V 01.46 No. 37 To Market , To Market Haulers Care About Customers, Cattle MICHELLE RANCK Lancaster Farming Staff NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster Co.) “Most of the livestock haulers care about their cus tomer, the cattle, and their equipment. They are devoted to their job. They give up their week ends, evenings, holidays, or go through snow storms to satisfy customers. “Truckers have to be flexible, understanding, and patient,” said Buddy Brown, Bethel, a long time livestock hauler. It is, however, a job not without rewards. “I like working with farm-related people and animals,” he said. Catching up with the farmers he routinely sees or interacting with the children who come out to watch the excitement of loading the ani mals is what keeps Brown on the road. The business has long been familiar to Brown. His grandfather bought his first truck in 1942, “something a little bigger than a pickup,” said Brown. Four generations, since Brown’s son also hauls livestock, have now been involved in the business. “It’s a family tradition,” he said. “I started at 16 and stayed with it.” Brown’s father retired last year at 82 years old after more than SO years of hauling livestock. Brown used to haul hogs and steers to packing plants, “point ‘A’ to point ‘B,’” he said. Now that son Jeff, who owns one tractor and two trailers, takes care of the hauling to packing plants, Brown can continue his “farm pickup” routine. Car Runs On Hemp Seed Oil LANDISVILLE (Lancaster Co.) This Mercedes Benz station wagon that runs on hemp seed oil made a stop in East Hempfield township last week, near the beginning of a 10,000-mile tour of the U.S. and Canada to promote the return of industrial hemp as an agricultural product. On hand were, from left, East Hempfield Township supervisor Michael Wagner, Lancaster County Farm Bureau chair woman Jane Balmer, and local hemp broker Shawn House. Although cultivation of the plant that produces indus trial hemp is illegal in the U.S., Balmer said that the Penn sylvania Farm Bureau and a number of other states have approved hemp as “an alternative crop for the cash farmer.” House said that industrial hemp offers thousands of uses besides biofuel, including a variety of food products, building materials, and even as a structural component for cars. Lancaster County housed more than 100 water-powered hemp mills during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when locally grown hemp was a major source of fiber for clothing, said local historian Les Stark. Photo by Dave Lefever Laocos-Ver Farming www.lancasterfarming.com Five Sections Mondays and Thursdays Brown hauls ani mals to New Holland Sales Stables, Tuesdays and Fridays to Lebanon Valley Livestock Auc tion, and Wednesdays to Leesport Livestock Auction. A Familiar Process Arriving at the sales stables is the beginning of a first-come, first-serve process which most of the truckers are very familiar with. Communica tion, either verbally or via CB, will help the truckers decide who was first in line. “Many of them will work with you, if there’s something wrong with the cow or there is an other reason you need to get ahead,” said Brown. While the truck idles, Brown waves at the truckers leaving the sale barn. “Most truckers know each other,” he said. “We stand and talk while we wait for loads. They’re helpful to anyone who is new, with unloading or each sale barn’s procedures.” Brown, in fact, was voted New Holland Sales Stables’ “Trucker of the Year” by other live stock haulers. The award was given at the com pany’s annual trucker’s banquet this March. With a practiced hand Brown maneuvers his truck into the unloading area. After he gets the cows off the truck he herds the animals into the barn where they are taken to be checked in. Each sales stables has their own carbon paper slips for animal and owner identification and recordkeeping. Brown’s wife Lorraine has al ready filled in with the date and each owner’s Soon: A Bigger, Better Farm Show Complex HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) When you talk ot an up grade of $66.2 million, that’s big news. And the Farm Show Complex is getting an upgrade so big that it’s going to make attending the winter agriculture showcase event hosted by the Pennsylva nia Department of Agriculture surelv a memorable, maybe even completely new, event. For years, people have talked about making necessary im provements to the Farm Show Complex. But according to Farm Show Executive Director Dennis Grumbine, this is the first time “since ’29 and ’32 that anybody has made a financial commitment to doing something Pa. Dairy Quality Program Kicks Off DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) The new Penn sylvania Dairy Quality Assur ance Program (PDQA) is slated to begin this fall. The voluntary program will offer certification to dairy farms who are following valid protocol in the areas of milk quality, meat quality, and biosecurity, said Brenda Coe of Penn State veterinary extension and one of the PDQA program developers. {” urn to Page A3O) Saturday, July 14,2001 ANDY ANDREWS Editor Buddy Brown, Bethel, has been in the livestock haul ing business since he was 16 years old. Truckers have to be flexible, understanding, and patient, according to Brown. Photo by Michelle Ranck name and address. Brown brings handfuls of them in with each load. Every animal is given an identifying number and correspond ing sticker on each hip while they wait in the chutes. \fter the cows are unloaded, the job changes somewhat as Brown and a sales stables employee sort out the calves. Each calf has an identifying colored chalk mark or owners initial to help keep them each separated from the other calves careening and ca pering around the pen. One owner, for example, may have calves with a “K" embla zoned on its back, or have a pink and blue head. The calves are then herded into the appropriate pen before they move to the ring for to be sold. “I figure if .they (the customers) trust me to haul their calves, it’s my duty to get the calves there safely and correctly. I try to keep my truck cleaned out and be here,” he said. Grumbine spoke to about two dozen exhibitor representatives and media at the complex on Thursday about the expansion project. He provided construction de Expert Advice On Grazing, Pastures In Foraging Around Lancaster Farming includes the summer issue of Forag ing Around, the newsletter of the Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council (PFGC). Included are features that pro vide expert advice on pasture maintenance, forage man agement, and animal care. Here, Bob Boyce’s new cleanup bull, 18-month old Whitestone Widespread 350 M, mean ders up to the fence to greet Boyce, operator of a 100- head grass-based Angus herd. Read the full story in this issue of Foraging Around. Photo by Michelle Ranch $34.00 Per Year (Turn to Page A2Z) tails and timetables on a com plex that, when completed for the Farm Show of 2003. will house 27 acres under one roof, including a large equine exhibit arena. (Turn to Page A3O) 750 Per Copy
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