cost from $2.40 to
$3.25.
With these tags, producers
have access to getting carcass
data for their animals.
Guidelines
All process-verified cattle
must meet specific sale guide
lines. Benefits, said Jordan, in
clude properly weaned,
uniformly sorted animals. Cattle
in the marketing facilities all
meet same health requirements,
frurn to Page ASS)
$32.00 Per Year
Fruit, Vegetable Convention
Honors Grower Accomplishments
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.)
“I’m sort of the ’poster boy’ for
plum pox,” said James Lerew of
Lerew Brothers Orchard, York
Springs.
Lerew received the 2000 Out
standing Grower Award from
Snow doesn’t prevent Pennsylvania Lamb and Wool
Queen Deidra Smith and her sister, Kelsie, from caring
for sheep on the family’s Somerset County farm. Turn to
page 810 to read about the recently crowned queen’s
advice on overcoming “baa’ed” experiences.
Photo by Gay Brownlee, Somerset County Correspondent
Extension Welcomes Director,
Holds Commodity Sampling
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) Dr. John Schwartz bid
Lancaster Cooperative Exten
sion Association members good
bye Thursday evening. After 10
years as director, Schwartz is
transferring to York Extension
since he lives in that county.
Replacing Schwartz as direc
tor is Leon Ressler, who has
worked with the Lancaster Ex
tension for 13 years.
Ressler and Schwartz ad
dressed the 88th annual meet
ing, where directors were elected
Pork Expo Includes
Market Outlook, Trade Show
NORTH CORNWALL (Leba
non Co.) The 23rd annual
Keystone Pork Expo is sched
uled next Tuesday, Feb. 6, here
at the Lebanon Valley Expo
Center on the fairgrounds.
This year’s meeting will fea
'B9Cj*er copy
the State Horticultural Associa
tion of Pennsylvania (SHAP)
Tuesday evening. The award
was presented not only for
Lerew’s outstanding contribu
tions to the industry, but he was
honored for work to identify and
control the plum pox virus in the
(Turn to Page A 36)
and foods served from commod
ity county groups.
Ressler said, “I remember my
first assignment was a nutrient
management project with the
Rural Clean Water Program in
1987.”
Ressler has continued to be a
strong force in ag and environ
mental issues, working with
county farmers in nutrient man
agement, composting, manure
marketing, odor and fly issues,
water quality and water rights.
His position will be filled with
another staff person to allow
(Turn to Page A2B)
ture a trade show with more
than 30 exhibits and educational
seminars for producers.
The Expo will also again
sponsor a “Pork Bowl” for com
peting FFA and 4-H members.
(Turn to Page A4O)