A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 30, 2002 Ag Community Has Strong Showing At Chamber Banquet (Continued from Page A 1) was honored with the 14th George C. Delp Award for a life time of dedication and service to agriculture. From 1979 until his retirement this September, Shirk was re sponsible for dairy and 4-H pro grams with the Penn State Coop erative Extension of Lancaster County. Prior to 1979, he served as dairy agent in Chester County and assistant agent in Snyder and Somerset counties. His pro fessional career spanned 41 years. Jay Shannon, chairman of the Lancaster Chamber ag commit tee, quoted from several of the many nominations Shirk received for the award. An “invaluable asset, teacher, adviser, and a great ambassador for agricul ture,” were among the com ments. Perhaps Shirk’s most notable and widely recognized trait is that he “shows a kind and caring attitude to everyone he comes in contact with,” Shannon said. Shirk’s dedication to helping dairy farmers remain competitive and meet their families’ needs can be best characterized in Shirk’s own words. “As I work with dairy farmers, I try to put myself in their shoes,” he said. Shirk grew up on his parents’ dairy farm near Quarryville and was graduated from Solanco High School. He went on to study dairy science at Penn State, earn ing his bachelor’s degree in 1959 and master’s degree in 1961. Three families from south of Lancaster were honored with Century Farm Awards for oper ating farms that have been in the family for at least 100 years. A slide show recalled brief his tories of the farms owned by Kenneth and Thelma Garber, Willow Street; Elvin T. and Mar tha Harnish, also of Willow Street; and Robert and Barbara Rush; Strasburg. The Garber farm has been in the family since 1897. Ken and Thelma formerly managed a Guernsey herd and now focus on raising crops and doing custom ((As I work with dairy farm ers, I try to put myself in their shoes. 5 5 harvest work. Three children, along with their families, are strongly connected with the farm, living and/or running their own businesses there. The grandchildren of Elvin and Martha Hamish represent the eighth generation on their farm. Originally a William Penn grant property, Elvin’s ancestors first purchased it in 1800. Son Martin and his wife Sandy man age a 40-cow dairy herd and grow a variety of produce on the farm. The Rush farm has undergone a wide range of uses since it first came into the family in 1901. In the 19305, during the Great De pression, two ponds were built on the property for raising bait fish, an enterprise that continues today. A poultry house, built in 1940, was later turned into a community theater and is used as a horse barn. Also during the Monday eve ning banquet, guests were enter tained and challenged by keynote speaker John W. Hupps, farmer and ag journalist from Illinois. Keynote speaker John Phipps urges banquet guests to expand their no tion of what it means to be a farmer. nal and Top Producer magazines. Phipps noted the tough times faced by farmers across the coun try, and posed a tough question. “What if this is normal?” he asked. “What if 2002 is what ag riculture is going to look like in years to come?” Recent sweeping changes in communication technologies has led to a world H where “ev- 9 erybody 9 knows ev- 9 erything at 9 once. It 9 takes an ef- 9 fort to re- in main clue- |l| less,” 111 Phipps said. 9 “What does it mean to have this level of commu nication happening as rapidly as it does?” One re sult of this lightening speed trans- Glenn Shirk Retired dairy agent fer of in formation is what Phipps called “chaos con ditions” a farm and business cli mate in which the most thor ough plans often fail. “The causes and effects are not match- ing up,” Phipps said. “You’re going to ex ecute some things per fectly and they’re going to turn out to tally wrong. Planning does not need to be more flexible than ever in finding ways to be successful. Even more importantly, Phipps said, farmers need to work at being connected to their families and communities. When forced to name their pri orities, many farmers say, “ ‘All I want to do is farm and be happy.’ But if you farm, don’t be sur prised if happy comes in second,” Phipps said. “And if you make happiness top priority, don’t be surprised if you have to make some compromises in farming.” The good news, he said, is that the definition of a farmer is much wider than it has been in the past. Any number of combinations to make a living and be involved with farming are possible. These include working off the farm and/or trying a variety of enter prises on the farm. “The people who are most suc cessful in ag are those who try the most things,” Phipps said. “You now have the ability to choose any kind of lifestyle you want.” He commended guests for at tending the banquet, calling it an act of community-building. * 1 J >w z, fi ir ' J J. To build community, the main thing is to “just be there,” he said. Another facet of modern life that threatens communities is the amount of time people spend in cars and trucks, according to Phipps. He said he makes a point Honored at the Lancaster Ag Chamber Banquet for owning farms that have been in the family for at least 100 years, from left, are Martha and Elvin Hamish, Barbara and Robert Rush, and Thelma and Kenneth Qarber. Photo by Dave Lefever V| f L ‘ r I ,(•4 \ pii. ijSjf* U r.fc - - Ife' Mt'vs life ip? of having face-to-face conversa tions with people as much as pos sible. “We spend our lives looking through a windshield,” he said. “If you’re outside a vehicle, you engage in conversations that have a great deal more depth.” ■\ cjS * *I. J ‘ ' ; , BHkw 5!? ■ $ A * ' V „ .1 ** r>\3f^
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers