Lancaster Farming Appoints Lefever
Submitted by administrator on Fri, 08/11/2006 - 4:44pm.
LOU ANN GOOD, Food And Family Features Editor
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)- Lancaster Farming’s newly appointed editor, Dave Lefever, is a familiar face to the newspaper’s readership.
For the past five years, Lefever has been a staff writer for Lancaster Farming, responsible for general news reporting and for special sections such as Dairy Plus and Foraging Around.
Readers know Lefever as a balanced reporter who has a solid grasp on the complexities of agriculture issues and how they interact with the non-farming community.
His first-hand farming experience plays a vital role in Lefever’s understanding on a broad variety of farming enterprises.
He grew up on a 50-cow dairy operation in Lebanon County. He worked on a wheat harvest crew in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. While earning a degree in biology from Goshen College in 1986 and later a teaching certificate in biology from Millersville University in 1989, Lefever worked during the summers as a crop scout for an ag consulting company. Later, he managed a small organic vegetable and sheep farm in Maryland for four years until he and his wife Katrina Oberholtzer were able to purchase land where they raise a flock of Jacob sheep and pastured chickens.
Interspersed among all those farming endeavors, Lefever began writing, mostly to try to sort through things that didn’t make sense in the world. He was amazed at how writing things on paper help to clarify his thoughts and perspective. He dabbled in creative writing, but it wasn’t until he entered the journalism field, working as a correspondent for Hanover Evening Sun and York Sunday News, that he became serious about writing as a career.
“It was always satisfying to give order to events and ideas that weren’t making sense before,†Lefever said of the accomplishment print journalism affords. He received a Certificate of Completion from the National Center for Business Journalism at the American Press Institute, for completion of workshops in high intensity business coverage, covering the economy and markets, and investigative business journalism.
When Lancaster Farming hired him, Lefever found it “a great fit for me.â€
“Farmers were family friends and my community ever since I was born and that continues today,†Lefever said. To write about other people’s experiences as it related to farming and agriculture issues continues to intrigue him.
“Farming has changed a lot since I grew up on a farm,†he said. Lefever points out that farmers need to be much more active by doing their own marketing. In their choice to survive, they need to decide whether or not to stay with conventional farming and maximize efficiency or expand into niche marketing. Some are good at hands-on farming and some are good at marketing. Both are needed.
“Lancaster Farming is a paper for farmers &tstr; that’s who it’s all about,†Lefever said. As editor, he looks forward to making it an even better resource for farmers. He foresees the paper as continuing to focus on events such as Ag Progress Days, fairs, and the State Farm Show, but he’d also like to see it become a more in-depth source of news on the most relevant issues that effect agriculture. He believes it is important to present balanced perspectives.
The editorial staff at Lancaster Farming see Lefever as skilled in presenting balanced perspectives. He has proven to remain calm and steady under pressure and has the ability to see issues from different angles and is not easily influenced by media hype.
People may find it surprising that Lefever is also a songwriter and guitar player. He performs at venues around south-central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, mostly with country roots songs.
Lefever and his wife Katrina have a son Eli, about 1-1/2 years old, and live on a few acres in the Pigeon Hills west of York.
Lefever may be contacted at dlefever.eph@lnpnews.com
LOU ANN GOOD, Food And Family Features EditorEPHRATA (Lancaster Co.)- Lancaster Farming’s newly appointed editor, Dave Lefever, is a familiar face to the newspaper’s readership.
For the past five years, Lefever has been a staff writer for Lancaster Farming, responsible for general news reporting and for special sections such as Dairy Plus and Foraging Around.
Readers know Lefever as a balanced reporter who has a solid grasp on the complexities of agriculture issues and how they interact with the non-farming community.
His first-hand farming experience plays a vital role in Lefever’s understanding on a broad variety of farming enterprises.
He grew up on a 50-cow dairy operation in Lebanon County. He worked on a wheat harvest crew in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. While earning a degree in biology from Goshen College in 1986 and later a teaching certificate in biology from Millersville University in 1989, Lefever worked during the summers as a crop scout for an ag consulting company. Later, he managed a small organic vegetable and sheep farm in Maryland for four years until he and his wife Katrina Oberholtzer were able to purchase land where they raise a flock of Jacob sheep and pastured chickens.
Interspersed among all those farming endeavors, Lefever began writing, mostly to try to sort through things that didn’t make sense in the world. He was amazed at how writing things on paper help to clarify his thoughts and perspective. He dabbled in creative writing, but it wasn’t until he entered the journalism field, working as a correspondent for Hanover Evening Sun and York Sunday News, that he became serious about writing as a career.
“It was always satisfying to give order to events and ideas that weren’t making sense before,†Lefever said of the accomplishment print journalism affords. He received a Certificate of Completion from the National Center for Business Journalism at the American Press Institute, for completion of workshops in high intensity business coverage, covering the economy and markets, and investigative business journalism.
When Lancaster Farming hired him, Lefever found it “a great fit for me.â€
“Farmers were family friends and my community ever since I was born and that continues today,†Lefever said. To write about other people’s experiences as it related to farming and agriculture issues continues to intrigue him.
“Farming has changed a lot since I grew up on a farm,†he said. Lefever points out that farmers need to be much more active by doing their own marketing. In their choice to survive, they need to decide whether or not to stay with conventional farming and maximize efficiency or expand into niche marketing. Some are good at hands-on farming and some are good at marketing. Both are needed.
“Lancaster Farming is a paper for farmers &tstr; that’s who it’s all about,†Lefever said. As editor, he looks forward to making it an even better resource for farmers. He foresees the paper as continuing to focus on events such as Ag Progress Days, fairs, and the State Farm Show, but he’d also like to see it become a more in-depth source of news on the most relevant issues that effect agriculture. He believes it is important to present balanced perspectives.
The editorial staff at Lancaster Farming see Lefever as skilled in presenting balanced perspectives. He has proven to remain calm and steady under pressure and has the ability to see issues from different angles and is not easily influenced by media hype.
People may find it surprising that Lefever is also a songwriter and guitar player. He performs at venues around south-central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland, mostly with country roots songs.
Lefever and his wife Katrina have a son Eli, about 1-1/2 years old, and live on a few acres in the Pigeon Hills west of York.
Lefever may be contacted at dlefever.eph@lnpnews.com
