Herefords Compete In Open Breeding Show MICHELLE KUNJAPPU Lancaster Farming Staff HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) In the Farm Show’s open Hereford Beef Breeding Show, “we had classes with depth down 3-4 deep at least that’s what a breed is interested in,” said show judge Jim Gilooly. “I’m as optimistic about the future of this breed as I’ve ever Morgan Firestine’s heifer took home the champion open and junior breeding beef show titles. Morgan is joined by Jen Shultz, Pennsylvania Hereford Princess. C.J. Furlong, Mount Joy, exhibited the grand champion bull during the Pennsylvania Farm Show. At halter is Jes sica Keifer. K - Agriculture - Residential - Commercial Invest In Concrete, Qua! CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATES CONTACT AND SEE HOW AFFORDABLE ROY SENSENIG CONCRETE WALLS CAN BE 717-355-0726 Authorized Dealer For Keystone Concrete Products E) O E [l E CONCRETE If ini E E WALLS, me. 601 Overly Grove Rd., New Holland, PA 17557 been. They fit into a commercial program so well, with their struc ture and their hardiness. “I think it is a good time to be a Hereford breeder.” Gilooly named “CJF Lily Lady,” owned by Morgan Fire stine, MAP Farm, Womelsdorf, the champion junior and open beef breeding show female. Morgan is the daughter of Slatted Pit For Free Stall Barn Work that Will Last A Lifetime Mike and Martene Firestine. Her sister, Margeaux, also exhibits Herefords. The family also took home the premier breeder and exhibitor honors of the open Hereford show. In addition, Morgan exhib ited the reserve junior champion homebred Hereford. Thirty head of cattle are at home on the Fire stines’ operation. Morgan has spent eight years exhibiting animals and has eight years of experience showing ani mals at the Farm Show. In the open show, grand cham pion status went to a bull owned by C.J. Furlong, Mount Joy, C.J. Cattle Company; Maple Spring Farms, Jonestown; and Calloway Farms, Seaford, Del. Furlong exhibited three breeds of cattle during the Farm Show, including 15 Herefords. He also operates a fitting service. Furlong was also the breeder of Morgan Firestine’s grand cham pion heifer. Jim Gilooly, Washington, Ind., was the judge of the show. Giloo ly produces purebred Angus and polled Herefords on his farm, be sides seed com. He graduated from Purdue University and got his master’s degree from Penn State. He has judged national shows for 12 breeds and several national jun ior shows. USD A Urges Farmers to Begin Early Farm Bill Sign-Up WASHINGTON, D.C. Con cerned about the slow pace of sign-up for major farm programs under the 2002 Farm Bill, top USDA officials are urging pro ducers to begin the process quick ly to ensure timely distribution of benefits and to avoid long lines and delays next year. “We are hopeful that the tensive outreach, education r»T4T»T A TAT*TAT A V4TAT*T^ For All Your Concrete Walls And Construction Needs 4-H And FFA Teams Compete In Farm Safety/Health Bowl HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Four 4-H and four FFA teams competed in the Farm Safety and Health Quiz Bowl at the 2003 Pennsylvania Farm Show. The team members had first competed at their summer state achievement days. A few weeks later, the top eight teams went on to compete in the semi-finals at the Penn State Ag Progress Days. The competition culminated with the finals at the Farm Show. Teams of four competed against one another, answering questions about equipment, weather, ani mal safety, fire safety, and gener al safety on the farm. Cumberland County was this year’s champion in the 4-H divi sion. The team consisted of Levi Smith, a junior at Big Springs High School; Megan Kurtz, a senior at Shippensburg High School; Morgan Creek, a sopho more at Big Springs High School; and Sara Gutshall, a senior at Big Springs. Kris Speers coached the team. According to Smith, the team practiced extensively before the contest. “We have been practic ing since the summer, about once or twice a month to prepare. It is very gratifying to see all our hard work pay off.” The runner-up in the 4-H divi sion was Potter County. Third training USDA has conducted throughout the country will en able producers to quickly focus on signing up for programs,” said U.S. Ag Secretary Ann Veneman. Undersecretary JB Penn said, “If producers are putting forth a New Year’s resolution, we hope it is to understand the importance of signing up early.” He said that late harvest in ex and SS*45 I-4SG R] Rj place honors were claimed by Huntington County, who lost the semifinal game to the champions. Fourth place was Clearfield County. In the FFA competition, it was the team from Mifflinburg FFA that was victorious. Mifflinburg built a strong lead in the first round and maintained that ad vantage throughout the rest of the contest, finally winning in a close match, 140-125. Mifflinburg team members in clude: Jess Zimmerman, junior; Danielle Murphy, sophomore; Joe Spangler, junior; Jamie Camp, junior; and alternate Nic ole Murphy, freshman. The team was coached by Charles Kessler. Second place went to West Snyder FFA, third place to Se linsgrove FFA, and fourth place to Manheim FFA. In one of his last official duties as Pennsylvania Secretary of Ag riculture, Sam Hayes was on hand for the awards presenta tion. Hayes congratulated the teams on making it to the state finals and on the hard work that it took to accomplish that. He also thanked the parents and coaches of the teams and concluded his remarks by reminding everyone to have a “safe and fun 2003 Farm Show.” many parts of the country as well as the program changes in the law requiring more information from farmers are reasons for slow sign-up. USDA has developed new software, trained personnel, prepared pew directives, and conducted education seminars to help move the process forward. For more, go to www.usda. gov/farmbill. 1
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