High school students invited |
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- High school aged students in Pennsylvania with an interest in the dairy business are invited to participate in a day-long tour of three Franklin County dairy farm operations on Friday, April 12. The tour is being coordinated by the Center for Dairy Excellence and supported by the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania as part of its Dairy Leaders of Tomorrow program.
“Our goal is to expose dairy-focused high school students to three successful, yet different, dairy farm production methods, so they gain a better understanding of key standard operating procedures required to succeed in today’s dairy business and, more broadly, the uniqueness of Pennsylvania’s dairy farms,” said Emily Yeiser, dairy initiatives manager with the Center.
The three farms are all high milk production herds in Franklin County and include:
• Mercer Vu Farms, owned by Rick and Rod Hissong, a large innovative dairy operation with 1750 cows near Mercersburg.
• Railside Farm near Shippensburg, owned by the Randall Martin family, is a 275-cow operation with four robotic milkers.
• The Flannery Family, who farm near Mercersburg, has a 130-cow herd in a tie-stall barn with tunnel ventilation.
The tour is limited to 35 students, with five chaperones. There will be two to three pick up locations, dependent upon where students are from. They’ll then meet a charter bus at a central location. The tour will run from 7 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m. Further details on the locations will be provided once all applications have been received. Students must be able to access transportation to and from pick-up locations.
Those interested must complete a brief application and include a one-page document on why they are interested in the dairy industry. The application must also be signed by their agriculture teacher or an educational advisor and a parent. Absentee excuse forms should also be submitted with the application, so they can be signed to ensure that the tour counts as an educational field trip.
Applications can be downloaded from www.centerfordairyexcellence.org under “Upcoming Events” or in the Student and Educator section. Call 717-346-0849 to request one. The deadline to apply is April 1, 2013.
Selections of tour participants will be on a first-come, first-serve basis with some consideration given to the level of dairy interest. All applications are due to the Center by April 1. For more information, call the center at 717-346-0849.