A22-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 24, 2003
Learning Retail Realities
(Continued from Page A2l)
addition to the poinsettia trial,
the college runs a pansy trial in
the fall.
In the fall, if students haven’t
already requested to help out at
the stand, the financial aid office
assigns students to the stand.
This arrangement helps with tui
tion payments but also allows
students to work toward the
900-960 hours that they need in
their major.
Marianne Petrino, a junior and
part-time employee at the stand
this summer, comes from Frank
lin Lakes, N.J. She chose to stay
at the school and work over the
summer since “it’s an opportuni
ty that I can’t really get (at
home),” she said.
She plans to work part-time at
the stand and part-time in the
fields over the summer months.
This is her second summer work
ing at the stand.
One of the things that Petrino
has had to learn is the water and
sun requirements of plants, in ad
dition to learning seasons of fruit.
“That information has become
very relevant” as she fields cus
tomer questions, said Petrino.
Ornamentals.
Leslie Cole serves as ornamen
tals production manager at the
college.
Besides learning basic supply
and demand principles, students
learn about seasons and varieties
of plants as they experiment with
new and improved varieties to
market at the stand, according to
Cole.
Additionally, “the fact that the
students are learning to grow the
highest quality product that they
can is certainly educational,” said
Cole.
In addition, “without the farm
market, we wouldn’t have a need
to grow these things it is a
business,” she said. “It’s good
clean fun and you can make
money doing it,” she said.
Most of the plants grown in the
greenhouses go to the stand. “At
this time of year, 80 percent of
what we produce is for the farm
Pennsylvania Gets $600,000
For Johne’s Program
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Pennsylva
nia Agriculture Secretary Dennis C. Wolff re
cently announced that the state has received
$628,108 in funding from the USDA for efforts
to research and control Johne’s disease in the
commonwealth.
Recognizing the significant financial and herd
health impact of Johne’s on the cattle industry,
USDA has launched a major funding effort to
encourage states to conduct more research, in
dustry education, and industry participation in
state Johne’s disease programs. Pennsylvania’s
strong history of efforts to control the disease
has resulted in an immediate $628,108, with an
additional $600,000 in funding available in Octo
ber.
“These funds will be used to enhance our lab
oratory testing capability, provide incentives for
cattle owners and veterinarians to participate in
our Johne’s Disease Program, and conduct fur
ther research in testing and control techniques,”
said Dr. Paul Knepley, chtef of the Animal and
Poultry Health Division at the Pennsylvania De
partment of Agriculture (PDA).
“Pennsylvania has long been considered a
leader among states regarding Johne’s disease
research and control efforts,” Wolff said. “These
funds will enable Pennsylvania to continue our
tradition of excellence in Johne’s disease ef
forts.”
Currently, PDA administers one of the longest
standing voluntary control programs in the
country. The new National Johne’s Disease Pro
gram Standards were developed in large part
based on Pennsylvania’s experience.
Johne’s Disease is a chronic, progressive, bac
terial disease affecting cattle and other ruminant
animals. There is no cure or protective vaccine
for Johne’s Disease.
For more information, please contact Knepley
at (717) 783-8300.
.. * • f-VtX r/.','!,?
market,” Cole said.
During the school year, how
ever, student projects, and plants
used as teaching tools, find their
homes in the greenhouses. Rarer
varieties of plants are grown for
the campus’ garden gazebo, for
example, which provides another
teaching opportunity.
Approximately 2,200 flats of
annuals come from the green
house to the market. Moreover
400 10-inch hanging baskets, “a
big seller for us,” are produced in
the greenhouses.
Also, “within the last couple of
years, combination planters have
become popular,” she said. The
10-inch planters may include
“something trailing, something
with height, and different tex
tures and colors.”
Cole keeps the variety of sizes
of pots to a minimum for simplic
ity in growing and pricing at the
market. “Plus consumers are not
overwhelmed,” she said.
Cole herself has learned sever
al lessons in marketing. She cited
the example of the year they
planted flowers in white pots and
saw lagging sales. The next year
the plastic terra-cotta pots helped
sales to pick up, she said.
Four separate state-of-the-art
houses are
joined by
several
other differ
ent types of
greenhouses
stationed
on campus
Although
the other
greenhouses
provide an
opportunity
for students
to become
familiar
with a vari
e t y of
green
houses, the
newer mod
el s “are
what the
students are
Take the hassle out of feeding large round bales with the Agway Chainless Bale
Feeder. Its chamless operation provides safer, more consistent operation,
keeping the bale in control. The BFSOOO also reduces spoilage caused by bales
sitting outside in bulky inefficient stationary units. The Agway Chainless Bale
Feeder works as well in the barn as It does in the field, allowing you more
freedom to decide when and where to feed
your livestock. Talk to your local authorized /T 1
Agway dealer for purchase details. Z-tJ O^/MNUfACTuiiNG^
going to see when they get out
into the workplace,” she said.
The modem greenhouses allow
Cole and the student to grow a
variety of plants. A computer
controlled heating and cooling
system makes it possible for
“each house to be set for a specif
ic temperature range,” she said.
The houses are set for cool
weather to “almost tropical”
plant varieties.
By June the houses are emp
tied, allowing for cleaning and
maintenance work. “The stu
dents do a lot of repairs as well”
another learning opportunity,
according to Cole.
Learning responsibility is one
of the key elements of working at
the stand, according to Moran.
“Students without prior job expe
rience learn what it is to have a
job,” he said.
Moran, who had prior experi
ence in the corporate world, be
lieves that it is important for the
students to operate as though the
stand is a corporate organization.
Plans for a new, larger market
are under develoment, with more
details to be decided in the com
ing weeks.
Sometimes
simple is genius.
Minuftciurii i
Marianne Petrine, a junior and part-time employee at the
stand this summer, restocks shelves.
Kirby Snyder, a senior ornamental horticulture/
landscape contracting student, will work full-time in the
greenhouse and nursery this summer.
il Prong Hydraulic Bale Lift
patented system makes loading fast, easy and
ires the bale Is always in constant control
• Bale Lift Position Gauge
Indicates lift height for spearing j
• different sized bales in the centre
• Varying Spaed Rotors
The top rotor turns 3 times faster,
fluffing the hay as the bale unravels
• Hydraulic Bale Platform
The platform safely keeps the bale tight against the rotors
without the use of chains - avoiding mechanical breakdowns
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