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LeaderFarm Credit

Financing Rural America for More Than 90 Years

Embracing Change

CHANGING YOUR OPERATION

EASE THE STRESS OF CHANGE

STOCKHOLDER MEETING OVERVIEW

ELECTION RESULTS

PAGE 19

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farm | land

4 Schmidt Farms Profits from Changes

6 Crumland Farms is Reinvented after more than 60 Years of Dairy Farming

8 One Change-up that has Turned into a Home Run: From Baseball to Birds

10 ‘Change’ is in Gary Bushong’s Vocabulary

home | garden

12 Easing the Stress of Change

14 The Inflexible Gardener

15 Your Loan Information— A Click Away!

your association

16 2009 Scholarship Winners

18 Annual Stockholder Meeting Wrap-up

19 2009 Election Results

20 Enter our Photo Contest

20 Out and About

20 Book Contest Winners

community

21 Properties for Sale

Leadervolume 14 | issue 2

MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACAJ. Robert Frazee, CEO

MidAtlantic Farm Credit Board of DirectorsFred R. Moore, Jr. Chairman

Gary L. Grossnickle Vice Chairman

Paul D. BaumgardnerKenneth R. BiedermanDeborah A. BennerGary W. BushongDale R. HersheyWalter C. HopkinsT. Jeffery JenningsHarry M. KableM. Wayne LambertsonJim A. LongKenneth S. MeckDale J. OckelsJennifer L. RhodesDudley H. Rinker Ralph L. Robertson, Jr.Paul J. RockLingan T. SpicerRobert N. Stabler Christopher R. StilesRodger L. WagnerFred N. West

The Leader is published quarterly for stockholders, friends and business associates.The Farm Credit Administration does not require the association to distribute its quarterly financial reports to shareholders. However, copies of its complete report are available upon request or see quarterly updates online at mafc.com. The share-holders’ investment in the association is materially affected by the financial condition and results of operations of AgFirst Farm Credit Bank and copies of its quarterly financial report are available upon request by writing: Jay Wise, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank P.O. Box 1499, Columbia, SC 29202-1499Address changes, questions or requests for the association’s quarterly financial report should be directed to: MidAtlantic Farm Credit, ACA by calling 800.333.7950 or writing: MidAtlantic Farm Credit P.O. Box 770, Westminster, MD 21158-0770

Questions or Ideas If you have any questions or ideas for the editorial staff of the Leader, contact Donna Dawson at 800.333.7950, e-mail her at ddawson@mafc.com or write her at MidAtlantic Farm Credit, 680 Robert Fulton Highway, Quarryville, PA 17566. This publication is for you, our reader. We’d love to hear from you!

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message from the president

Speaking of timing, I had a great time seeing so many of you at our annual stockholder meetings. If you couldn’t join us, you can see a complete wrap-up on pages 18-19. As you know, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the past 12 months—from the collapse of the financial markets in September to wildly volatile commod-ity prices, to our own exciting merger with Valley Farm Credit in December. I spoke about all of these events at the meeting; if you’d like to hear my presen-tation, you can check it out at mafc.com, or search for MidAtlantic Farm Credit on facebook.com (I’ve posted the full text of my presentation there, and you can see updates from each of the meetings).

To be honest, a lot of this technol-ogy is still new to me, but I’ve learned to be excited about the future, and all the changes that it brings. After all, change is the one thing in life that’s constant—it’s in our best interest to embrace it!

Bob FrazeePresident, MidAtlantic Farm Credit

But I know that well-planned, strategic changes can make a good business even better.

In this issue, you’ll find plenty of inspirational stories about local farmers who have bravely made major changes to their operations. On page 4, you can read about Schmidt Farms on the Eastern Shore. In the last 20 years, they’ve tran-sitioned from hogs and beef cattle, to grain production, then to hay and value-added crops. They haven’t just accepted changes in their marketplace—they’ve embraced them!

You’ll also read about two ex-dairy farmers—one farm sold their cows in 2000 and opened a now-thriving agri-tourism venture; one sold in 2007 and is enjoying a slower pace while raising feeder steers and corn, barley, soybeans and hay.

Finally, on page 8, you can read about Gene Garber and his son Mike, who oper-ates a successful emu farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I remember Gene from his days on the baseball field, and it’s interesting to see the many changes that he’s seen in his career. I’m sure his son will continue the family tradition of embracing the well-timed “change up.”

JUN event place 14 Greystone Farm Horse Show Brookeville MD

16-20 Kempton Country Fair Kempton PA

JUL event place 1 Deadline: Fall crop premiums due

3 Independence Day observed MAFC offices closed

15 Deadline: Acreage Report

20-25 Kimberton Community Fair Kimberton PA

21-25 Plainfield Farmers Fair Stockerton PA

25- Lebanon Aug 1 Area Fair Lebanon PA

25-31 Carroll County Fair Westminster MD

26- Schuylkill Aug 1 County Fair Summit Station PA

27- Goshen Aug 1 Country Fair West Chester PA

28-30 PANTS Oaks PA

31 Deadline: End of insurance period for small grains

AUG event place 3-8 Reading Fair Reading PA

8-15 Howard County Fair West Friendship MD

7-9 Dauphin 4-H Fair Harrisburg PA

26 Delmarva Poultry Conference Ocean City MD

For a complete list of fairs and events, visit our website at mafc.com.

I’m not always comfortable with change.

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SCHMIDT FARMS PROFITS FROM CHANGESstory and photo 1 by GARY HORNBACHER, photos 2-4 courtesy of the SCHMIDT FAMILY

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1 Alan (left), Hans and Jennie

Schmidt, of Schmidt Farms Inc., have 20 acres of vineyard on their Queen Anne’s County farm, making it the largest com-mercial vineyard on the Eastern Shore. Both couples recently launched an LLC to provide management and custom vineyard services such as planting, spraying, pruning and harvest-ing to commercial grape growers on Maryland’s upper Eastern Shore.

2/3 The Schmidt’s

1,800-acre farm family operation is very diversified, including corn, beans, wheat, barley, hay, string beans, soy beans and, since 2003, wine grapes. Walter (shown below with Hans) is retired but remains very involved in the grain operation. Everybody, says Jennie, who functions as vineyard manager, has their own specialized role.

4 Three generations

of the Schmidt family include (back row) Walter and Nancy, Alan (far left) and his wife Brenda, and (far right) Hans and Jennie, and, in front of each couple, their children, Jacob and Tyler, and Katrina and Zachary.

In an industry where, it seems, change is the one constant, the Schmidt family in Maryland’s Queen Anne’s County is recognized statewide for its success in responding to—and, yes, anticipating and manag-ing—changes impacting the agricultural landscape and their livelihood.

So much so that last year the third-generation farm-ing family was one of only two Maryland farm families inducted into the Governor’s Agricultural Hall of Fame.

It’s a well deserved honor, says Sharon Redding, a MidAtlantic Farm Credit loan officer working out the Chestertown office, citing the family’s longstanding innovative, progressive approach to agriculture and keenly honed planning and business skills that have kept the large family farming operation on the cutting edge of change.

“It’s exciting to be working with them,” says Sharon. “Especially when it’s a new venture for us too.”

That new venture Sharon is referring to is Schmidt Vineyard Management LLC, started earlier this year to offer management expertise and custom vineyard work such as planting, harvesting, spraying, pruning and hedging.

By way of background, the LLC is part of Schmidt Farms, an 1,800-acre family farming operation, located near Sudlersville on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, which is owned and operated by Hans and Alan Schmidt. The two brothers, together with their wives, Jennie and Brenda, respectively, are also principals in the LLC.

“We purchased the farm from our Dad, Walter Schmidt, about 10 years ago,” says Hans. “He’s retired now but still very active in our farm grain operation.”

value-added approachThe new LLC is a natural extension of the Schmidt family’s proactive approach to farming, as exempli-fied by their now six-year-old venture into growing wine grapes.

It’s all part of a carefully thought out Schmidt Farms focus aimed at maximizing the profitability of existing acreage through agricultural diversification and value-added crops. Current crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, string beans, tomatoes, hay and, since 2003, wine grapes.

That’s a far cry from the hogs and beef cattle the family raised until the 1990s, when they shifted to grain production, purchased an adjoining farm, added irriga-tion and began transitioning to their present farming emphasis by doing contract vegetable growing.

“We’re always looking ahead and we could see the handwriting on the wall,” says Hans, referring to the developing environmental movement and profitability issues in the livestock market. “So we decided to get out and move toward hay and vegetables.”

Their goal, adds Alan, was building a farm opera-tion big enough to support two families.

Their strategy: avoid getting into bidding wars over additional acreage needed to expand

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“In our family,” adds Alan, “we all bring ideas to the table and discuss them. If everybody doesn’t buy into it, it is not likely to be successful.”

In 2003, buoyed by the number of new wineries being started in Maryland and a demand for Maryland grown grapes that is increasingly outpacing what Maryland vineyards produce, the family converted three acres into a pilot parcel for grapevines.

Six years and a lot of hard-won lessons later, the family now has about 14,000 vines planted on 20 acres, making it the larg-est commercial vineyard on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and one of the largest in Maryland.

changing agricultural landscapeAgainst the backdrop of their beautiful, well maintained vineyards and discussions on how to not only grow their grapes but also their business, the Schmidts assess their future and see opportunity.

“Even though we have only been doing this since 2003,” says Jennie, “we have the background knowledge in agriculture, specifi-cally a lot of knowledge about spraying and managing disease; equipment; skill sets gained in our own vineyard; and we have the labor—a well trained crew of four who work for us year-round.”

All of which, not so incidentally, are often in short supply in the still developing commercial vineyard industry where many vineyard owners do not have an agricultural background or lack time to meet labor-intensive demands of growing grapes.

“After visiting a number of vineyards,” says Jennie, “we real-ized there are folks out there who have a need for somebody to help with certain aspects of vineyard management and do task-specific jobs that will help them keep their vineyard under control and ensure good fruit quality.”

Call it a win-win situation for all. For Schmidt Vineyard Management LLC, which targets growers in Maryland’s Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, Hans says the expansion not only creates a new profit center but it also enhances the family’s own vineyard operations, enabling them to retain highly trained employees and to leverage purchases of expensive, specialty equipment through Farm Credit.

“We already have the trucks to transport grapes to the winer-ies,” says Alan, “a tractor for vineyard spraying and we are in the process of getting a hedger-deleafer that will make the tasks of hedging and leaf removal more efficient. Hedging takes about 25 man-hours per acre when done by hand whereas an acre can be done mechanically in an hour and a half.”

Hans attributes the Schmidt family’s success in finding the beneficial side of change and profiting from it to always looking ahead and staying well informed. n

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alternative ways to return higher profits on existing acreage.

Give them high marks for their success.

“Today,” says Hans, “when you look at our different crops, for the most part we are looking at

value-added premiums. We are growing identity-preserved grains

like soybeans, wheat and popcorn for the Chesapeake Fields Farmers Cooperative;

beans and barley for seed companies; hay for a race-horse focused market; green beans and tomatoes that are value-added; and we got into grapes because we saw a new market there.”

wine grapes open new doorsMoving into wine grapes has proven a great fit for the family farming operation but it also

brought some unique challenges.

“It’s not like any other agriculture we have done,” says Jennie, who is vineyard manager for the family’s Golden Run Vineyard, a name,

incidentally, which draws from the 1920s when the original farm was a dairy and creamery.

Those challenges included entering a highly labor intensive agricultural venture, getting through those first couple of years when plants are in their infancy, and, adds Jennie, “doing it all the 4-H way—learning by doing.”

“We started looking into viticulture in the late 90s,” says Jennie, who is currently serving her second term as president of the Maryland Grape Growers Association. “We saw there was a market for grapes but it took several years to determine whether it would be feasible, whether it would pay for itself, and whether we could do it.”

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THE SECOND ACT: CRUMLAND FARMS IS REINVENTED AFTER MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF DAIRY FARMINGstory and photos by SUSAN WALKER

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1 In addition to the two llamas sharing

their affection with Judy Crum, the farm is also home to several llama offspring, two shaggy Highland cattle, a very vocal turkey and several other types of fowl and high-wire-walking goats. “Most people don’t think of llamas as very friendly creatures, but ours come running to greet you and, of course, hoping to get a treat,” says Judy.

2 Denny (left) and Judy Crum have

worked with John Stump (right), their MidAtlantic Farm Credit Loan Manager for more than a decade. They consulted with John about the financial aspects of making the switch from dairying to agri-tainment as part of their decision-making process. “It’s important to ensure that your debt is at a level that can be serviced by any new enterprise to get your new business off on a sound financial foot-ing,” John notes.

3 Crumland Farms’ extensive play

area offers children and their parents a chance to use old farm equipment in a fun and unique way. Most of the play structures are built of recycled farm equipment and other items that would have been thrown away. The thresher in the center of this creation was donated by a local farm equipment dealer.

4 Most of the build-ings at Denny and

Judy Crum’s farm are adorned with brightly colored murals painted by a young family friend, Emily Chesly. In addition to this pumpkin and gourd-themed mural, there is a silo painted to look like an ear of corn, and a portrait of the farm’s mascot, Maizy the cow.

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The novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Clearly, Fitzgerald never met Denny and Judy Crum, owners of Crumland Farms in Frederick, Maryland.

The family history of their farm dates back to 1940, when Denny’s parents purchased the farm in what was then the rural community of Frederick in west-central Maryland near the foothills of the Catoctin Mountains. On 110 acres, John and Lib Crum started out milking 16 cows by hand each day, introducing milking machines after Denny’s birth five years later. As their operation grew, they eventually joined, with other local farmers, to form Capital Milk Producers Coop, which eventually grew to 150 producers who owned the High’s Dairy Stores selling their own milk. It was sold to Southland Corporation in the 1980s.

Denny and Judy, who was born and raised in Iowa, met at Iowa State University and though he had not planned to return to his family’s farm, when the oppor-tunity arose that’s precisely what Denny did in 1968. “We graduated, got married and then started working on the farm about four days later,” remembers Judy.

Over the years, the farm grew to 800 acres and a herd of more than 600 dairy cows. In 2000, however,

there were decisions to be made. Frederick was no longer primarily rural farming country, but an increas-ingly population-dense suburb of Washington, DC with a new upscale continuing care retirement community being built next to the farm. The Crums’ three sons did not share their parents’ passion for dairying and the facilities and equipment used in the farm’s operation were 30 years old.

“We needed to upgrade or get out of the dairy busi-ness,” Judy explains. “It was a difficult decision, but we sold the cows in June 2000. It felt strange to be here and not farm. We were at loose ends in the beginning, used to being on call 24 hours a day to care for the cows. We started to think about what our next move should be, doing a lot of reading and research to see what other people who had made this transition had done.”

One part of the plan was to continue farming, rais-ing corn, soybeans and wheat. Their main cash crops are hay for livestock feed and straw, which they sell to construction companies around the state. They had also read about “agri-tainment” farms while doing their research and the idea piqued their interest since their farm is located on a major highway with about 30,000 cars passing by daily.

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from cows to corn mazes“Dairy farming is capital intensive and at this point, exiting out of the dairy business made good business sense for the Crums,” explains John Stump, the MidAtlantic Farm Credit commercial loan manager who has worked with the Crums since 1994. “Making a switch to agri-tainment was one way they could continue to produce income with their farm and diversify their business.”

Once the dairy animals were gone, 33-year-old son Chris showed an interest in returning to the farm, especially in the agri-tainment end of it. He left his career in TV production at a Washington DC station to work with his parents and he and his family now live nearby. Chris, along with Denny and Judy, found the North American Direct Farm Marketing Association to be a great source of information and creative ideas as they considered the transition and it’s a resource they continue to rely on eight years into their new business. In addition to the research they did to learn more about the business potential of the options they were considering, they also consulted with their accountant to determine what financial issues they would encounter switching from dairy farming to agri-tainment.

Today, Crumland Farms is a popular destination for fami-lies and school groups and it’s much more than a corn maze. The Crums have built a large, farm-themed picnic and play area with a “moo-choo train” made of old soap barrels, a grain elevator converted into a slide, a corn cannon, a variety of farm animals and some very friendly llamas. The farm employs two full-time employees and adds about 12 high school students to the employee roster during corn maze season.

Their latest addition is a pizza garden, where they showcase all the vegetables, grains and the calf that are needed to make the ingredients of kids’ favorite Italian food. The garden expands their working season, providing school groups with an interactive educa-tional exhibit they can visit before the pumpkins ripen and the corn maze is designed and sculpted.

“It’s very interesting and fun to educate people about farming and

where their food comes from,” says Judy, who puts her back-ground in both farming and education to work sharing informa-tion with school groups and other visitors. “It’s also a chance to give the public an appreciation of farming and teach them about the costs and issues that surround it. I tell the kids that each tractor tire costs upwards of $600, for example, and imag-ine how much it would cost to replace all four tires. I can tell by the look on many of the parents’ faces that they never realized how expensive running a farm can be.”

“life after cows”Although it felt a bit strange at first to have hundreds of people on their farm each weekend, the Crums have found a lot to love about Crumland Farms’ second act.

“There is life after cows!” says Judy with a laugh. “We like that there is an end to the work day, unlike the 24/7 life of a dairy farmer. And we have learned to travel, something we never did before.”

Denny and Judy joined a nationwide farm group that travels the U.S. and the world visiting not only the usual tourist spots, but also local farms where they have the chance to see the differences between farming operations around the globe. Their first trip took them to Switzerland just three weeks after they sold their herd. They’ve also been to Oregon, Washington state, New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Costa Rica, and Scandinavia.

While the agri-tainment operation provides a good source of additional income for the Crums, that’s not the only thing that makes the work worthwhile. “It keeps us involved with farm-

ing and it’s fun,” says Judy. “That’s what makes it worthwhile. It’s nice to see the people who come back year after year

because they’ve enjoyed their experiences on our farm and it’s become part of their

family traditions.”

For information about the events

at Crumland Farms visit

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ONE CHANGE-UP THAT HAS TURNED INTO A HOME RUN: FROM BASEBALL TO BIRDSstory and photos by MICHELLE KUNJAPPU

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1 Mike and Erica Garber stand

with a few of the farm’s emus. Erica is holding a week old chick while juveniles look on curiously in the background. An emu will grow to full size within two years, weigh as much as 150 pounds and stand five to six feet tall.

2 Emus breed and lay eggs during

the winter season. The eggs, which are a unique emerald color, range from five to seven inches long and 10-14 inches round. Eggs that are not incu-bated are blown out and sold to crafters for etching, carving, or painting.

3Garret Barbush, MAFC loan officer

(left) worked closely with Mike and Gene to offer the best program to meet their needs. MAFC’s StartRight program won them over. Gene says, “It’s a great program for Mike to get started—it is a good fit.”

4 The Garbers keep four

breeding pairs of emus outdoors on grass with sheds to protect them. With their thick layer of back, they can walk around with six inches of snow on their backs and they don’t seem to mind it at all. With their powerful legs, emus can run up to 40 mph.

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Transition has been a hallmark of Gene Garber’s life.

Over his 19-season career, the sidearm pitcher—now farming full-time in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania—managed to keep two jobs going: working on the home farm in Lancaster County, where he partnered with his brother in running a dairy operation; and pitching for four different professional franchises.

Gene entered baseball in the 1965 amateur draft and over the years pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Atlanta Braves.

During those seasons he racked up 931 career pitching appearances and ranks second on the Atlanta Braves all-time save list, behind John Smoltz. He is, however, perhaps best remembered for a pitch he delivered on August 1, 1978 while he played for the Braves. In the ninth inning he threw a change-up, his go-to pitch, to strike out Pete Rose and end his 44-game hitting streak. Today he is ranked 32nd amongst Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leaders.

family operationGene, who was raised on a dairy farm that he can see by looking out of his living room window, never really left farming. In the early 1980s he bought his father’s share of the partnership and he and his brother, Herb, managed the 90-cow operation.

“I bought my father’s share of the partnership so my father could semi-retire, which means that he worked while I was in Atlanta, but when I came home over the winter he didn’t work quite as much,” he says.

Gene and his wife, Karen, raised two sons, Greg and Mike. “I was in Atlanta for ten years,” he says. “During baseball season they went to school in Atlanta, and then came home [to Lancaster County] during winter months. They attended schools here and worked on the farm, and then at the beginning of February we went back down to Atlanta. They had two sets of classmates.”

After baseball, Gene returned to farming full-time, and was soon joined by his sons.

“In 1997, when Greg graduated from college and wanted to return to the farm, we decided to split the brother partnership and make it a father/son business,” explains Gene. In 1999 they started a family corpora-tion and bought a farm with an 82,000 layer house and rented three farms already owned by Gene. GMG Farms, in addition to the egg operation, grows corn, beans, wheat, and barley on 400 acres. “One thing that I insisted on was that they weren’t working for Dad when they got out of college,” says Gene. “It makes a big difference for young guys trying to start out, that they’re not working for Dad, they’re working for themselves.”

Since 1992 Garber has been the chairman of the Lancaster County’s Ag Preserve Board, a nine-member

organization that administers a program to purchase develop-ment rights to farmland.

small acreage solutionIt was his involvement with the Ag Preserve Board that led him to another change—an agricultural diversification—raising emus.

“When I first got into this business of preserving farmland, there was resistance from farmers before they understood what the program was about,” says Gene. “They said things like ‘I only have 30 acres—why should I protect it if I can’t make a living off of it?’”

Consequently Garber began investigating solutions for making small acreage viable, and as a result ran across the idea of raising emus. “I began reading about how emus would fit on a small farm and eventually I thought, ‘You know what? I think we ought to have these,’” he says. “It was neat to learn some-thing totally different.” In 1996 Gene bought his first emus, and now has four breeding pairs, a barnyard full of juveniles, and two chicks, plus two incubators full of fertilized eggs.

Besides yielding about one to two gallons of oil per bird, emus also provide meat, which they make into a lot of bolognas and meat sticks, hamburgers, and steaks as well. Also, emu hide makes beautiful leather.

Mainly, though, the oil is the key profit prospect of an emu. “It’s an incredible product! It’s a skin conditioner and provides pain and injury relief,” says Gene. Emu oil penetrates the skin extremely well and contains essential fatty acids the skin needs. The oil, produced from a thick layer of backfat, improves virtually all skin problems—dryness, eczema, psoriasis, cuts, burns, and bites. “It also has natural anti-inflammatories which help reduce swelling from arthritis and muscle sprains and strains.” Emu oil is not a greasy product and because it penetrates so well, doesn’t stain and has no odor.

pure reliefInterest is increasing for the oil, which they market under the farm’s “Pure Relief” label. In February the family launched a website, PureReliefEmuOil.com, to help market the oil. Prior to that the Garbers had been selling emu oil primarily word-of-mouth, directly off the farm. They plan to expand their line of products from strictly oil to a muscle and joint cream and hand and body lotion.

“Lancaster is full of farmers with a niche,” says Gene. “Mike felt that we already had the emus, we should start marketing the oil.” “Basically the challenge is you have to self-market,” says Mike. “The product is excellent; we just have to get people to try it.”

“Long term, I see demand growing, and with our breeding pairs it won’t take long to increase the size of our flock,” says Gene. “We can hatch out what we know our demand is going to be.”

StartRightGene worked with Farm Credit a number of years ago, so he was familiar with them and knew the strengths and reputation of Farm Credit.

“The StartRight program was what won them over,” says loan officer, Garret Barbush. “I met with them, discussed what they needed, and thought this would be the best solution for them.” Gene adds, “It’s a great program for Mike to get started—it is a good fit.”

The “Start Right” program for young (younger than 35) and beginning (less than 10 years of experience) farmers is designed to help farmers launch or maintain their businesses and to keep agriculture viable, “Which is one of the goals of Farm Credit,” says Garret.

The Garber family has seen a lot of change over the years. Being back home in Lancaster County has brought them full-circle, back to where it all started—on the farm. n

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‘CHANGE’ IS IN GARY BUSHONG’S VOCABULARYLongtime Virginia farmer lives by change in his operation.story and photos by BECKY BRASHEAR

1 Today, Meadow View Dairy Farm

focuses on fattening feeder steers and raising corn, barley, soybeans, alfalfa and grass hay. For 46 years, Gary Bushong ran a dairy operation in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. His mornings no longer start at 3:00 a.m., but he is still up early to tend to the daily farm chores.

2 Gary talks pas-sionately about

his former dairy operation. There are no longer milk trucks rolling down the farm lane to pick up milk—so it’s a little quieter these days. Gary says farming isn’t a job to him—it is a way of life and one that he enjoys every day.

3 At the end of the day, Gary

heads for home to spend time with his wife, Carolyn. Now that he isn’t on call 24/7, the Bushongs have more time for weekends away from the farm. Gary has seen many changes over the years—his philosophy is you might as well ac-cept and be part of change, something he has lived by all his life.

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Things around Meadow View Dairy Farms Inc. are a little quieter these days for Gary Bushong.

There’s no longer a milk truck that rolls in and out of this third generation farm

lane in New Market, Virginia. There’s no rolling out of the sack at three in the morning for the daily milking chores. There’s no being on call 24 hours a day. And if he and his wife, Carolyn, want to take a weekend and do something…off they go!

These are big changes for a man who has been milking

on the family farm for 46 years. But all of this quiet-ness and free time doesn’t mean that he’s has given up farming, it’s just that he’s regrouped since he went out of the dairy business through the dairy herd buyout program in April 2007.

Gary submitted a bid for the buyout, not thinking his would get first consideration. But he got a phone call that his proposal had been accepted, one of only two accepted farms in Virginia. “I didn’t get much sleep that night. I was in shock. At that point I couldn’t have backed out even if I wanted to.”

“Of all of the cows on this place, I raised all of them, except one,” he says. Under the requirements of the

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buyout, all of his cows went to slaughter. “The decision was made for me. It was hard for me to let loose after the milk truck went in and out of this lane for 80 some years—that’s a long time.”

But now, Gary seems relaxed and in tune with his “new” farming ventures in the Shenandoah Valley area. He’s fattening Holstein steers, and he’s got a 150 head beef herd. “After I got the news of being accepted in the buyout, we started gearing down. I was in limbo for a while as to what to do next.”

With the money from the cows and the milk check, he bought 100 Holstein heifers and started buying some beef cows. He still keeps 25 heifers on the farm until they are bred and just ready to calve before being moved to other farming operations. “We’ve still got 300 head of stock to feed and look after every day,” he says.

“Nowadays, I’m out of the house between 7:30-8:00 a.m., and in the winter months, the work day ends by 5:00 p.m. It used to be that if one of the hired help didn’t show up for the 3:30 a.m. milking, I’d get a peck on my bedroom window from the other hired help, beckoning me to get dressed and come to the barn.

“My routine is a whole lot different now, but then again I’m older, too. I’m afraid to stop now—I’ve been farming for so long. It’s not a job; it’s a way of life. I always liked being on the farm and always wanted to farm.” Gary’s farming operation also entails raising 230 acres in corn, 40 acres in barley, 40 acres in soybeans, 75 acres in alfalfa and 70+ acres in grass hay.

when things are good, get ready for the bad timesGary holds some reservations for what the year may bring. “This year you can’t give hay away. Last year good prices were paid for hay. I don’t know what to expect with this year’s crop.

“I’ve got plenty of hay on hand. My dad always told me that when things are good, get ready for the bad times because they are coming. And I’ve seen three or four of those bad times in my lifetime.

“Farmers—like anyone else—need reserves,” he contin-ues. “I’ve always operated under the practice of having a little extra (money). If you have a good year, you plan and spend in December for seed and fertilizer to be ready for the next grow-ing season. I’ve had three good years of growing seasons and it’s a bit worrisome to me as to what to expect for 2009.” Gary adds that “there aren’t enough margins in farming today to get ahead. I’ve worked all my life to do that. When the good years have been good, I’ve taken advantage to update my assets such as equipment.”

Gary’s loan officer and good friend Allan George of the Woodstock office agrees. Allan says that farmers can get around most all of the problems facing them, “except the impact from health or divorce situations. Either one of those will break up a farming operation quick.”

“When I came back to the farm from college in 1961, I was rearing to go with lots of new ideas and concepts,” Gary says. I knew whatever new idea I presented it had to pay for itself and I had to prove to my dad that it would. If I wanted to do some-thing I had to work hard to prove it because it was dad who wrote the checks.”

challenges come with changeSince going out of the dairy business, Gary says his biggest change was going from a steady monthly milk check to an annual payment. “Back when I was milking, the milk check was stretched to buy feed, fertilizer, tires, hoof trimming services, equipment and veterinary costs. The challenge then as it is now is to get expenses in line with income.”

Over the years Allan has guided Gary through his farm acquisitions, about four of them to date. “Gary said I was ‘green’ when we first started working together,” Allan says, adding that they have come to know and learn from each other over the years. And now they are transitioning together through another change—the recent merger of MidAtlantic Farm Credit and Valley Farm Credit. Gary, who serves on the MAFC board of directors, says he has learned a lot more from Farm Credit than Farm Credit has learned from him.

“As we get older, we might as well accept and be a part of change,” Gary says. “My dad always said that when you get up in the morning to always be ready for changes, and I’ve lived by that all of my life.”

In the next 10 years, Gary projects that it will take sharp farmers to make things work. “They’ll have to be conservative, do more planning, cost analysis, and know their operations better. Farmers may not have done business plans in the past but the biggest change is that they need to have one now. I never had a business plan, but I went slow with my farm growth and development and adapted to making changes in order to have a successful operation.” n

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EASING the STRESS of Change story by SUSAN WALKER

If change is the only constant in life, why aren’t we used to it by now?

Some people welcome change and the new opportunities it can bring. Others dread it and try to either ignore it or fight it. But no matter how you feel about change, it can put stress on both your personal and work relationships.

That can be especially true in the farm-ing world, where family and business relationships are often tightly entwined. Explains Bill Whittle, Extension Agent with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Page County, “In the past, the norm was that at least one child in a farming family always stayed on the farm and continued the work into the next generation. Today, that’s no longer true, which raises a number of issues about what transitions need to be made and how they should occur.”

A successful transition starts with the process of answering several key questions:

1 What type of farm are you transfer-ring? Is it a profitable working farm operation? A lifestyle farm where primary income does not come from farming? Farmland you own but rent to others?

2 Can the farm financially support more than one family, for example, parents and a child who wants to take over farm operations?

3 Does the next generation have not only the production management skills but also the skills needed to manage financial and human resources decisions?

4 What do the people transferring the farm want to do? Continue being actively involved in farming for as long as possible? Retire, and if so, do you have the financial resources to retire comfortably?

5 How many children or other family members have a stake in the farm and what do they want to have happen to the farm and their involvement with it?

These basic questions can form the foundation of your decisions about how to transfer your farm, but you need to start thinking about them well in advance of when the transition will take place.Bill Whittle

Extension Agent,Virginia Cooperative Extension, Page County

Dan HessSenior Consultant,LMA Consulting Group

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nbuild a team to help you make a successful transitionWhittle suggests that you gather a group of trusted advisors who can provide informa-tion, objective opinions and insights to help make the transitioning of your farm as prob-lem-free as possible. “You should develop a management team which will be a little different for each type of farm,” he says. “It can be a formal or informal group of people who have the knowledge you need to make your decisions and the objective distance family members might lack.”

Team members can include:

• your extension agent or a similar person you can bounce ideas off

• an attorney familiar with farming and any legal and tax issues that affect farm transitioning in your area

• a financial planner or someone at your bank who can help with information about how to effectively divide assets other than land, how to prepare for and move into retirement with financial security

• a good friend, preferably a fellow farmer or small business person, who can be completely frank with you and knows your specific situation to act as a sounding board

• family members who will be affected by the transition

• in some cases, a facilitator who can help initiate tough conversations among family members

dealing with feelingsIn addition to the business considerations raised by transitioning your farm, there are powerful emotional issues tied up in the decisions. How can you minimize the stress associated with these issues?

“You need to respect the fact that change takes energy and tension is one way our body and mind prepare us for a challenge,” says Dan Hess, a Senior Consultant at LMA Consulting Group who has a background in psychotherapy and leadership and organizational issues. “You need to figure out where you fall on the continuum of comfort with change and think about where the others who will be affected by the change fall.”

Leadership and openness are essential to successful change, so it is important for each person’s role within the farm to be defined, to make sure everyone under-stands their role in the running of the farm and the decision-making process and that

everyone can communicate their honest feelings and share ideas and concerns frankly without fear of reprisal.

“In a time of change, someone has to articulate the vision of where you will all be after the change is complete,” adds Hess. “The leader of the process needs to give clear infor-mation about what the vision means—here’s where we are, here’s where we want to go and this is the path that will take us there. When the people affected by the change are involved and invested in the process, it can help make the experience much more posi-tive for everyone.”

It is also important to recognize that people may pass through a range of emotions during the course of the change, including disbelief, resistance and explora-tion of the possibilities. All these feelings move toward understanding and commit-ment to the change, though not everyone moves at the same pace.

keeping it all in balanceChange and the stresses surrounding it can also take a physical toll. Dan Hess, of LMA Consulting Group, recommends that you attend to the basics of life that can become distorted by stress, what he calls “the planks across the swamp.” The planks include:

Nourishment: Avoid under or overeating and strive for mindful eating versus emotional eating.

Sleep: Keep the context for sleep consistent. You may not sleep as well as you’d like, but you should avoid staying up all night worrying or sleeping during the day to “hibernate” from the stress.

Exercise: Cardiovascular exercise helps release the tension generated by high emotion. Taking a walk, going to the gym or chopping wood can help clear your mind and the physical exertion releases brain chemicals that promote a sense of well-being and calm.

Learn to read your body: Aches and pains can be an early warning signal that you are not relieving stress and need to take better care of yourself.

Spotting stress in others: Everyone reacts differently. Some people talk more, others not at all. Sometimes you can see it in the faces of those around you on the farm. As a leader, your job is not to calm them down, but to be aware and take positive action to help them deal with the stress by taking a break, using humor or sitting down together and offering everyone a chance to vent without judgment.

“Farm transitioning is complicated and convoluted and anyone who tells you that is not the case is wrong,” notes Whittle. “There is no straight line from the current situation to the completed transition and you will walk the same ground several times during the process.”

But being more thoughtful and purposeful in how you think about change can impact how you experi-ence it. “No doubt about it, change is difficult. But you can find your way out and, if you approach it well-armed with the right tools and a positive mindset, it can be an empow-ering experience,” says Hess. n

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THE Inflexible GARDENER story by SANDY WIEBER

Like most of these things, it involves a border dispute. There has been evidence of spying, reconnaissance missions, and casualties. Sometimes, civilians have been hurt. There are surprise surges, weekend attacks, and outbreaks that looked small at the outset, but which ended in blood.

I should begin at the beginning.

When my husband and I bought our little house at the beach, there wasn’t much of a garden there. There was a yard, definitely, but the grass was not lush. In fact, it looked as if 300 people, 400 children and a mid-sized herd of elephants had stampeded it the night before (which may have actually happened—I’m not sure how the old owners celebrated their last night in the house. I do know that they did not spend any time cleaning or packing up their trash, so anything is possible).

On one side of the house, next to the trash cans, there was a large stand of orange daylilies, straining to stick their brash flowers out of the shade.

I, of course, pictured rolling waves of colorful plants around the entire house, and I soon set to mapping out that picture with a flexible garden hose and a sharp, flat-edged shovel. I jumped up and down on that shovel all weekend—slicing into the grass (which, although it was patchy, seemed determined to hold onto whatever dirt it could), and etching in the shape of my new beds.

I soon called in a landscaper and a team of profes-sionals to help me with the task, and they made my vision a reality, just two days and a thousand gallons of Gatorade later.

My vision had no room for garish orange, and the daylilies ended up in a sad wilted stack on the back of the landscaper’s truck.

The battle began soon after.

It was stealthy at first. One weekend I noticed a few stray blades of grass, creeping stealthily back across the border. I didn’t think much about it, but simply pulled them out and threw them on the ground as a warning to their friends.

In a few weeks, I found myself in a small skirmish with the daylilies, their troops lined up in formation exactly where they had been when I bought the house. I attacked with vigor…pulling them out and digging away the roots.

It soon became all out war.

The daylilies marched back with vigor, destroying the prettier, but less strong plants in their path. They moved like Sherman, deliberately, as if they knew that they would win in the end.

Remember when you were in school, and you learned about the different types of conflict? Man versus Man, Man versus Himself, Man versus Nature. I always thought that Man versus Nature was the most boring of conflicts…after all, Man had dominion over Nature (or so I thought at the time). And writers seemed to agree with me…even today, I can only think of two examples that we put in that category—The Old Man and the Sea and that one short story about a man trying to build a fire.

I was not going to lose this conflict. I grabbed the bottle of Round Up and attacked the errant daylilies.

Why did I revert to chemical warfare? The Hague Convention of 1899 banned chemical weapons against your enemies on the battlefield, but this battlefield was under my control. And I was tired of pulling the daylilies, because they broke off in my hand. If you’re an experienced gardener you know that is the true sign of a weed: weeds have roots that extend somewhere to Asia, whereas “real” plants pull out easily, sometimes even popping out of the ground with no provocation (this usually only happens to the really expensive ones that you’ve sent for through a catalog). I tried using a shovel, but these combatants left little sleeper cell roots behind, springing up with enthusiasm to attack when I least expected it. So I reverted to blanketing the area with poison. And lots of it.

It was satisfying at first. The remaining daylilies shriv-eled up and turned brown.

That’s when I noticed the collateral damage. The beautiful purple columbine and pink astilbe that I had planted nearby were withering and dying as well.

I cried out when I saw what I had done. And then I went to the store and bought new columbines and astilbes, both of which cheerfully grew where I had killed their comrades.

Today, I have come to terms with having a couple of orange daylilies in the midst of my otherwise calm color palette. I still pull out the orange daylilies when I see them, but sometimes I wait until the following day.

That’s what I call embracing change in the garden. n

There is a war going on in my garden.

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Your loan information A click away!story by DONNA DAWSON

Maybe you meant to put the next payment on your loan in the mail, but didn’t have a stamp and you didn’t have time to go to the post office. Or you need money transferred from your line of credit and it is after hours; your local office is closed for the day.

No problem. With Farm Credit’s online AccountAccess you have 24/7 access to all of your loan information. Save yourself some time and money by performing these transactions online:

Transfer funds (FastCash): Yes, you can do it with the click of a mouse. You don’t need to call the office and then realize you don’t remember your pin number. If you use AccountAccess, you can transfer money from your line of credit to your checking or savings account. Whenever you need to, at any time of day or night!

Account Summary: When you select this feature you can easily access your account balance, see your stock balance, view your account history, and review and print your annual loan activity statement as well as view and print IRS tax forms 1098 and 1099.

Make your loan payment: Save yourself time and money! You can have your payments drafted from your checking or savings account, whichever account is most convenient to

you. Also, you can schedule your payment to be drafted from your account up to 35 days in advance of its due date!

New feature – electronic billing statement: Yes, you can go paperless! View your loan statement(s) or AutoDraft notice(s) online. No more paper to recycle once you’ve made your payments! An automated email will be sent to you advis-ing you when your statement is available – another conve-nient service to aide in being sure your payment is made on time, every time!

As you can see, no matter what time of day or night it is, no matter what information you might be looking for, you can find it online quickly and easily. Save yourself time and money, use AccountAccess. You’ll be glad you did!

Just go to mafc.com and click on the link for AccountAccess, at the top right-hand portion of the home page.

You’re burning the midnight oil paying bills and you need a current account balance.

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Curtis RhoderickParents: Wayne and Lucinda RhoderickMount Airy, MD

Curtis Rhoderick has always had a passion for the dairy industry. He grew up on his parent’s dairy farm, and is currently a junior at Virginia Tech, studying dairy science with a minor in agricultural and applied economics. “I have learned about so many differ-ent fields in the dairy industry that are interesting,” he says. “My number one goal is to return to the family farm and help make it a success.”

Hannah SmithParents: John and Paula SmithClear Spring, MD

Hannah was four years old when she received her first Holstein calf. Today, she is a junior at Virginia Tech, studying Dairy Science. “I plan on becoming a large animal veterinarian specializing in dairy cattle,” she says. “I would like to continue my education and attend veterinary school at the Virginia-Maryland Regional Veterinary College on the Virginia campus.”

Jacob BasslerParents: Ralph and Stacey BasslerNew Windsor, MD

Jacob is only a freshman at the University of Maryland, but he already has a good handle on what he wants to do. He’s studying Fire Protection Engineering, a field that will allow him to design fire protection systems that will help reduce the loss of life and property due to fire. “I want to help public safety,” he says. “I want to find solutions that are both functional and economically feasible.”

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Benjamin CrookeParents: David and Christine CrookeNew Hope, PA

Benjamin is one of six boys in his family, but he is the only one who is interested in returning to the family farm. “Everyone has a role to play in our society,” he says, “and I hope to follow in my father’s footsteps and keep on producing milk for a growing population.” Benjamin is a sophomore at Penn State University, majoring in dairy science.

Kelsey BollingerParents: James and Judith BollingerManheim, PA

“I have always enjoyed helping others,” says Kelsey, explaining one of the reasons that she’s chosen to study nurs-ing. The other reason is more practical: “Nursing provides a stable job that would allow me to continue work-ing and running the family farm,” she says. Kelsey is currently a high school senior with plans to attend Bloomsburg University in the fall.

Lindsay HetrickParents: Joel and Lisa HetrickBernville, PA

Lindsay wasn’t involved in her parent’s dairy farm when she was a child. Not, that is, until she joined FFA. Within a short time, she went from visiting the farm to being in charge of 130 calves under two months of age. Today, she is a freshman at Virginia Tech, major-ing in dairy science with a minor in ag economics. “My love for agriculture definitely developed,” she says.

2009 Scholarship Winners story by SANDY WIEBER

Megan DempseyParents: Charles and Cynthia Dempsey Dover, DE

Megan is a high school senior who has plans to teach agricultural education. “You would be surprised to go into the public school system and see how little children know about animals and agri-culture…they think that chocolate milk comes from a brown cow,” she says. “I hope to bring agriculture back into the school system, and get children more involved in it.”

Jessica GundryParents: Anthony and Terry GundrySeaford, DE

For the past three years, Jessica has handled her grandmother’s books. That’s a pretty tall order, especially since the job includes handling all the depos-its from Mernie’s Market, the family’s watermelon and produce stand. “I have decided to major in accounting because of my experience with our family’s market,” she says. Jessica is a freshman at James Madison University.

Emily StrongParent: Rebecca StrongMillington, MD

When the racehorse Barbaro was injured in the Preakness Stakes in 2006, Emily Strong realized what she wanted to do with her life. “I knew [then] I wanted to become an equine veterinarian,” she remembers. “It is my wish to treat, and hopefully save, such injured racehorses.” Emily is a high school senior, and plans to major in biology next fall.

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Kristina RuffnerParents: John and Holly RuffnerStanley, VA

Kristina grew up on a small beef cattle farm; it was there she found her love of animals. That love, plus a desire to pursue a career in agriculture, inspired her to major in animal and poultry science, specializing in the pre-vet program at Virginia Tech. “If possible,” Kristina says, “I would like to work both as a large and small animal veterinarian in Page County.” Kristina is currently a college freshman.

Heather EstepParents: Donnie and Shirley EstepNew Market, VA

Since she was a little girl, Heather has loved dolphins. So much, in fact, she is majoring in marine science at Coastal Carolina University, where she is currently a freshman. “I would [eventu-ally] like to work in an aquarium, lead-ing educational programs for children,” she says. In 2007, Heather completed a mission trip to Puerto Rico as a repre-sentative of Virginia youth.

Allie FrenchParents: Doug and Shirley FrenchWoodstock, VA

For years, Allie had planned to be a CEO of a major corporation. But with the recent economic distress, she says, she has rethought that goal. “I wasn’t sure if being a CEO would be a rewarding job,” she says. “I have been tutoring [lately], and I have seen how rewarding it is to be a teacher.” Allie hopes to teach high school math and business. She plans to attend James Madison University in the fall.

In early January, stacks of scholarship applications began to flood the MidAtlantic offices. Each one represented an impressive young student, full of dreams and potential. It’s not an easy job, but we ultimately narrowed down the almost-eighty applications to the final nine winners.

Please join us in congratulating the best of the best!

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2009 annual meetings | the tools you need

Dover Salisbury New Holland

QUICK AND EASY REGISTRATION: That’s what Lloyd and Alice Brittingham were thinking. They were two of over 1,800 people to attend the five meetings through-out the MidAtlantic territory.

READY TO START FARMING: Matthew Nagel, 17, is ready to start farming with his father’s patronage check. Dad Dennis is on the right.

MORE THAN JUST A BUSINESS MEETING: Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture Roger Richardson (right) did not attend MidAtlantic’s meeting just as a work function, but as a member-owner as well. He was happy to hold a check showing over $24 million returned to stock-holders with President Bob Frazee.

Photos by Angel Adams

TAKE IT TO THE BANK: Although Richard (Dick) Lester, Jr. may prefer to take the large check to the bank, he’s pleased with his patronage check this year – part of $13 million returned in cash this April.

FARMERS REALLY CAN RETIRE: Well, maybe not from farming, but Howard McHenry (left) and D. Wheatley Neal were honored for their years of service on the Farm Credit Board. They will retire this year.

TOOLS YOU NEED: Not only does MAFC have the tools for your financing needs, but we had a nice toolkit to give out. Several members at Dover were impressed.

Photos by Matt Ritenour

STRAW HATS: The annual meeting held at Yoder’s Restaurant draws a large number of Amish customers each year. The straw hats stacked on the shelf is an interesting sight.

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT: MAFC is proud to offer over $13,000 in scholarships this year. At this meet-ing, scholarships were presented to (from left): Roy Hetrick of Bernville, PA representing his granddaughter, Lindsey Hetrick; Benjamin Crooke of New Hope, PA; and Kelsey Bollinger of Manheim, PA.

A WINNER’S SMILE: Joan Schmidt of Landenberg, PA won one of the two tubs of spring flowers.

Photos by Donna Dawson

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Walkersville Winchester

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MidAtlantic Farm Credit 2009 Election ResultsBoard of Directors

Chesapeake Election Region (3-year term)

Jennifer L. Rhodes

Keystone Election Region (3-year terms)

Deborah A. BennerRodger L. Wagner

Valley Election Region (2-year terms)

Jim A. LongChristopher R. Stiles

2010 Nominating Committee(all positions 1-year terms)

Central Maryland Election RegionGary DellSamuel K. Roop

Chesapeake Election RegionWilliam C. MalkusJennifer A. Debnam

Delaware Election RegionTimothy J. RogersRichard F. Carlisle

Keystone Election RegionTimothy R. KurtzLeon E. Ziegler

Marva Election RegionBrian T. JohnsonSusan B. Arnold

Valley Election RegionGuy M. GochenourWilliam H. Cline

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ENJOYING THE BUFFET: A happy guest smiles and she receives her sliced top round and Virginia ham. The staff of the Lee-Jackson Conference Center quickly served the more than 200 guests present that evening.

PROUD WINNER: Pam Walker of Luray (Page County) was the grand prize winner of the hand-made Amish quilt.

AN ENTERTAINING EVENING: James Gochenour and Mary Anderson say goodbye after sharing some laughs.

Photos by Matt Ritenour

CHECK PLEASE: Carroll Leatherman gladly accepts his patronage check from Frederick loan assistant, Bonnie Ogg.

DANDY DAFFODILS: Brenda Nowell of Rocky Ridge, MD was the winner of a beautiful arrangement of daffodils. In addition to daffodils, a second tub of flowers and a quilt were awarded to the lucky door prize winners.

UNDER LOCK AND KEY: Customer Richard Pry deposits the ballots he collected into the ballot box.

Photos by Matt Ritenour

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2020

1 LEADING DELAWARE AGRICULTURE: Members of the first Lead Delaware class received their graduation certificates at the Gover-

nor’s Conference on Delaware Ag in February. Two of those graduates were MidAtlantic Farm Credit employees—Jim McCabe and Marty Des-mond. From left to right: Cory Whaley; David Marvel, Jr.; Todd Davis; Jim McCabe; Brandon Bonk; Robin Talley; Colleen Kitzmiller; Dennis Wilson; Laurie Wolinski; Will Carlisle; DE Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee; Marty Desmond. Missing from photo: Steve McCarron. Photo by Holly Porter

2 NO HORSIN’ AROUND: Loan officer Paul Shipper wasn’t horsin’ around at all when he presented Karen Kirby of Tom Kirby Racing Stable with

a gift card to Southern States for $500. Karen was the winner from the Maryland Horse World Expo held in January. Photo by Holly Porter

3 FOOD FOR HER HORSE: Terry Dopirak and her husband Stephen of Cochranville, PA accepted a $500 gift card to a local feed mill from

loan officer Dale Peifer (right). Terry won the door prize raffled at this year’s PA Horse World Expo held in Harrisburg, PA. MAFC is a proud spon-sor of the show and is a supporter of the equine industry throughout its territory. Photo by Donna Dawson

Congratulations to the Leader readers whose names were chosen as part of the giveaway in our last issue. The following people received a copy of the book Green Goes with Everything:

Simple Steps to a Healthier and a Cleaner Planet by Sloan Barnett.

Katie Green-Robertson, New Windsor, MD Pat Leach, Bally, PA

David Lim, Bishopville, MD David Nelson, Yardley, PA

Kathy Zentz, Middlebrook, VA

You could be a lucky winner in the future! Watch upcoming issues for other giveaway opportunities.

Giveaway Winners!

ANNUAL Photo CONTESTWe want your best photos of what you think living in the country is all about! Your photo(s) can spotlight agriculture or any aspect of country living! We love kids, animals, streams, barns, or fabulous scenic landscapes. We’ll look at all the pictures we receive and the top picks will appear in our 2010 calendar. We could also feature some of the entries in an upcoming issue of the Leader or our annual report.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES• CompleteaPhotoSubmissionFormforeachphotoyousend.

Three (3) photos maximum per person will be accepted.• Ifsubmittingdigitalphotography:1)pleaseprintonpaperstock

designed for photos. This will allow us to obtain the best reprint results. 2) Send your high resolution photo files to Donna Dawson, ddawson@mafc.com. If you forward your digital photo by email, you’ll need to include the same information from the submission form. If it is not included your photo will not be eligible.

• Attachthesubmissionformtothephotoortotheenvelop containing the photo(s). DO NOT USE STAPLES OR PAPER CLIPS.

• Itisrecommendedthatphotosbeplacedbetweentwosheetsof cardboard or other protective materials to avoid damage.

• Forbestreproduction,photosshouldbeaminimumof5x7—however—smallerphotosmaybesubmitted.HORIZONTALphotosarepreferred.

• AllphotosmustbereceivednolaterthanAugust 16, 2009.• Duetothevolumeofentries,wewillnotbeabletoreturnany

photos, so make sure you keep an original.

MidAtlantic Farm Credit Calendar Photo Submission Form

YOUR NAME (PLEASE PRINT)

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NAME

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

PHONE (INCLUDE AREA CODE)

EMAIL ADDRESS

Briefly describe the photo (location, what is in the photo, what season was it taken, etc.)

SIGNATURE OF CONTRIBUTOR

Mail to: MidAtlantic Farm Credit 2010 Calendar 680 Robert Fulton Highway Quarryville, PA 17566

I/we own the images submitted and hereby authorize MAFC to use the photo(s) and/or reproduction of the photo(s) including the individuals in the photo(s) and/or the property in the photo(s). This includes the following media [and others not specifically mentioned] for the purpose of advertising and publicity of our services: brochures, flyers, and other collateral materials, newspaper and/or magazine advertising, direct mail campaigns; annual report, and electronic media.

Out and About

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36 acre gentlemen’s horse farm. Architectural masterpiece, eight wood burning fireplaces, coffered ceilings, granite kitchen, two master suites and many cozy nooks. Heated pool and cabana. Nine stall aisle barn has everything for the horseman, loafing shed, automatic waterers, stocked pond and more! $1,750,000.

Contact Frank Durkee, O’Conor & Mooney Realtors, 410.935.4260.

Harford County, Maryland

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PROPERTIES FOR SALE

This is your chance to own a beautiful roll-ing farm with Mispillion River frontage. 156 acres offers waterfowl and deer. 110 acres are tillable. Several outbuildings and a large pole barn. Great opportunity! $1,248,000.

Contact Jamie Masten, Masten Realty. 302.422.1850.

Milford, Delaware

This four bedroom, two bath Cape Cod sits on a knoll overlooking a stream. 5+ acres lushly landscaped with 1,000+ flowering plants. Organic garden, four bay barn, fruit trees, greenhouse. The home features hardwood floors, book-cases, woodstove, cherry kitchen cabinets, and a two car garage. $279,900.

Contact Charlotte Sherman or Susie Wimer, RE/MAX Enterprises, LLC. 304.754.9033.

Hedgesville, West VirginiaExcellent farming & hunting opportu-nity. Two parcels totaling 337.40

acres with good soils and ample road front-age. Mature hardwoods give added value and excellent deer hunting. 150+/- acres of tillable ground consisting of mostly Sassafras soils. $2,200,000.

Contact Wes Cromer, Masten Realty. 302.422.1850.

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

EQUAL HOUSINGOPPORTUNITY

REALTOR®

REALTOR

REALTOR®

Harrington, Delaware

70 secluded acres, 20 minutes from ocean. Improved by a two-story, four bedroom, 3.5 bath log cabin with decks on both floors. Full basement, large in-ground pool with cabana & sauna. Two hot tubs, a two car detached garage, a 1,936 sq. ft. airplane hanger, a 1,200 ft. runway, and much more. $1,700,000.

Contact Ed Lester or Tom Marvel, Lester Realty. 800.837.8374.

Georgetown, Delaware

Brick Cape Cod with panoramic mountain views on 74+ acres. Offers 2,500 sq. ft., four bedrooms, three baths, walk out basement, two level deck, three car garage, paved drive-way. Rolling pastures for horses, cattle and cross fencing. Stocked pond, 30x40 bank barn with electric and hot water. Sub-dividable. $950,000.

Contact George Johnson, Jim Barb Realty, Inc. 540.232.2222.

Cross Junction, Virginia

Open meadows with elevated views and sensational vistas in all directions. These 12.68 +/- acres can be your little slice of heaven. $225,000.

Contact Tom Rozynek, Frederick Land Company. 301.662.9222.

Myersville, Maryland

22+ acres, 50% wooded, four acres fenced, four stall barn with electric and water. Cape Cod with four bedrooms, two baths, fireplace and hardwood floors. Family room, large country kitchen two car attached garage, partially finished basement, blacktop driveway and new metal shed/garage build-ing with concrete floor. Well maintained. $595,000.

Contact Chris Cull and the Cull Group, GRI. 410.876.1666.

Westminster, Maryland

Poultry farm featuring 28.6 acres with two 40x500 chicken houses (50,000 capacity), manure

shed, compost shed, back-up 40KW genera-tor, fenced pastures, and plenty of room for expansion. Residence features three bedroom, one bath and new gas furnace. $649,000.

Contact Russell Hamel, Harrington ERA Realty. 302.222.2885.

Greenwood, Delaware

Private 25 acre estate welcomes horses and offers majestic moun-tain views! Custom eight bedroom, 4.5 baths, front porch Victorian boasts a gourmet kitchen, finished lower level in-law suite, in-ground pool, gardens and four car garage. 48x40 workshop/stable with stall and a two-story door for RVs & horse trailers. $1,300,000.

Contact Diane Derr, RE/MAX 100. 301.695.5500, Ext. 454.

Middletown, Maryland

Exquisite farm. 227 acres with two ponds. Ten minutes from Frederick. Brick rancher with two fireplaces, master bedroom with master bath, four garages. Huge farmhouse, bank barn, milking parlor with holding pen, freestall shed, metal shed, and block build-ing. In farm preservation. $1,675,350.

Contact John or Bonnie Speak, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. 410.984.2302.

Ladiesburg, Maryland

Need financing for any of these properties? Call your local Farm Credit office.MidAtlantic Farm Credit is not responsible for content or typographical errors. For more information on any of the properties listed on these pages, please call the Realtor listed. At this time, we can only accept listings from licensed real estate agents.22

PROPERTIES FOR SALE

Gently rolling land comprised of 25 acres. Surrounded by woods and land (in a perpetual easement) that will

never be developed. Can be divided once creating two lots or potential for easement donation. Located on Black Rock Road just north of Ridge Road in Baltimore County. $900,000.

Contact Herbert A. Davis, Prudential Carruthers Realtors. 410.828.4700, Ext. 144 or 410.979.8201 (cell).

Upperco, Maryland

Waterfront farm. 29+ acres on Glebe Creek with existing home and perc site. Several outbuildings. Great for horses! Additional 25+ lot with perc also for sale. Great opportunity. $649,900.

Contact Jeff Plummer, Century 21 Rosendale Realty. 410.758.0333.

Easton, Maryland

123+/- acres for sale. Magnificent setting with majestic mountain views in all direc-tions. $1,750,000.

Contact Tony Checchia, Frederick Land Company. 301.662.9222.

Jefferson, Maryland

Country Colonial on 25 acres with almost new barn/stable, board fence paddocks. Room to grow and play. Privacy plus. Home only five years old. Country location you will love. $574,900.

Contact Allen Codd, Long & Foster Realtors. 410.456.0654.

Westminster, Maryland

25 acre farm lot at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. Improved with a 36x72 pole barn with water and electric. The perimeter is fenced with three board, 20 acres in pasture, five acres is wooded. Perc approved with a well. Miles of trails in all directions. Mountain views are assured! $1,000,000.

Contact Tim McGrath, Mackintosh Realtors, Inc. 800.292.3547.

Dickerson, Maryland285 acre farm with three development rights. Three homes with annual income of $27,000. Two loafing sheds: 136x69 and 165x60, bank barn, 100x40 machine shed, Monocacy access. $2,185,000.

Contact Gary Duckworth, RE/MAX 100-Frederick. 240.285.5787.

Rocky Ridge, Maryland

Earth-sheltered, passive solar award-winning home on 3.63 acres. Three bedrooms, two full baths. Known as the “Earth House.” Open, airy and lots of natural light. Easy to heat and cool. Modern top of the line appliances, Ethernet wired, grass roof, clerestory glass full length of house. $449,900.

Contact Michael Kurtianyk, Tyler-Donegan Real Estate. 301.401.0039.

Myersville, Maryland

This property features a custom home, three bay out building (30x70) with service ready shop and pool on 3.5 acres. Room for chicken houses,

greenhouses, or truck crops. A great place to call home and be self sufficient. $499,000.

Contact Debbie Meredith, Benson & Mangold Real Estate. 410.310.8922.

Preston, Maryland

Magnificent colonial on 25+ breathtaking acres. Formal living room and dining room. Unwind in the family room, fully finished basement, or cozy up to either of the two stone fireplaces. All the extras: gourmet kitchen with granite counters and 42” cherry cabinets. In-law suite, five bedrooms and 4.5 baths, master bedroom with full bath. Intercom system and attached two car garage. $799,000.

Contact Ali Haghgoo, RE/MAX Advantage. 443.858.3667 or 410.871.2600, Ext. 208.

Mount Airy, Maryland

23 acre farm, old style three bedroom farm-house with wraparound porch, fenced rear yard, barn,

garage, springhouse, and storage buildings. Most of the acreage is cropland but could be nice setting for horses. Pond and small orchard too. $449,900.

Contact Charlie Roosa, Key Realty, Inc. 410.287.7241 or 410.398.1247, Ext. 16.

Conowingo, Maryland

Gem of a horse property! Three bedroom Cape Cod on four acres, state-of-the-art two stall barn, heated tack room, wash stall, paddocks with vinyl fencing and stream. $324,500.

Contact Cindy Stys, Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd. 610.849.1790.

New Tripoli, Pennsylvania

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60+ acres of land near the Cunningham Falls State Park. House

needs work, five barns, some wooded and some fields. $499,000.

Contact Maureen Olson, Long & Foster. 301.606.8362.

Myersville, Maryland

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Washington County: Three acre lots, awesome view starting at $119,900. Washington County: Gorgeous lot with spectacular views, perc approved, 7.05 acres for $199,900. Westminster: Country setting, city convenience – two lots available starting at $210,000.

Contact Ted Lapkoff, RE/MAX All Pro. 301.695.2996.

Washington & Carroll County, Maryland

Impeccable home on 6.61 acres. Formal living room and dining room. Family room with wood burning fireplace, kitchen with Corian countertops and cherry finished cabinetry. Sunroom, laundry room, master suite with bath and rec room. In addition a two car garage and 50x28 storage building. $794,500.

Contact Cynthia Grimes, RE/MAX Advantage Realty. 443.506.0359.

Taneytown, Maryland

Prime Lancaster County farm. 92 acres with farmhouse, bank barn with 46 cow set-up, two silos, and a wagon shed/corn barn. $1,249,000.

Contact Christ W. Taylor, Beiler-Campbell Realtors. 717.371.1915.

Gap, Pennsylvania

149 acre farm with 130 tillable acres. One current perc site, all TDRs present. Property has rail access with road frontage on Rt. 304. Currently zoned agricultural and is noted as a County Business Park Use designa-tion in the 2002 QAC Comprehensive Plan and 2007 Centreville Community Plan draft. $1,900,000.

Contact Jonathan Olsavsky, Century 21 Rosendale Realty. 410.758.0333.

Centreville, Maryland

18 acre horse farm, 3-4 bedrooms, two-story house with two bath-rooms. Custom kitchen with island, stone fireplace in living room, beautiful sunroom & over 3,580 sq. ft. of living space. 60x52 two-story barn with 8 stalls, tack room, office, wash bay, powder room. Plus 80x120 masonry building with seven stalls & 60x120 indoor ring. Level, fenced and watered pastures. $974,000.

Contact Roger Kline, Kingsway Realty. 717.859.2001.

Denver, Pennsylvania

87 acres of farm land zoned Agricultural Preservation.

Very low taxes as it is in the Clean and Green program. $875,000.

Contact Jan M. Pasko, Century 21 Call First, 610.698.2061.

Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Operating horse farm located near Chester County. 3,052 sq. ft. home with three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Includes a pond, fenced pasture, 24 stalls, 10 paddocks, indoor area, and two full service barns. Turn-key operation. $1,750,000.

Contact John Gainer, Town and Country Realty, 717.898.9136.

Christiana, Pennsylvania

210 acres, 190 tillable, 100x50 pole barn, irrigation, Priced to sell! More information at: homesdatabase.com/QA7008650. $1,385,000.

Contact Wm. David Leager, Sassafras River Realty, Ltd. 410.778.0238 or 410.708.0891.

Church Hill, Maryland

Custom built home on 11.9 acres. First floor master suite, 4.5 bathrooms, kitchen with granite countertops and maple cabinets, two gas fireplaces, central vac, in-ground pool, oversized four car garage and so much more. Property can be used for equestrian purposes. $1,195,000.

Contact Michael Yingling, RE/MAX Delta Group, Inc, 717.652.8200.

Annville, Pennsylvania

20 acre horse farm, close to other equine facilities and many racetracks. The farm features a large three bedroom ranch house, 13 stall block barn, 1,200 sq. ft. living quarters and indoor arena. Beautiful views. Additional acreage available. $595,000.

Contact Gary L. Coles or Jonathan D. Coles, New Pennsylvania Realty, Inc. 570.386.5000 or visit newpennrealty.com.

New Ringgold, Pennsylvania

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