‘Letting Go’ Brings Devotion To Dairy Industry (Continued from Page B 2) spacious farmhouse. Establishing friendships with people in the new community proved easy because the Mowrers immediately found a friendly church community and became active in the local Farm Bureau. Mowrer is a board member of the county Farm Bureau and had been on the county extension board for several years. Last summer, the Mowrers ex panded the bam and increased the herd size to 260 milking cows. They put curtains are on all four sides of the barn for optimum ventilation. The bam has room for 200 more head. The milking parlor was expanded from a dou ble-? to a double-10 with auto matic takeoff. One person takes care of everything in the milking parlor. “We saw a big difference in production when we expanded,” Mowrer said. Before that, they were running 220 cows through 160 stalls. The added room de creased cow stress and the herd responded with increased pro duction, body condition, and all around great improvement, Mowrer said. They also brought the dry cows back instead of using rented facilities. This allows Mowrer to keep better control over them. “I really recommend not over crowding,” Mowrer said. “It real ly pushes back first-calf heifers.” The Mowrers also tore down an old bank barn and replaced it with a pole shed used for equip ment and hay storage. Five full-time employees and several part-time have designated duties. One is a herdsman, two are responsible for milking and feeding, another is a mechanic, and another oversees the field work. Mowrer works as manager and fills in wherever needed. He also takes care of weekend milk ing. The Mowrers grow their own feed and process it, including high-moisture corn. They take soybeans to be roasted in a near by mill. The majority of the feed is stored in trench silos. Mowrer said that he is chang ing to more no-till practices that work better on the hilly ground. One of the most frustrating problems is dealing with deer damage. The family has counted as many as 100 deer on their acreage at one time. They can’t raise any sweet com, and Mowrer figures deer easily destroy 20 acres of field com. “We live next to two private hunting clubs, and they can’t control where the deer wander.” By law, Mowrer can shoot deer on his acreage if they are damag ing crops, but the conflict that causes with the hunting club members isn’t worth it. “Sometimes I see the deer use Becky has six of her own animals to show. Here she and her dad take a moment to pet the lone Brown Swiss, owned by Becky’s sister Abby. their hooves to kick open the ag bags to eat high-moisture com right out of the bag,” Mowrer said. Mowrer believes to be success ful, “It is important for farmers to stay on top of things and keep up with the times. Don’t fall be hind.” Mowrer reads a lot to keep up with new technology. He thinks the biggest future concern is water supply. “Farm ers use water more wisely com pared to other industries,” Mow rer said. “Farm acreage allows water to filter through the ground and replenish the water supply, unlike water runoff from shopping centers.” Several times a month, Nathan makes the 3'A hour drive to the farm to help with the work. Na than said, “I like college, but I miss the farm. 1 know that farm ing is what I want to do.” Mom, a full-time school teach er, helps coordinate Becky’s scheduled appearances, and pre pares dairy beverages and cheese cubes for her promotions. Mom is also a community 4-H club leader with 32 kids, meeting at the Mowrers’ home. As a wife, mother, career per son, 4-H leader, and a person ac tive in church and community events, Janet said, “It’s impor tant to keep life in balance.” She credits having a good family to depend upon. Rebecca said, “This year I’m they want to work on the farm, that’s great. But I want them to be free to be in volved in extracurricular activities. They (the children) have a whole life ahead of them to work. They should have some responsibil ities, but it’s not fair to kids to be so tied down to the farm that they miss out on activ ities with friends. 5 9 devoted to doing as much as I can for dairy promotion.” She credits Juniata Valley School District for being support ive in allowing her flexibility in fulfilling many promotional ac tivities. Her “shy” personality is being replaced with confidence, Becky said of the experience she has gained from hundreds of speak ing appearances before both agri cultural and nonfarming events. “Being dairy princess has im pacted my life in every area. I have grown and matured, and become more comfortable with myself. 1 know who I am. And I The Mowrers recently expanded this barn and added curtains on all four sides for op timum ventilation. have grown spiritually,” Becky said. In school, Becky participates in speech club, which requires three competitions annually. This year in school competitions, Becky presented the same speech she had used in pageant competi tion and was named best senior high school speaker in Hunting- Michael Mowrer don County. “Occasionally I get butter flies,” Becky said, “but I enjoy speaking. I always write my own speeches and try to tailor them to the group.” At school, Becky presents an nouncements every morning over the school’s public address sys tem. She also goes to a county radio station every month, where she is interviewed about upcom ing ag events, dairy promotions, and related news, and prepares 30-second radio spots that are broadcast several times daily. Becky’s career goal is to be come a midwife or obstetrician, a dream she has held on to since third grade. In the meantime, she enjoys telling others about the value of dairy products, the facts about lactose intolerance, and meeting awesome people. She especially enjoyed promot ing milk at events such as the Special Olympics, Easter Seals, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts. One of her more unusual promotions was participating in a talent show at the Huntingdon Fall Festival. Becky presented her skit as her talent. She said, “I did it more to get the milk message to a different audience than entering it for a talent. For county events, mom or dad serve as chaperones, and for state events, coordinators for the Pennsylvania Dairy Princess and Pageant take charge. Becky and her brother share interest in raising Be- # agles. Now at college, Nathan misses the farm and re turns whenever he can to help out. Fulfilling the role of wife, mother, career person, 4-H leader, and someone active in church and community events, Janet said, “It’s important to keep life in bal ance.” Becky is treasurer and acting vice president of her school’s Blue Juniata FFA Chapter. She is a member of the 4-H Beef Club, the Shaver Creek Commu nity Club, and treasurer of the county 4-H council. “I used to participate in a lot more 4-H clubs and school clubs, but I had to give up those to con centrate on dairy promotions,” Rebecca said. She continues involvement in the schools’ SADD, library club, select chorus, senior high band, and chorus. She is also active in her church youth group. A brochure with the Mowrer family’s favorite recipes using dairy products is available. Send a stamped, self-addressed, busi ness-size envelope to PDPPS, 23515 Range Rd., Union City, PA 16438. Here is one you’re sure to enjoy during the upcoming berry season. Make sure you clip it. Strawberry Pretzel Salad 2 cups crushed pretzels Va cup butter, melted 3 tablespoons sugar 8-ounces cream cheese, soft ened 8-ounces whipped cream 1 cup sugar 6-ounce box strawberry-flavor ed Jell-0 2 cups boiling water 20-ounces frozen strawberries Mix together crushed pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press into 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.' Combine cream cheese, whip ped cream, and 1 cup sugar. Spread over pretzel crust. Mix Jell-0 with boiling water, add frozen berries. Stir until ber ries soften and Jell-O starts to thicken. Gently pour mixture on top of cream cheese layer. Refrig erate. Sprinkle pretzels over top before serving.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers