CLINTON TWP — History is important to the Goldscheitter family, so is farming.

Goldscheitter Dairy was awarded the 2019 Eagle Bowl in recognition of the family's support and involvement with the Butler Farm Show. The 2020 Butler Farm Show was canceled due to the pandemic.

Goldscheitter Dairy is one of the largest dairy farms in Butler County with a herd of 430 dairy cows, milking 210. The family also farms about 800 acres, including corn and hay. Their milk is shipped to United Dairy.

Goldscheitter Dairy is family owned and operated. Bill and Gerri Goldscheitter have three daughters: Hanna, 21; Hope, 19; and Faith, 16.

Hanna works the farm full time with her parents. She drives the tractors and the forage harvester which the family affectionately calls “The Chopper.”

Hope works two jobs locally and on the farm as needed. Faith is a participant in Butler County Dairy Cub for 4-H.

Faith is planning to go to college and may pursue agriculture or will attend a trade school. She hasn't decided which direction she will take on the farm.

“The girls are fifth generation on the farm,” Gerri said.

A farming legacy

Bill Goldscheitter was a partner with his father, Edward F. Goldscheitter, on the farm for many years. In 2020, Edward signed the business and the farm over to Bill.

Edward's grandfather started the farm in 1924.

After taking over from his father, Edward expanded the farm from the original 270 acres to more than 600 acres.

In 2005, to promote and encourage family agriculture, Edward established Sunrise Farm, a family homestead and blueberry farm for his children and grandchildren. It still operates today in Sarver and is open to the public for blueberry picking.

Edward died earlier this year after battling COVID-19. He was 87.

Since 1958, for 63 years, Edward kept a daily journal to chronicle the history of the Goldscheitter family and farm.

Goldscheitter Dairy participates in Choose PA Dairy, a joint promotional campaign with partners such as the Center for Dairy Excellence. The center provides needed resources and programs to strengthen individual dairy farm family businesses.

“We intend on keeping (the farm) going as long as the good Lord lets us,” Gerri said.

Getting by

Goldscheitter Dairy made it through the pandemic and didn't need to dump milk like other farms did. There were some supply shortages for things such as medical gloves and other necessities to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols.

The farm sent low-producing cows and cows that wouldn't breed back to market to maintain and cull their herd during the pandemic. The available feed supplies from the farm's suppliers were enough to sustain the herd.

“You can only feed so many,” Gerri said.

The largest impact on the farm's ability to be successful is milk prices. Milk prices fluctuate based on a complicated set of rules and computations.

“The Class I Base Price for milk is $16.90 per hundredweight for the month of August 2021,” according to the Advanced Prices and Pricing Factors July 2021 Announcement from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. “The price per hundredweight decreased $0.52 from the previous month.”

United Dairy purchases Goldscheitter milk at $19 per hundredweight. Each dairy co-op sets their own prices but can't go below the base price. Prices can change from month to month, making it hard for farmers to plan and be prepared for large price fluctuations.

“Several years ago, it was $26 (per hundredweight) one summer for a couple months,” Gerri said.

In real life, milk prices determine whether farmers live paycheck to paycheck or have a cushion for emergencies. Right now the Goldscheitters have no cushion.

“We're currently at $19, but they need to jump it up over $20 for any of us, farmers, to not have live paycheck to paycheck,” she said.

Family, friends, fun

For many families, the Butler Farm Show is a week full of family, friends and fun. The Goldscheitter family thinks of the farm show as a vacation.

“It's a nice little vacation from home,” said 2019 Knoch High School graduate and fifth-generation dairy farmer Hope Goldscheitter about the farm show.

This year the Goldscheitter family is exhibiting one milk cow, five heifers and a market lamb.

Hanna and Hope will be present on their show days. Faith will be with Gerri all week in their camper for the Farm Show.

Eagle Bowl Award

In 1952, the Butler Eagle began awarding Butler Farm Show families with the Eagle Bowl to honor their efforts.

“I think it's quite an honor for the families to get picked (for the Eagle Bowl),” said Ken Metrick, board secretary of the Butler Farm Show.

The award is given annually to the Butler Farm Show family that participates to the greatest extent and with the highest degree of success in the Butler Farm Show. Families apply each year at the farm show. A committee determines which family will be selected.

Criteria also include good sportsmanship, volunteerism and a high level of involvement by all members of the family in support of the Butler Farm Show.

In the history of the award, as many as three generations of farmers in the same family have received the award.

“The last family to receive a third-generation award was the Steve & Lona (Rader) Peters Family of Connoquenessing (Township) in 2015,” Metrick said.