A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 10, 2003
Farmer Opposes Township Proposal
(Continued from Page A2l)
When township officials rein
stalled the stakes earlier this
week, they were accompanied by
a police officer, Zimmerman
noted.
He said he would have been
more willing to work with the
township if it had selected anoth
er site on the farm.
“I told them if they want to
(drill) at the upper end of the
meadow, I might go along with
them,” he said.
Zimmerman responded to
speculation that his land would
likely become more valuable with
a municipal well on it.
“For development, naturally it
would (have a higher dollar
value), but those aren’t our
plans,” he said, noting that Paul
Jr. and his family want to contin
ue dairying on the farm.
Paul Sr. first moved onto the
farm at the age of 6. The proper
Governor Rendell Proclaims
May Beef Month
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Agriculture Secretary
Designee Dennis Wolff recently
encouraged all Pennsylvanians to
celebrate agriculture and the
state’s beef industry.
In Governor Rendell’s May
Beef Month Proclamation, he
praised Pennsylvania’s beef in
dustry for responding to consum
er trends and producing a safe
and nutritious product while
being good stewards of the kb&d,
promoting environmental prac
tices that will allow them to pass
improved farms and ranches to
the next generation., r . . f,. -
In addition, thftt
“May is the beginning of the
summer cookout season a per
fect time for Pennsylvanians to
grill hamburgers, steaks, and ka
bobs from their favorite grocery
store.”
Home to 28,000 beef producers
and more than 1.6 million beef
cattle, Pennsylvania’s beef indus
try is an important part of fhe
state’s agriculture industry. The
9,546 farms located in the Com
monwealth generate $1.7 billion
Lancaster
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ty has been in the Zimmerman
family since 1932, he said.
Zimmerman’s attorney, Paula
Leicht of Mette, Evans, and
Woodside in Harrisburg, wrote a
recent letter to East Cocalico
Township expressing views simi
lar to those of PFB attorney Bell.
“The Zimmermans object to
the (Water and Sewer) Authori
ty’s entry onto their property for
any purpose and we believe that
such entry is unlawful under the
facts of this case,” Leicht wrote
in the letter dated May 6.
Leicht wrote that the Agricul
tural Security Area that includes
the Zimmerman farm was “cre
ated by operation of law on
March 17,2001.”
According to Lena Zimmer
man, many locals are opposed to
the township’s plans to drill a
well on the farm.
“Neighbors are really upset
about it,” she said. “We really
have support.”
for the economy. In the U.S.,
Pennsylvania ranks ninth in the
numbers of cattle and calves sold.
Designed to strengthen con
sumer confidence in beef, the
state’s Beef Quality Assurance
(BQA) Program focuses industry
attention on strategies to promote
beef quality and safety.
BQA has certified more than
900 producers in best manage
ment practices during the three
year project. “Beef from BQA
certified cattle is value added,
source verified* and available to
the Commjjlwealth’s consum
ers,”
Director; I *Pennsy|jfsd#t*
Council.
“Pennsylvania is proud of its
beef industry and salutes our beef
producers as they strive to pro
duce the best possible beef prod
uct,” comments Secretary Wolff.
“Pennsylvania’s BQA Program
is just another example of the De
partment of Agriculture’s dedi
cation to ensuring that consum
ers receive the best possible
products.”
BEYOND PRODUCTION
Every successful farmer also
has to be a marketer. In one form
or another, every business must
either market its products and
services directly or secure some
one or some business to do the
marketing.
Some farmers sell directly to
consumers at farmers market or
through Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA), while others
farm-out their marketing work to
cooperatives, contractors, other
companies, and other farmers.
Both type of customers de
mand products or services at the
right time, at the right place, and
at the right price. Further deline
ating their customer base, farm
ers can either choose to target
their products to the mass mar
kets, composed of many people
with broadly similar needs, or to
sell to niche markets composed of
fewer customers with specific and
similar needs.
The place to start is to ask
yourself: “Who is my customer?
What information should I gath
er about my customer?” Your an
swer should be “everything
Noted marketing expert Jay
Levinson said, “Marketing is ev
erything to promote your
business from fnStnent you
conceive of it to the point at
which customers buy ypur prod
uct or services and begin to pa
tronize your business on a regu
lar basis. The key words to
remember are everything and
regular basis.”
Compost Class
COLLEGEVILLE (Montgom
ery Co.) Do you want to know
more about composting? Would
you like to receive a free compost
bin? If you answer yes
to these questions,
then join the Mont
gomery County Mas
ter Composters and
leam all there is to
know about compost
ing and receive a bin.
Pre-registration is
required by calling
Mary Concklin (610)
489-4315. Class is free.
The event is Satur
day, May 17, 1 p.m. at
the Montgomery
County 4-H Center,
1015 Bridge Rd., Col
legeville. (Located on
Rt. 113 between Rt. 29
and Rt. 73),
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New Farmers,
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M arion Bowlan
Pennsylvania
Farm Link
The more you know about
your customer’s needs, wants and
desires, the better off you will be
in meetings those needs with a
product that sells. How well you
understand your customer and
your market conditions will de
termine how effectively you are
able to weather the obstacles and
take advantage of the opportuni
ties.
Gathering and analyzing in
formation about your customers
will provide you with several dif
ferent types of typical customers.
You will then be able to target
your marketing efforts to the
most appropriate customer
group. Remember 80 percent
of your sales will come from 20 of
your customers! It is always easi
er to get a repeat customer than
it is to get a new customer.
Today, most successful busi
nesses must have a strong cus
tomer orientation, designing their
marketing strategies to meet the
needs of their customers. This
orientation goes beyond just buy
ing and selling food. It includes
selling an experience and/or ben
efits.
For example, at a Farmer’s
Montgomery County
Muster Gardeners Offer
Plant Sale, Auction
COLLEGEVILLE (Montgom
ery Co.) New and unusual
plants, old stand-bys, water
plants, PHS Gold Medal Plants,
garden auction, compost class,
gardening question and answer
booth, children’s activity, and a
self-guided tour of the Learning
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Market, customers attend be
cause they want the experience,
smell, and taste of farm-fresh
food and they want to make per
sonal contact with the farmer
who grew that food. CSA farms
take that experience a step fur
ther and essentially contract with
their customers to provide a com
plete package of fresh produce,
fruits, herbs, flowers, or other
products over a specified period
of time.
By focusing on growing good,
healthy food at a reasonable price
and by developing a sense of con
nectedness among their custom
ers and their farms, many CSA
farmers have been able to devel
op customer loyalty over many
seasons. While the methods of
building a customer base through
friends, neighbors, family, and
community groups are not new
or unique, the ability to get the
customer to pay up front, share
some of the risk of production,
and agree to purchase a specified
quantity of food over a specified
period of time is relatively new.
To learn more about establish
ing and growing a CSA, or to
leam more about marketing your
products, plan to come to Penn
sylvania Farm Link’s “Selling
Produce Through a CSA” on
June 25 from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at
Simple Gifts Farm near Colum
bia. Jonathan Weaver-Kreider
will explain how he gained expe
rience workingon organic farms
and market gardening, and has
grown his CSA from 20 to 70
members on rented land.
To register or for more inform
ation, call Pennsylvania Farm
Link at (717) 664-7077.
Gardens is Saturday, May 17, 9
a.m.-4 p.m. at the Montgomery
County 4-H Center parking lot,
1015 Bridge Rd., Collegeville.
(Located on Rt. 113 between Rt.
29 and Rt. 73).
Admission is free.
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