by Steve Wagner
When Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Carl Shaffer stepped to the podium for his annual press conference at the PFB annual meeting, he did not look like the proverbial happy camper. “One of the hottest items is our state funding of transportation,” he said. “I can’t tell you how disappointed we are with our legislators today. There’s no excuse for this. They’re sent there to do a job and one of them is to provide services for the public. We have 5,600 bridges in the state of Pennsylvania that are in need of repair. Of those, 250 are closed completely. Continue reading
Classifying the registered Holstein
by Lorraine Strenkowski
Jeffrey Cone, owner of River Plain Dairy in Lebanon, CT has his registered Holsteins evaluated annually. He met with classifier Mike Nolan, a former dairy farmer from New York state, for an early morning appointment. Cone provides registration papers for his herd and he and Nolan stay ahead of the milker as they move through the 45 cow dairy barn.
“This is important to me,” Cone states. “I’m proud of my herd and their milk production.” Continue reading
Pless family maintains a long tradition of farming
by Karl H. Kazaks
ROCKWELL, NC — The Plesses have been farming in what is today north central Cabarrus County for a long, long time — since 1760. That’s when their ancestor Christopher Pless received a land grant from King George IV. The land his descendents farm today — part of the original grant as well as adjoining land Christopher subsequently purchased — has been continuously owned by the Pless family. Continue reading
Custom innovation
by Tamara Scully
The production area at Homestead Heritage farm is dominated by an odd-looking contraption, one which happens to be on the cutting edge of value-added products. Visitors may hear a whistle, which forewarns of the oncoming, loud “bang,” signaling completion of the process, and the availability of a new value-added product. Continue reading
