Vol. 47 No. 32 What Happens When The Well Dries Up? Farm Family Deals With Limited Supply, Competing Uses DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff GREENCASTLE (Franklin Co.) One day last August, the main well on Robert and Norma Grove’s dairy farm began deliver ing gritty mud instead of the clear water it had produced for three decades. The family first noticed it on a load of laundry, fresh out of the washer. “I just couldn’t believe it,” Robert Grove said. It was the first time the 200-foot well failed since its con struction in 1970. It had served as the primary source of water for the 115-cow Holstein herd as well as household needs on the farm the Groves own and operate in partnership with their son Keith and his family. “Follow your dreams,” say Donald and Mary Wivell, who chose to farm even when others advised them not to. Today the Wivells milk 60 Jerseys on their 600-acre Tioga County farm. Photo by Carolyn N. Moyer, Tioga Co. correspondent Dairy Farming Rewarding Career For Wivell Family CAROLYN N. MOYER Tioga Co. Correspondent COVINGTON (Tioga Co.) “My father thought I was crazy,” said Donald Wivell with a grin when he talked about choosing dairy farming as a career. “I wanted to farm on my own and my father said, ‘No, stay in the factory, you’ll be better off.’ “As you can see, I hated any thing to do with punching a www.lancasterfarming.com The well has since resumed producing water. In the mean- time, however, the Groves needed to have two new wells drilled on the farm. On the same day the well first went dry, Grove said he noticed a neighboring industry was busy installing a new water pump on their own property. Beck Manufacturing, a pro- ducer of steel pipe fittings, and El Dorado Stone (formerly L & S Stone), manufacturer of decora tive masonry products, operate adjoining plants just across rail road tracks from the border of the Grove’s property near Rt. 11 north of Greencastle. The two industries share water (Turn to Page A 25) clock,” Donald said. “I worked as a mechanic off and on all my life before I got farming full time.” Donald Wivell was one of 20 children bom and raised on a Holstein farm in Maryland. His wife, Mary, is a self-proclaimed city girl who never thought she would end up on a farm. (Turn to Page A 24) Four Sections Turn to page B 2 to read how Shawn and Danielle Smoker, Bellville, manage milk ing 96 cows, farming 110 acres, and parenting 5-month-old Lauren. Photo by Lou Ann Good, food and family features editor HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) To celebrate June Dairy Month, dairy promotion organ izations created a 90-gallon ice cream sundae on the steps of the Capitol Building. Here Rebecca Mowrer, Pennsylvania Dairy Princess, helps top off the sundae with real whip ped cream. Photo by Michelle Kunjappu Laura Blauch greets her court, including Little Misses Sarandon Smith, left, and Valerie Zuck last Saturday at the 30th annual Lebanon County Dairy Princess Corona tion. See story page 814. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor Saturday, June 8, 2002 $36.00 Per Year / } r ' *( f JV < «/ ,H { / o/iiht / eaders Fro”' 6 States, ( ana fie ANDY ANDREWS Editor UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Agricultural leaders from six states and Ontario, Canada will gather at the Great Lakes Forum on Agriculture, hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, here at the Nittany Lion Inn June 11-13. At the forum, “accomplished speakers will present topics of 21st Century importance,” said Sam Hayes, Pennsylvania secre tary of agriculture. “Issues such as trade barriers, animal identifi cation, brand marketing of agri cultural products, weather and $l.OO Per Copy (Turn to Page A 26)
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers