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The Rhoades Farm By: Bradon W. (CLASS OF 2004) |
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 Click on picture to enlarge The current location of the Rhoades Farm in Lamar tine.
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Dick and Martha Rhoades started farming in 1941and rented from L.L. Neely in Lamartine, Pa in western Clarion county. They started with 17 cows, a few pigs, a team of horses and a little bit of machinery. It cost them $2,700 to start their farm. They farmed and rented for 2 years. In 1943 they bought the existing farm off of an Uncle of Dick's for $5,000. Building a dairy farm with nine cows, no machinery, a 119 acres and a few horses was no easy feat. Keep in mind it was1943, that means they would have had to milk the cows by hand because they didn’t have modern machinery driven milking parlors. The Rhoades' sold milk to Judson's in Franklin and transported the milk in large metal cans. The cans weighed up to 60 pounds each, the milk weighed in at 40 pounds and the total weight was 100 pounds. When the milk truck came around to pick up the cans of milk they had about fifty cans on the truck, some empty some already full. The man picking up the milk would switch the full cans for empty ones. Dick and other farmers had special places built to hold the containers of milk. Over the years, Mr. Rhoades farm grew progressively larger. By 1970 he owned 350 acres and rented 100 acres. He farmed a total of three hundred acres. 285 acres were cultivated for crops. He had 25 acres that were permanent pasture fields. He also has 18 acres of woodland and 122 acres of unused land. He farmed 70 acres of corn producing 105 bushels per acre at a cost of just under a buck a bushel. He also farmed 29 acres of wheat which produced 31 bushels per acre for a total value of $899. Thirty-five acres were set aside for oats, producing 50 bushels per acre at a total value of $27 per acre. He also produced 110 acres of hay at 4500 pounds per acres at a total value of $7000 plus. At the time Dick had 94 diary cows and heifers over two years old. He also had 45 diary heifers 1 to 2 years old and 28 diary calves under one year. He had 5 beef feeders, 13 feeder hogs, 300 hens, 270 pullets, and 2 horses. He also had many types of equipment. He owned several David Brown, Massey Ferguson, and Ford tractors. Along with these, he owned 1 combine, 2 plows, 1 disc, 2 spring tooth harrows, 1 corn planter, 1 baler, 3 wagons, 1 rotary mower, 1 rake, 1 hay binder. He also had 2 corn choppers, 1corn picker, a grain planter, one mower, 1 silage wagon, and a hay elevator. There is also a large machine shed and several large barns. Recently there have been three town and country days held there. One of them in the eighties, one in the mid nineties, and one in 1999.
Page Design By: Stephanie S., Bradon W., and Joe P. (CLASS OF 2004) |
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 Click on picture to enlarge One of the new advances in farming is automatic milking parlors.
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