Lifelong farmer fills need for help
BUTLER TWP — Most boards of directors set programs and projects, then assign workers to carry them out.
But that is not how the 15-member Butler Farm Show board, said their recording secretary, Jim Lokhaiser.
“I’ve been on a lot of boards where people are on six, seven, ten committees and they don’t do anything,” Lokhaiser said. “Lots of times they’re only there to have their name attached to the committee. Not these guys. They actually get out there and do the physical labor and all the work that needs to be done.”
One of those board members is Harold Foertsch, 70, who has been on the farm show board of directors for 28 years.
A lifelong farmer who raises potatoes, onions, corn, beans and hay on 1,250 acres in Jefferson Township, Foertsch entered a tractor pull at the farm show in 1967 or 1968.
“Nothing was ready and they had no help,” recalled Foertsch. “I volunteered to help.”
Soon Foertsch was on the farm show board and in charge of the event’s popular tractor pull, which he continues to run to this day.
“But my main volunteer work is on the 4-H livestock committee,” said the affable Foertsch.
That post includes overseeing and coordinating the livestock auction, which allows youth in 4-H and Future Farmers of America to sell the cattle, hogs, lamb, goats, rabbits and chickens they have been raising for market. The 2008 auction total was more than $157,000.
Each Thursday of the annual farm show, Foertsch and his committee set up the ring, plan the agenda, line up the auctioneer and other volunteers, and set up bleachers for the well-attended event. Meat packers and other companies bid on each animal shown by its young owner.
Some winning bidders donate the money back to the 4-H or FFA youth who raised the animal, others donate the money back to the 4-H group or a specific school project, still others keep the meat for personal consumption, and grocery stores or meatpacking companies sell the meat.
Donna Zang, director of the Penn State Cooperative Extension in the county, said the majority of animals won in the farm show livestock sale are taken by the successful bidder. She said about 5 percent are donated back, and that many bidders are companies and individuals who simply want to support 4-H or FFA.The auction’s sale committee finds a buyer for animals donated back to support a youth program.Zang said Foertsch’s service to the youth of the county has been immeasurable.“He is very supportive of the youth, and I believe a lot of what he does for them is because he sees that as the future of agriculture,” said Zang. “He is a true advocate for agriculture.”Foertsch said after pictures are taken of the grand champion and reserve grand champion animals and the pens and bleachers are torn down, the 4-H or FFA members have only a day or two to care for their animal.“The kids take care of the animals until Saturday night or Sunday morning, when the packers come in and take the livestock out,” Foertsch said.A special project is usually tackled each year prior to the sale. A few years back, Foertsch and his sons built pens and a gate for the hog show in his shop, then took them to the farm show grounds to install them before opening day.Farm show board members also have poured concrete, put up new buildings, painted and performed every other task necessary to keep the show operating smoothly.Another important task at the farm show each year that most people don’t consider is manure removal.“I’ve been on manure detail since ‘75,” said Foertsch in his comical, rapid-fire manner of speech. “After everything’s done, who do you think cleans everything up?”Foertsch said during the farm show, young owners of the animals being shown shovel up the manure, sawdust and hay from their stalls and deposit it in designated areas near the barns. He then uses his own skid loader to haul daily loads of manure to the back of the property, where it piles up until the seven-day show is over.
At that time, all the pens are torn down, the barns are thoroughly cleaned, and the huge accumulation of manure is spread over the field off Meridian Road that serves as the event’s parking area.“It’s mainly straw and sawdust by then,” Foertsch said.Before he had help, it took Foertsch three days to break down the animal pens and transfer the stockpiled manure to the parking area. Now, with a handful of assistants and two manure spreaders, the job can be completed in four to five hours.“I donate my equipment and the farm show pays for gas,” Foertsch said.He also has enjoyed watching his own children and now all six of his grandchildren compete at the farm show. Foertsch still parks a camper at the show each year, but most nights of the event he finds himself driving back to Jefferson Township.“The grandchildren use the trailer because they have 4-H projects at the farm show, so I just come home,” Foertsch said. “I only live 10 miles away.”He said the farming help he receives from his two sons and two brothers allow him the time to volunteer at the farm show. Foertsch said his favorite thing about the farm show is the old-fashioned, agricultural feel of the event and the people, especially the children, who come to look at the animals.Foertsch said he will continue to serve as a volunteer on the farm show board of directors as long as he can. His tenure on the board is a testament to his dedication to agriculture and farming youth in Butler County.“I always try to get voted out, but no one will nominate anyone against me,” he said.
<B>Where: </B>Evans City Road west of Butler<B>Telephone: </B>724-482-4000<B>Web Site:</B> www.butlerfarmshow.com<B>What: </B>Rides, food, exhibits, arena events and agricultural displays/competitions<B>When: </B>61st show will be Aug. 10-15<B>Board members: </B>George Dean, president; Ken Laughlin, vice president; William Holbein, treasurer; Ken Metrick, secretary; Jim Lokhaiser, recording secretary; Kevin Loomis, Elmer Colteryahn, Dean Helfer, Diana Bowser, Alvin Vogel, Terry Cranmer, Harold Foertsch, Randy Kummer, Ken McAnallen, Carol Miller.
