‘Dairying’ By Different Means
(Continued from Page A2O)
ing, so we subleased a farm and
put veal in,” he said. When the
owner decided to return to the
farm, the Lucas family again
opted for agriculture and moved
to their residence in Bemvilie.
Until recently, the farm hosted
four bams with 100 calves in
each room, however Lucas is ren
ovating two of the rooms into a
facility to recycle used oil filters.
He plans to collect and process
the filters to generate scrap steel
that will go to a foundry.
The bam now hosts 200 head
of calves, the average size of a
veal operation, according to
Lucas.
With 400 calves, “the rooms
were set up five weeks apart, so
there was about one room a
Kara, leaning against bags of milk for- Lucas grows out Holstein bulls from eight weeks to two
mula and with the mixer behind her, helps years of age on the farm’s 60 acres of pasture,
clean up after the calves’ feedings.
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month coming out,” he said.
Lucas raised each room of bull
calves for 18-20 weeks, until they
reached 475-500 pounds.
With the smaller number of
calves, Lucas can schedule the
calves’ arrival and departure
around such events as family
gatherings. “Having down time
in between will make raising veal
much more enjoyable,” he said.
Although he has downsized,
veal production is still important
to Lucas. “Even with getting rid
of half of my calves, I don’t see
myself getting out of it,” said
Lucas. “As an industry, veal has
been one of the more profitable
agriculture industries during the
last 20 years,” despite the market
variation.
pound).
A few cows provide milk for
the Lucas family. Lucas is joined
by his wife, Sharon, and children
Darin, 23; Kristen, 21; Bryant,
18; Derek, 15; Kara, 13; Kenton,
11; Austin, 9; and Natalie, 7.
“The children help quite a bit,”
he said. The Lucas children lend
a hand mixing the milk formula,
filling buckets, and dumping
buckets to help their father with
the veal operation.
The family’s diversified portfo
lio also includes selling and deliv
ering produce and fruit to about
20 customers per week, Sharon’s
it’s a very vola- project
“Veal has always been the
main livelihood”
on the farm,
“even though
tile market.”
Swings in the market include
the price for bob (baby) calves
(per 100 head Lucas has paid
$6,000-$24,000) and the price for
fed calves ($1.70-$2.45 per
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MIDDLETOWN (Dauphin
Co.) Nationally, the veal in
dustry contributes $250 million to
the dairy industry through the
purchases of bull calves and feed
ingredients.
As for Pennsylvania, the com
monwealth ranks second for veal
production in the country, led
only by Wisconsin.
As illustrated in the feature
about David Lucas, Pennsylvania
is home to many farm families
who raise approximately 200 bull
calves during an 18-20 week
growing cycle.
Veal producers purchase Hol
stein bull calves at auction mar
kets, and those bull calves origi
nate at local dairy farms. Bull
calves that receive colostrum
within 24 hours of birth will com
mand a higher price at auction
and remain healthier at the veal
farm.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 28, 2003-A2l
I The Veal And Dairy
Connection In Pennsylvania
During the
growing cycle,
veal producers
feed calves a
milk formula
diet twice a day. Primary ingredi
ents include skim milk and whey
protein, by-products of dairy pro
cessing.
Pennsylvania is home to sever
al veal feed manufacturing
plants.
At approximately 475-500
pounds, veal producers market
the bulls to processors. Pennsyl
vania is home to two veal proces
sors: P & N Packing in the north
ern tier and Marcho Farms in the
southeast.
Veal is an entree on many fine
dining restaurants, particularly
those restaurants featuring Ital
ian cuisine. Philadelphia is a pop
ular market for veal in restau
rants and also at grocery stores.
Most popular cuts include chops,
roasts, cutlets and ground veal.
For more information about
veal, contact the American Veal
Association, 1500 Fulling Mill
Road, Middletown PA 17057,
(717) 985-9125. Websites
www.vealfarm.com, www.vea
l.org, and www.vealstore.com
also have information.
FISHER^
THOMPSON
INCORPORATED