Vol. 48 No. 40
Farm Family Picks Up Pieces After Tornado Levels Property
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
GENESEE (Potter Co.) As
the twister bore down on the
farmhouse, Krystal and Justin
Smoker knew that the best plan
of action was to get down to the
shelter of the basement.
But Justin, 16, couldn’t muscle
the basement door open because
This upright silo, along with another poured concrete
silo, were toppled by the 200 mile-per-hour winds of a
tornado that whipped through the Kevin and Judy Smoker
farmstead July 21. The Smokers’ farmhouse and dairy
barn were also destroyed.
New York’s Premier Ag Event,
Empire Farm Days, Aug. 5-7
SENECA FALLS, N.Y. Suc
cess in agriculture means know
ing what works and what
doesn’t.
That’s why Empire Farm Days
(EFD) is at the center of the
Northeast agriculture success
story.
From Aug. 5-7, farmers, manu
facturers, and policy makers
meet, exchange ideas, and togeth
er plug into the excitement of ag
riculture in the Northeast. The
70th annual show is scheduled at
the Rodman Lott and Son Farm
in Seneca Falls, N.Y. The
300-plspliicre site will become
host for more than 600 exhibitors
and 75,000 farmers from all over
the U.S. and Canada.
EFD is a direct link to new
farm technologies, equipment,
ideas and the excitement of
Northeast agriculture. For busi
nesses, EFD means getting back
to basics. It’s a chance to show
off products and services to key
players in Northeast agriculture.
It means sales, but it’s much
more than that.
Businesses come away with a
clear picture of their market and
who they are selling to. That’s
the essence of getting back to the
basics of selling-knowing custom
ers and their market first hand.
At EFD, businesses arep’t just
selling to customers they are
part of the excitement of North
east agriculture in this new mar
ket they are helping to create.
With more than ( 6oo edubitor^ (
•j w . MIG T r 16 8O J
c . - 1 i vji/ 00< i
J tt i '
M h ‘ r l b y
r t r 1 f E > I LißApv APT W. 09
UNI . I 1 FY M f'f 180 Z
www.lancasterfarming.com
200 MPH Twister Winds Threaten Lives , Devastate Buildings
the force of the vacuum created
by the storm was too strong. As
he worked on it, his sister Kry
stal, 18, took refuge in a bathtub
on the first floor.
When the tornado had finished
ripping a path of destruction
through the property, Justin and
Krystal found themselves on the
basement floor after all, along
Empire Farm Days offers today’s
Northeast Farmer more than
3,000 brand names to look over.
Exhibitors showcase the latest de
velopments in technology and
equipment to northeast agricul
tural professionals, face-to-face.
Farmers can connect directly
with the manufacturers and rep
resentatives for the thousands of
agricultural products and serv
ices available to today’s farmer.
They can touch, see and examine
the actual products and equip
ment.
No matter what type of agri
culture you are involved in, EFD
has the connections to “plug you
into the future.”
Demonstrations, Seminars
And Presentations
Action is the name of the game
at Empire Farm Days. Exhibitors
pull out all the stops to show
Northeast farmers what’s new
and innovative. Many exhibitors
actually demonstrate their prod
ucts and services right on their
exhibitor lots and adjacent fields.
Tractor safety, skid steer
dances, band saws, fence build
ing, hay management, mixer
wagons, combining, building con
struction, antique tractors, vege
table and fruit specialty equip
ment, livestock handling, crop
and breed displays, dairy and
livestock equipment, are just a
(Turn to Pago A2B)
Four Sections
with the two family dogs.
The entire wood-frame farm
house had been flattened.
The two youth had some
scrapes, bruises, and scratches,
but no serious injuries. One of the
dogs was killed, but the other
survived.
“God was definitely there
watching out for my children,”
said their mother Judy Smoker,
who was at work when the torna
do hit around 4:30 in the after
noon of July 21.
At the halters of 4-H breed champions at the Lebanon Fair youth dairy show
Tuesday are, from left, Royell Bashore, Lineback; Joel Smith, Guernsey; David
Maulfair, Ayrshire; Chanelle Horst, Holstein (also supreme champion); Heath Spatz,
Jersey; and Nathan Heim (for Harrison Miller), Brown Swiss. See story page
A 34. Photo by Dave Lefever
Business Takes Root At Nursery Trade Show
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
FORT WASHINGTON
(Montgomery Co.) Where busi
ness takes root.
That was the theme of the an
nual Penn Allied Nursery Trade
Show, Tuesday-Thursday this
week at the Fort Washington
Expo Center in Fort Washington.
And it’s a lot of business,
amounting to about $3.1 billion
annually, noted Gregg Rob
ertson, president of show coordi
nator Pennsylvania Landscape
and Nursery Association, Harris
burg.
“It’s the place where business
gets done,” said Robertson, com
menting on the 12,000 people
from the green industry nurs-
Inside
The Farmer
✓ Lebanon Fair Goat
Sale page A 26.
✓ State FFA Activities
Week page C 2.
✓ Plans For Pennsylva
nia page A4O.
✓ Jackpot Show page
A4O.
Saturday, August 2, 2003
“It’s a miracle they were even
alive.”
Judy was aware a severe storm
was moving through the area, but
she didn’t know about the torna
do until after Krystal and Justin
had climbed out of the basement
and went to a neighbor’s place to
phone her.
“When she said our house was
gone, I couldn’t begin to fathom
what had happened,” Judy said.
And it wasn’t until the following
morning that she learned about
ery managers, landscape contrac
tors, and retail centers who
registered for the show.
Each year the show has been
growing. This year, 1,100 exhibi
tors managed 650 exhibits.
PLNA has about 700 members.
This trade show event comple
ments an educational show dur
ing the wintertime in Grantville.
The varied exhibits, from nurs-
Bobby Blew, sales manager at Centerton Nursery, Brid
geton, N.J., works the “bar display” called “Hemerocallis
Hangout” jiuring the Penn Allied Nursery Trade Show
Tuesday. There are daylilles in those water mugs.
Photo by Andy Andrews, odltor
$37.00 Per Year
the destruction of the banr^yl.
Her husband Kevin
had been out in the barn as the
twister approached. He took shel
ter in the milkhouse which
turned out to be the only part of
the original dairy bam that
wasn’t leveled.
It was another of “the many
miracles” surrounding the events
of that turbulent afternoon, said
ery supplies to landscape and
plant management materials, oc
cupy about 225,000 square feet of
floor space. (Bigger than the New
Arena at Farm Show, which is
about 175,000 square feet.)
The location makes the event a
regional trade show for the Mid-
Atlantic, Robertson noted.
$l.OO Per Copy
(Turn to Page A 23)
(Turn to Page A 27)