Virginia Farm Show A Success
GAY BROWNLEE
Virginia Correspondent
FISHERSVILLE, Va.—On
Jan. 21, the folks who braved the
bone-chilling cold to attend the
2003 Virginia Farm Show at Au
gusta Expo Land did so for var
ied personal reasons.
For some, the fun of a day’s
outing was too good to miss, but
serious issues brought other at
tendees. At the farm show there
were people to exchange ideas
with, especially experts who were
prepared to field their topical
Demonstrations such as log sawing by Timber Harvest
er, were popular at the Virginia Farm Show and attracted
many spectators away from the heated tents and main
building into the frosty outdoors where the sawdust was
flying out of a chute.
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questions and send the answers
across the farmer’s home plate.
Sam Harris from Spotsylvania,
for instance, talked about being a
beef farmer in partnership with
his brother, W.D. Harris. The sib
lings run a finishing operation
and have 250 brood cows. Then
land produces 200 acres of com,
200 acres of soybeans, and 60
acres of alfalfa.
With Ellen, his wife and their
three young daughters, the
Harris family strives to be aware
of new possibilities that will en-
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able them to profitably maintain
the farming lifestyle they love.
And they are concerned about
the generation that will have de
pended on their leadership to
pave their way. Twenty years
from now, how will their girls
cope with new agricultural issues
if they, too, decide on a life of
farming?
Harris and Ellen began pon
dering the possibility of purchas
ing a few goats as they were strol
ling through a heated tent and
were introduced to Southfork
Farm’s exhibit by Nathan and
Sue Ellen Haver, Goshen. An en
closure featured a hill-blood Boer
dam and three adorable kids
aged 3-weeks.
“Anything new—like these
goats,” said Harris. “Doing some
thing different.”
“Something to teach the chif
dren responsibility,” said Ellen.
‘ “And to get them interested in
farming at a young age,” said
their dad, already doing the men
tal calculations.
Goats, in time, would generate
some profit. Meanwhile, expand
ing the Harris family interests
and diversifying the livestock
could be a very healthy decision.
Visitor Monty Heatwole, how
ever, was taking his questions
about semen to another exhibitor.
Heatwole manages Cub Run
Dairy in McGaheysville for his
With support from hor mother, Ellen Harris, Brandy
Harris, 4, gets to hold a 3-week old Boer kid goat at the
Va. Farm Show held Jan. 21, 22 at Expo Land.
dad. The Holstein operation is “Basically, I came to get some
comprised of a milking herd of technical information and see
250 head. new feeding equipment and talk
Bill Meyerhoeffer, independent with people in the industry. We
dairy consultant from Harrison- live in a progressive area and
burg, was taking advantage of people try to keep up on things,”
the opportunity to absorb the lat- he said.
est information that could be
helpful to his clients.
Visitors to the Virginia Farm Show Titus Landis,
Harrisonburg, Va. and LaVern Frey, Doylesburg, Pa. are
very interested in “person comfort” for the dairy farmer
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 1,2003-A29
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(Turn to Page A3O)
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