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Vol. 48 No. 51
Franklin Hog Farm Manager Takes Progressive Approach
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
MERCERSBURG (Franklin
Co.) In the 11 years Tom Sol
lenberger has been in the swine
AowHMtiy BmfOmr Wile lir
row-to-feeder operation on FrenkHnHog
oersburg. Photo by Dave Lmftvmr
Get To Know
Your Ag Reporter
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
When ag news is sometimes re
ported in the general daily media,
why does it seem to be only the
bad news?
How can agribusiness leaders
How about buying a pumpkin from those little salespersons? You may at Union Mill
Acres, Elisabethtown, where Daniel, 4; Hannah, 2; and Sarah, 6; help their parents Keith
and Melanie Martin plant, harvest, and sell more than 20 varieties of pumpkins, squash,
gourds, and ornamental com. Turn to page B 2 to read more about the Martins’ opera
tion, where family togetherness Is top priority.
tMu'Jinn foocf ond iWWliy'lbibirjeoiMor' '
www.lancaaterfarmlng.com
It’s Pork Month!
business, he’s seen some major,
changes.
Pig Utters from the 2,800 sows
SoUenberger manages on Frank
lin Hog Farm are weaned at 19
and producers spread the good
news about the importance of the
state ag economy?
Journalists who cover agricul
ture provided some answers dur
ing last jreek’s Agricultural Is-
CTum to Rag* A2B)
Five Sections
days of age, compared to the
28-day weaning cycle he saw on
the farms he worked for in the
early 19905.
That’s just one example of how
the hog industry has been
streamlined for top production
and efficiency in a relatively
short period of time.
Sollenberger was graduated
Penn State with a degree in ag
science in 1990. In 1992, he took
a job with Paramount Feeds,
Hagerstown, Md., working with
hog farms.
When Franklin Hog Farm was
established in Mercersbtirg in
1996, Sollenberger saw it as a
great opportunity to use his hog
management skills close to home.
The beef and crop farm where he
grew up is only two and a half
miles away from the farm.
Sollenberger was recently
named to the Pork Leadership
Academy, a program sponsored
by the Pork Checkoff to identify
and build leader*.tir the industry.
hogpro
duesrs from across the country in
the new pragratn. The Pennsyl
vania. producers Council
nmninafedhimror the honor.
The group attends four meet
ings a year that focus on different
issues facing die hog industry.
The flat meeting took place dur
ing die World Pork Expo in lowa
this past June.
“That was really neat, connect
ing with (hog producers) from
across the states,” Sollenberger
said. “There are a lot of different
styles and ways people do
things.”
At that first meeting, partici
panta leamed how to deal with
(Turn to Page A2B)
Saturday, October 18,2003
Here Is The 10-Year
Anniversary Issue Of Com Talk
What's happened to the Pennsylvania com indus
try In 10 years? What changes and challenges
have growers faced? And what will a new ethanol
plant bring to the state’s com economy? For 10
years Lancaster Farming has been publishing Com
Talk three times per year as a special section of the
Pennsylvania Com Growers Association. Now, we’ve
included the 10-year anniversary section in this
Issue, including comments from the “founders” of
Com Talk. Also included: a feature on a major mill in
south central Pennsylvania. This is a special collec
tor’s 10-year edition of Com Talk, a real keeperl
Most Of Pa. Experiences
Wettest Year Ever
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) If there was any doubt.
Hurricane Isabel washed it away
2003 will go down in history as
die wettest year on record for
most of Pennsylvania, according
Cattle Prices
Skyrocket
KINZERS (Lancaster Co.)
For cattle producers, these are
exciting times.
This week, Vintage Livestock
Auction reported cattle prices
soaring to record levels Mon
day, 40 head of High Choice and
Prune steers sold for $llO-124.50
per hundredweight. On Tuesday,
11 head sold as singles at
$l3O-132.50 with 50 head over
the $l2O mark.
Top price at New Holland
Thursday was 130.00. For more
details, see the weekly summary.
on page A 2.
$37.00 Per Year
$l.OO Per Copy
to a precipitation expert in Penn
State’s College of Agricultural
Sciences.
“It started raining last October
and it really hasn’t stopped,” said
Bryan Swistock, a water re
sources specialist with Penn State
Cooperative Extension. “We got
into a weather pattern where
storms moving from the south up
(Turn to Page A 29)
Inside
The Farmer
✓ KILE Swine Re
sults page A 36.
✓ Tune-Up Clinic
page ASS.
✓ Manheim Fair
Sale page A 22.
✓ Rodale Research
Results page A 32