A3B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 15, 2003
State Extension Agents Receive National Awards
GREEN BAY, Wis. Four
Pennsylvania cooperative exten
sion agents have been honored by
the National Association of
County Agricultural Agents
(NACAA).
Receiving the Achievement
Award (AA) were Linda Spahr,
York County extension agent for
4-H dairy and livestock, and
Dwane Miller, Schuylkill County
extension agent for agriculture.
Receiving the Distinguished
Service Award (DSA) were Dan
McFarland, senior extension
agent and agricultural engineer
in the capital region, and Nor
man Conrad, senior extension
agent in Union County.
The four extension agents were
honored at the NACAA Annual
Meeting and Professional Im
provement Conference which
took place recently in Green Bay.
The Achievement Award (AA)
is presented to the top one per
cent of agents in each state who
have less than ten years of service
in Extension. The selection is
made by the agents’ peers in each
state. This year 53 agents won
the award at the national level.
Spahr conducts educational
programs for 4-H dairy and live
stock members in her county and
region. She also is responsible for
agricultural literacy pro
gramming in schools. She con
ducts a summer day camp that
has been chosen by parents as a
top educational program for chil
dren.
4-H’ers Donate To Wayne County Livestock Scholarships
HONESDALE (Wayne Co.) -
In the spirit of “one for all, and
all for one,” 4-H members re
ceived scholarships and donated
back to the Wayne County Jun
ior Livestock Scholarship Fund
at the Wayne County Fair
grounds, Saturday, Aug. 9.
Prior to the 10 a.m. sale start,
15 senior 4-H members each re
ceived $5OO scholarships based
on past completion of livestock
projects.
Students who qualified for
scholarships included: Richard
Donovan, Jocelyn Grossman,
Nick Keating, Emily Lantzsch,
Andrew Lopatofsky, Ashley Lip
tak, Thomas Nebzydoski, Jeremy
O’Neill, Michael Palmer, Jennie
Reed, Christopher Rickard,
Charity Rybak, Megan Schweig
hofer, Thomas Wamock, and
Matthew Weist.
To date, 43 Wayne County
Junior Livestock Scholarships
have been awarded since 1998.
The scholarships were presented
by Dr. Henry Nebzydoski who re
ferred to the recipients as “Amer
ica’s most important resource.”
At the start of the livestock
sale, which grossed a record
Grand champion market
hog at the Wayne Co.
Show, exhibited by Grace
Nebzydoski, was purchased
by Roger Diriam of Dirlam
Brothers Lumber Company.
Linda Spahr
Miller is responsible for agron
omy, livestock, dairy, and 4-H
livestock programming in
Schuylkill County. His programs
in water quality and conservation
have taught people about
groundwater flow, helped people
understand safe drinking water
and how to interpret their test re
sults, and taught private septic
system owners about mainte
nance and system failurs. He also
taught non-point source pollution
principals to school youth.
In addition to their national
recognition, the AA winners will
receive a Nittany Lion statue and
an award from the PA Rural
Electric Association.
The DSA is presented to the
Wayne Co. recipients of the 2003 Dr. David Nebzydoski Memorial Junior Livestock
Sale Scholarships: bottom, from left: Nick Keating, Andrew Lopatofsky, Michael Palmer,
Matthew Weist, Thomas Nebzydoski, Jeremy O’Neill. Standing, from left: Jennie Reed,
Thomas Warnock, Christopher Rickard, Richard Donovan, Megan Schweighofer, Charity
Rybak, Emily Lantzsch, Ashley Liptak, Jocelyn Grossman.
$212,422, Grand Champion Mar
ket Hog exhibitor Grace Nebzy
doski announced that she was
donating the entire proceeds
from the sale of her 246 pound
crossbred market hog to the
Wayne County Junior Livestock
Scholarship Fund, renamed this
year for her cousin Dr. David
Nebzydoski, who was a former
4-H livestock program partici
pant and, later, a supporter of the
program.
The sale then took off at a
brisk pace with Roger Dirlam,
representing Dirlam Brothers
Lumber Company of Honesdale,
successfully bidding .the Grand
Champion hog to another record
amount of $16.25 per pound.
In addition to Grace, who is
the 11-year-old daughter of Dr.
Andrew Nebzydoski and Dr. Pat
ricia Morgan, and a member of
the Pleasant Mount Go-Getters
4-H Club, other 4-H members
gave the entire amount bid for
Dwane Miller
top two percent of agents in each
state who have more than ten
years of service in Extension. The
selection is made by the agents’
peers in each state. This year 81
agents won the award at the na
tional level.
McFarland serves as an ag en
gineer for six counties in the Cap
ital Region, and he is based in
York County. His major program
focus has included improving
productivity and profitability in
new and existing dairy and live
stock shelters. His efforts include
designs to improve resting area
comfort, ventilation, feed and
water areas, and heat stress
abatement. Over 85% of produc
ers visited in the last five years
one of their animals directly to
the Livestock Scholarship Fund.
Amanda Eroh and Matthew
Hauenstein, both of Creamton
Area 4-H Club, also sold hogs for
the Scholarship. Amanda is the
daughter of Deborah and Don
Eroh. Matthew is the son of Beth
and Leonard Hauenstein.
The 250 pound Reserve Grand
Champion Hampshire crossbred
market hog, raised by Ryan
Diehl of Tri-Gal 4-H was sold to
the Wayne Bank for $5.50 per
pound. Ryan is the son of Louis
and Jule Diehl.
Jessica Miller, daughter of Jim
and Rosemary Miller and a mem
ber of the Pleasant Mount Go-
Getters, raised the 124 pound
Grand Champion Market Lamb.
Dr. Henry Nebzydoski, Wayne
County veterinarian, successfully
bid this Suffolk crossbred animal
to $11.50 per pound.
The Reserve Grand Champion
118 pound Suffolk crossbred
Dan McFarland
have adopted facility improve
ments suggested by him. His edu
cational programs have reached
over 9,000 people with nearly 100
presentations in nine states and
Canada. He also has been pub
lished in national dairy maga
zines.
Conrad is responsible for con
ducting educational programs in
agronomic production, water
quality. Integrated Pest Manage
ment, and farm safety. He coor
dinated one of the nation’s first
mandatory manure law imple
mentations, developing educa
tional materials and teaching
agency staff and farmers who de
veloped over 800 plans in two
years.
Market Lamb was raised by Mi
chael Sheruda, son of Beverly
and Michael Sheruda and a
member of the Pleasant Mount
Go-Getters 4-H Club. John Mar
shall of Marshall Machinery
bought this animal for $7 per
pound.
Rebecca Scull’s 1,265 Grand
Champion Angus crossbred Mar
ket Steer was purchased by Elwin
and Shirley Ostrander for $3.35
per pound. Rebecca is the daugh
ter of Ronald and Tammy Scull
and a member of the Lamella
4-H Club.
Pleasant Mount Go-Getter
Emily Lantzsch raised the 1,225
pound Reserve Grand Champion
Steer. This Angus crossbred steer
was successfully bid to $2.05 per
pound by David Gelatt of Preci
sion Homes.
Support for 4-H livestock pro
gram participants remained
strong throughout the sale. 218
hogs, 132 lambs and 38 steers
Norman Conrad
Conrad has also worked with
local groups to lower county
property taxes an average of $B5
per farm based on the “non-con
tributory” value of old bams. He
also worked with a group of high
school students to produce a
video titled “Better Barnyard
Management”, which won two
national awards and was viewed
by 4,000 people the year of its re
lease.
In addition to the national
awards, the DSA winners will re
ceive a Nittany Lion statue or
other Penn State item, an award
from the PA Rural Electric Asso
ciation, and a House Of Repre
sentatives Citation.
were sold by volunteer auction
eers Wayne Weaver, Dick Sands,
Barry Sands, Bob Earl, Tom
Randt, Dan Naylor, John Regan,
Archie Dutton, and Matt Man
asse.
Volume buyers in dollar
amount poured into the sale in
cluded Dirlam Brothers Lumber,
Waymart Milling, Rusty Palmer,
Inc., Darling Meats, and Elwin
and Shirley Ostrander. Volume
buyers in terms of number of ani
mals purchased were Rusty
Palmer, Marshall Machinery,
Mike’s Heavy Equipment and
Trailer Sales, Inc., and Top
Notch Distributors. Kent Brown
of Highlights for Children suc
cessfully bid 48 animals himself,
which were purchased in the
names of local businesses.
Additionally, many buyers re
turned 61 animals for resale to
benefit the Dr. David J. Nebzy
doski Memorial Junior Livestock
Sale Scholarship, the Diane Cur
tis Medical Fund, the Wayne
County Agricultural Society,
Laurella 4-H Club, and the Dawn
Daniels Kidney Fund.
Reserve grand champion
market lamb at the Wayne
Co. Show, exhibited by Mi
chael Sheruda, right, was
purchased by John and
Marjorie Marshall of Mar
shall Machinery.