Holstein Field Night Attracts Record Crowd

Sue Bowman
Southeastern Pa. Correspondent

It looked like rush hour on Route 241 in rural South Annville Township as hundreds of dairy farmers made their way to Reid and Diane Hoover’s Brook-Corner Holsteins farm for the annual Lebanon County Holstein Club’s field night recently. With an attendance of more than 700 at last year’s event, the Hoovers knew what they were letting themselves in for when they volunteered their farm; however, no one expected the record crowd brought out on a perfect mid-summer evening.

When asked early on how one prepares for entertaining a crowd of several hundred, Diane Hoover’s answer was, “Call a caterer and clean, clean, clean!” That caterer, Country Home Catering of Lititz, Pa., ended up serving more than 900 meals; some drew parallels to the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Swiss Premium Dairy, which had donated 1,150 drinks, had to go back to their home base in North Cornwall Township for an additional supply of thirst quenchers. The large crowd also resulted in an extension on the time allowed for those present to complete their dairy judging in the barn.

At a time when National Holstein Association representative Sandy McCauley reported a 6.5-percent decrease in registrations, a 5.5-percent decline in transfers and a 12-percent drop in classifications over the past twelve months, this enthusiastic crowd was nearly 30 percent larger than last year.

Prior to giving his invocation, Rev. Dave Musser likened the current dairy crisis to a forest fire destroying the trees, but leaving behind nutrient-rich ash, which ultimately gets washed into the soil and brings about lush green sprouts that grow rapidly because there’s no competition for the sunlight. He prayed that the current adversity might “bring about a renewed commitment to relationships with friends, spouses, children and our Lord.”

A surprise guest at the event was Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff. Wolff said the dairy industry is “a lot different now” and mentioned that he’s “never seen prices so low for so sustained a period.” In light of these challenging times, Wolff pointed to the need for both short term and long term solutions. He noted that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack is setting up a task force to look at longer-term options. For the short term, Wolff cited efforts to raise MILC payments to 80 percent for a few months to aid dairy farmers’ cash flow.

Wolff pointed out that, if there’s an upside to the current situation, it’s that he’s never before seen the dairy industry so involved in the important discussions that are underway. He contrasted this to the relatively little input dairy farmers contributed on the 2007 Farm Bill. Wolff summarized that policy changes are needed to assure down cycles like the current one don’t happen again. His sentiments were echoed by South Annville dairyman Gerald Hoffer, who later wondered aloud, “How would you like to get up every morning and know that you’re losing $1,000 to $1,500 per cow for the year?”

The evening’s featured speaker was Jason Myers, a renowned Maryland Holstein breeder with a national and international reputation. Myers encouraged those present to be proactive and contact their political representatives to “tell them how it is on the farm.” He said legislators need to hear about more than just the mere statistics. Myers then discussed his philosophies on breeding quality cattle.

“It’s amazing what one bull can do for you,” said Myers. “Learn from what you’ve done in the past — both what worked and what didn’t.”

The evening’s dairy judging competition brought out a record number of participants in four categories. Myers rated the three classes made up of heifers, two year olds and three year olds, explaining his rationale as Brook-Corner’s herdsman, Brad Hoover, described each Holstein’s breeding. The dairy judging winners were as follows, with points shown out of a maximum 150.  Men: A three-way tie between Glenn Hershey, Nelson Troutman and Paul Horning, each with scores of 148.

Women: Dawn Good, first place (144); tie between Stacy Anderson and Daphne Long for second place (139 each).

Juniors ages 12 and under: Tie between Brandon Mellinger and Clayton Himmelberger for first place (142 each); Monica Arnold, third place (138).

Youth: Nathan Brandt, first place (143); Dwight Martin, second place (140); Josh Kline, third place (139).