Bedford Family Builds For Dairy Herd Expansion
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
BEDFORD VALLEY (Bed
ford Co.) “We all have our tal
ents and our jobs to do,” said
Don Llewellyn of the two-family
farm he and his brother, Steve,
own in lush, green, Bedford Val
ley.
“It’s going into the fourth
generation and we want to keep
it that way,” Don said. The Lle
wellyns are presently undertak
ing a huge expansion, which in
cludes a new barn and manure
lagoon.
The Llewellyn farm includes
500 acres of land in this pictur
esque area. They are milking 125
Holsteins and have an additional
125 young cattle. Another herd of
Holsteins is already purchased
Don Llewellyn at work keeping the new dairy setup
clean.
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and will arrive as soon as the new
bam is completed.
“We had to expand,” Don
said. “We have two nephews who
want to join in the business and
Steve has a son who may be join
ing us in a few years.”
Don’s daughters have pursued
interests other than farming.
Steve and Don gave much seri
ous thought to their expansion
program before attacking the
venture, doing two years of re
search before turning a shovelful
of dirt. “We visited farms in
three counties, gathering ideas
from each,” Don explained. “We
tried to take the ideas we liked
best and incorporate them into
what we are doing here.”
Bright and spacious, the new
bam will allow for milking 200
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dairy cattle allowing IS square
feet per cow. It includes and area
for young cattle and even a hos
pital section for sick cows.
“With this many dairy cattle
you usually have at least one
which is not feeling well,” Steve
said.
A cow with a sore foot or one
having trouble calving will be put
in the hospital area to relieve
stress.
“Another thing we have
learned is the importance of
keeping the cows cool,” Steve
said. “We placed the bam with a
good east/west air flow. We will
have large patio doors by the
milking parlor which will allow
for both light and ventilation.
“We needed an easier way to
milk cows and we think we have
found it.”
Don extended thanks to all of
the farmers who contibuted ideas
for the expansion.
“We talked with farmers all
over the state. Locally we relied
heavily on ideas from Alan Ickes,
Russell Wyles, Sollenbergers, and
Frosty Hollow. We interviewed
equipment dealers and they had
a lot of patience with us.
While the farm will not be to
tally computerized, there is a
trend in that direction. Cow re
cords for breeding and produc
tion will be kept on the computer
and the sorting gate will also be
computer operated.
A lined manure lagoon will
add to the efficiency and cleanli
ness of the new facility.
Everyone in the Llewellyn
family is excited about the new
facilities.
Twilight Farmers’ Market Opens
BEL AIR, Md. The last of
the Harford Farmers’ Markets
was set to open this week with
the start of the Friday Twilight
Farmers’ Market from 5 p.m. to
dusk at Rockfield Manor off
Maryland Rt. 22 in Bel Air.
Conducted the last Friday of
each month through October, this
particular market is the only one
in Maryland to feature musical
entertainment, wine, and quick
supper items. Also, since this
market is located at Rockfield,
customers can enjoy the park’s
hiking trails and grounds. The
Maryland Agricultural Education
Foundation and the Harford
County Office of Economic De
velopment sponsor the market.
According to Harford County
Agricultural Coordinator John
Sullivan, many of last year’s twi
light market vendors are sched
PHONE 717-738-7350
Woodcorner Rd., Lititz, PA 17543
1 Mile West of Ephrata
Hours: Mon., Thurs., Fn. 7am -8:30 p.m ,
lues. & Wed. 7 a.m.-6.30 p.m.; Sat 7 a.m.-4 p.m
Sue, Mike, and Steve Llewellyn take a break at the new
sorting gate installed on their Bedford County farm as
part of a dairy facility expansion.
Photo by Linda Williams, Bedford Co. correspondent
“We all pitch in and help
here,” Don said. “Everybody has
talents and chores. And everyone
has helped with the construction.
We have all wielded a broom and
swung a paint brush. We’ve all
uled to return along with new
sellers. Kate Dallam’s, of
Broom’s Bloom Dairy of Bel Air,
will be back with a variety of
cheese and milksoap along with
lamb. David Keyes, Mount Felix
Farm in Havre de Grace, also
will have a variety of cheese to
sell.
Organic compost and fresh
vegetables will be for sale at the
booth, belonging to veteran farm
ers’ market vendor Richard
Watters, of Sweet Potato Hill
Farm of Forest Hill. Cybil Pres
ton, Jarrettsville, will have fresh
vegetables, honey and bee’s wax
products. The Lohrs, Church
ville, will sell fresh fruit. Fiore’s
Winery, Pylesville, will sell their
We Salute Our faming Industry
LancasterTarming, Saturday, June 1,2002-A43
had to double up on the routine
farm chores in order to keep ev
erything running.”
The old bam will remain intact
and become a shelter for dry
cows and young heifers.
products. Other vendors will
have baked goods.
Bel Air’s other two markets
operate Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to
3 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7
a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Mary Ris
teau State Office Building on
South Bond Street.
The Havre de Grace Farmers’
Market is open Saturdays from 9
a.m. to noon on Pennington Ave
nue between Washington Street
and Union Avenue.
Vendors at Edgewood’s Farm
ers’ Market sell farm-related
goods on Thursdays from 3 p.m.
to 6 p.m. next to the MARC
Train Station on Edgewood
Road.
For more information, contact
John Sullivan at (410) 638-3059.