Vol. 47 No. 30 Berks County To Celebrate Farmland Preservation Efforts Mark and Nancy Wolfskin built a progressive dairy facility on this farm with the help of preservation funds. The Wolfskins have sold development rights on about 400 acres of land north of Robesonia. Their farm will host a field day June 7 celebrating 25,000 acres of farmland preserved in Berks County. Photo by Dave Lefever Poultry Farming Is Best Job Of All, Says Bartho Family LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor LANDISBURG (Perry Co.) Optimistic that egg consumption and prices are on the rise, Bill and Sharon Bartho recently erected a 150,000 layer house on the family farm in Landisburg. The couple, flush with the ex citement of this new venture, are eager to list the many pluses of poultry farming. Applications Of GIS Focus Of Conference MICHELLE KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff HERSHEY (Dauphin Co.) Pennsylvania’s Geographic In formation Systems (GIS) 10th Annual Conference drew almost 500 GIS consultants, engineering firms, township and borough rep resentatives, exhibitors, and rep resentatives of government or ganizations to the Hershey Lodge www.lancasterfarming.com “This is the best!” Sharon said when comparing farm and non farming jobs the couple have ex perienced. “You aren’t tied down as much as milking cows required, and it’s cleaner than hogs,” Bar tho said. “It’s clean. You don’t need to trample through pigs or neuter them,” Sharon said. But the best thing, the couple and Convention Center this week. The two-day conference, spon sored by Penn State Harrisburg, featured sessions addressing envi ronmental GIS issues, public safety GIS issues, and new trends in GIS. Sherrill Davison, associate pro , (Turn to Page A 26) Four Sections reiterates, is that they can work together as a family. “What other job offers the op portunity and flexibility to work together as a family at home?” she asks. “We are probably the only chicken house with a playroom,” Sharon said. The fully enclosed room is decorated like a family room, complete with sofa, televi sion, and video recorder. Producers Highlight Dairy Issue Lancaster Farming plans its annual festive Dairy Month issue June 1. The issue will be packed with dairy farm features from around the region. Scheduled to appear: Bed ford County dairy expan sion plans, a family-operat ed creamery in the Shenandoah Valley, a dairy goat feature, York County dairy family feature, distin guished Jersey breeders, dairy princess feature, and a young couple feature from Mifflin County. Also scheduled will be dairy reci pes and columns of interest to the dairy producer. Saturday, May 25, 2002 DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff ROBESONIA (Berks Co.) Longtime farmers Mark and Nancy Wolfskill have a thriving operation to pass on to their son David and his family. A dairy setup com pleted in January of 2000 includes a double-12 parallel milk ing parlor and a freestall bam with manure storage un derneath the slatted floor. With the help of sever al hired per- sons, the Wolfskills milk 230 Holsteins, finish upward to 250 beef cattle each year, and grow most of the crops that feed and bed the livestock. The Wolfskills have sold de velopment rights on about 400 acres here in Heidelberg Town ship through the Berks County Farmland Preservation Pro The Barthos said the playroom was a requirement, and one that required reviewing many plans to figure out how it could best fit into the operation. The room has a large window facing the packing area so that Bill and Sharon Bartho with Sarah, 3, and Nicholas, 5, are thrilled with the opportunity to work together in their new poultry layer operation. Photo by Lou Ann Good, food and family features editor ** *> * pim'v «. • ***»#*■* % ***** * <* $36.00 Per Year gram, a move that has helped them expand and update their operation. They will host a field day on their farm June 7 cele brating a county milestone of According to Mark Wolfskill, the decision to preserve land has helped ensure the family a future and a livelihood in agricul ture. Funds from pre serving two of the family’s farms went toward the purchase of another neighbor ing farm four years ago and toward the dairy facility they built on it. more farms have been preserved in the county, totalling 27,208 acres on 219 farms preserved since 1990. Sharadin said the program got a big boost in 1999 when the Berks County commissioners decided to take out a $3O mil (Turn to Page A 22) Sharon can see at a glance what the children are doing. “If they need supervision, I can shut down the lines and go into the playroom,” Sharon said. (Turn to Page A 23) $l.OO Per Copy 25,000 acres preserved a number that is rapidly grow ing. The county ranks second in the state and 11th in the country in number of acres preserved, according to program direc tors Susanne Sharadin and Tammy Hilde brand. Since the 25,000-acre mark was reached last winter, six
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