Name: Franklin County Farm Bureau
Email: franklinfallfarmfunfest@comcast.net
Phone: 7175973563
MERCERSBURG, Pa. — Two-Top Holsteins will open the Mercersburg area dairy farm to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, for the 31st annual Franklin (Pa.) Fall Farm Fun Fest. Two-Top Holsteins is located at 12750 Karper Road, Mercersburg, Pa. 17236.
The event is a project of the Franklin County Farm Bureau.
Parking and admission are free. Free milk and ice cream will be served. Lunch is available for purchase from a stand operated by the FFA.
Visitors will be able to take a wagon tour of the farm, milk a cow by hand and learn about the many aspects of Franklin County agriculture in the outdoor environment. The event will offer fun and education for all ages.
Franklin is among the leading counties for agriculture production in Pennsylvania. Agricultural products eclipse $475 million in market value each year. Multiplying farm gate receipts makes agriculture a $1 billion industry in Franklin County, providing jobs, food and stability for local business.
“The Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest allows farmers the opportunity to showcase the commodities they produce,” said Sarah Meyers, co-chair of the bureau’s Agriculture Promotion Committee.
“The event also serves to educate those who enjoy those products about where their food comes from and the processes needed to get it from farm to fork.”
Brothers Marcus and Chester Martin continued a family farming legacy by forming Two-Top Holsteins in 1980. Today, the brothers remain in the workforce with the farm now managed and operated by Chester’s daughter, Shaina, and her husband Clint Ferguson.
Two-Top Holsteins milks 300 cows twice a day. There are also 190 dry cows, heifers and calves that are cared for as part of replenishing the dairy herd.
The farm focuses on excellent type cows and high quality milk production. Keeping the animals healthy and happy is key and the farmers consistently make improvements to facilities and the care program toward that goal.
“We want our cows to be comfortable,” said Shaina Ferguson. “They have nice beds, clean water and plenty of good things to eat.
“I think it’s a good life for the cows. If I were a cow, this is where I would want to live.”
Most of the crops raised on the farm are used as forage to feed the animals. Two Top Holsteins farms 900 acres, raising corn, alfalfa, small grains, soy beans and grass hay.
For more information, visit the Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest on Facebook.
