‘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.