The road was a dirt and gravel lane overgrown on the sides and its surface rutted by heavy rains. Just when it seemed like the road could go no further, a house emerged from the dense vegetation. It was nestled in between fields of corn and just beyond that were large barns where Ethan Kunkel and one of his employees were looking under the hood of a farm tractor.
The Reading Fair and the Berks County Grange selected Kunkel, Agri-Nutrition Consultant, chief of the Kempton Fire Department, assistant Little League coach, volunteer umpire for girls softball, and owner of Sunnyside Dairy Farm, and his family as Outstanding Farm Family from Berks County. They will be honored at the awards banquet to be held on July 22 at the Berks County Agricultural Center.
“I have a passion for agriculture; I always have. I enjoy being my own boss even though I can’t ever punch out,” Kunkel said and laughed. “I just really enjoy seeing things from the beginning to the end; the lifecycle of the animals; the lifecycle of the plants. You get a very good feeling of self-satisfaction running your own successful business seeing how your management decisions influence your crop yields, your animal yields, so on and so forth.”
Steve Mohn, banquet chair, said Kunkel was selected for the award due to his passionate love for agriculture, his community service, and his involvement with the kids through the 4-H and Holstein club.
Mohn said Kunkel is into technology and constantly trying new things to improve farming practices. If it doesn’t work, he tries something else. Mohn said Kunkel is really up on the technology of the farm.
“Neither myself nor my wife do anything for honors and accolades. We do things because we believe it’s right and we know it’s right. We are who we are and we do what we want to do,” said Kunkel.
Even as fire chief of Kempton, Kunkel and his team were recognized for their service.
“We just actually received the American Red Cross Hero of the Year Award for a rescue we made July 4, 2014,” said Kunkel. “It was a 200 foot vertical extrication we had to maneuver.”
Kunkel said it was an eight-hour rescue of a man who had fallen about 40 feet off the face of a cliff known as the Pinnacle. The Pinnacle looms in the near distance behind the farm.
Kunkel milks about 220 cows. They have all of the baby calves at the farm until they reach five months and then are shipped to another farm where they are raised until two months ready to have a calf and then they come back. Those animals are kept on a third different farm.
Kunkel also grows about 200 acres of corn, about 120 acres of alfalfa, along with barley, rye, and forage sorghum.
“The old wives tale is that the farmers brag about how many days they worked and they never go anywhere and they never do anything. We are atypical to that,” said Kunkel. “We have other things to do in life besides be here 24/7.”
Kunkel said his parents, Terry and Sue, enjoy traveling and he and his wife, Jen, like to get away occasionally to keep their sanity. They let their kids be involved in every single activity that they want to do and to make sure that the kids get what they need.
Kunkel and his dad, partners, run the farm seven days a week with two full-time and seven part-time employees. Kunkel said in essence, they don’t necessarily have to be there to run the farm. It’s a matter of making sure everything is in order.
Kunkel runs all of the cow records off of his laptop while his dad runs financial records off of his computer. They have GPS on their tractor for precision in order to cut down on the cost and application of chemicals.
“Technology isn’t a matter of necessity, it’s a matter of being more financially prudent and being able to micromanage everything to get every last penny you can because our margins keep shrinking every year,” said Kunkel.
The cows are kept in the barn; they are never let out. Kunkel said he could keep them more comfortable in the barn than they would be outside. It was cool in the barn as fans overhead circulated the air and misters periodically went off as temperatures started to climb. The cows were able to move around or lay on thick rubber mats.
The calves were housed in a smaller barn in stalls filled with straw and large buckets for feed and water. The calves were Kunkel’s children’s first introduction to farming. They helped their Pappy feed the calves.
“From there they developed the want to learn how to do other things to become experienced with the animals through 4-H,” said Kunkel. “Our four oldest kids are now in 4-H so they’re getting that experience, but they’re getting to meet people all over the place.”
Kunkel said his oldest, Morgan, 14, is the one who’s into farming. She really loves the cows.
“You’ve got to be patient. You can’t rush with everything that you do because the cows need time,” said Morgan. “It’s all about timing. You just got to be calm and stay settled.”
Morgan loves being around the animals and working with her dad and hopes to eventually take over the farm. She thinks the farm is at a good level now being above and beyond what is supposed to be, but maybe she could see a little expansion in the future. Her favorite Holstein, April, was just ranked 87 a few weeks ago and is considered the highest-ranking cow on the farm. Besides 4-H, grange, Dairy Bowl Competition and farming chores, Morgan plays baritone sax, field hockey, softball, and dances.
Ellissa, 13, plays the xylophone, softball for the Kempton Fast Pitch, KYAA, and school, and basketball and field hockey for school. Ellissa also shows dairy cows in 4-H. She likes the experience to see how other people train their animals and compete.
“You can learn from other people’s mistakes and see what they’re doing so you know what you’re doing,” said Ellissa. “I’ve learned how to clip the proper way and walk when you walk in the show ring.”
She said the hardest thing is training the animals and getting them to walk with you, take a step, and to set their feet. She got first place in showmanship with her cow, Abbie.
“It’s really fun and a nice thing to do and a good thing to learn,” said Ellissa.
Kunkel’s mother said Landon, 9, is just like his dad all over again inside and out. Farming is all he can think about. Landon plays the snare drum, is active in baseball, soccer, swim team, and shows 4-H. Landon took first in showmanship with his cow, Abigail.
“I like having to walk your animals and wash them,” said Landon. “I help milk; I help my grandfather feed calves. Sometimes I drive the skid loader for my dad.”
Kunkel said his youngest daughter, Hallie, 12, is a free spirit. She likes the animals, but it’s not something she wants to pursue. Hallie plays the bass clarinet and is active in softball, basketball, cross-country, swim team, acrobats, ballet, as well as 4-H. She shows dairy cows, but instead of showing Holsteins, she shows Ayrshires. She also helps to feed the calves on the farm. Hallie likes to show the cows, but rather than farming, she hopes to be a photographer.
Kunkel said his oldest son, Dalton, 7, will be the tractor man. He doesn’t really like the animals a whole lot, but he really gets into the equipment, being with them on the equipment, and being with their custom operators and stuff.
“I like when I help my dad feed calves,” said Dalton.
Dalton said the hardest thing is when they have to fix a really big tractor. His favorite time is planting corn because he gets to sit in the tractor and watch. He also likes to ride his four-wheeler around the farm and play ice hockey.
“Having five kids, it’s amazing how they’re all in the same house from the same mold, but their personalities are astronomically different,” said Kunkel.
Kunkel said the kids learn life’s lessons. They learn the entire life cycle, responsibilities, time schedules, and animal care. The Kunkels also support other children in 4-H to give them the chance to learn about farming.
Emma Rhode, 11, Kempton, started helping on the farm a few years ago and was hooked. She gets to help show the cows at the fairs. Rhode also plays the trombone and is on the swim team, basketball team, and rifle team.
“I just like being around the animals,” said Rhode.
“It’s fun. I like cows and those people are fun,” said Amber Hernandez, 13, Kutztown. “I’m learning stuff about cows.”
“We have Emma and we have another boy named Mitchell, we have Amber, and then we have a cousin and we have two kids from New Jersey who show our animals at the fair,” said Jen. “We allow them to have the experience of being in 4-H because they don’t own a farm. They get to be in 4-H and work with the animals even though they don’t live on a farm. It’s cool for them and it’s fun that the kids get a friend, not just a sibling, but also a friend that gets to go to the fairs with them and show. The more the merrier.”
Jen said all of the kids, including the non-family members, pull good grades. She said all of hers had made high honor roll every quarter since middle school.
“Good grades are a must with us,” said Jen. “The way they have school set up now, they’ve got extra periods to get their work done so that’s why they can do more things after school.”
In addition to their support of 4-H, the Kunkels give farm tours to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Kunkel said their single greatest challenge is educating the public.
“Everyday, people are farther and farther removed from the farm,” said Kunkel. “They don’t understand what’s going on. All they hear is the negative stuff in the media. They never hear the positive things; they never see what actually goes on. You’re not battling just the financial aspect of the business, you’re battling the public perception.”
Jen said they do a lot of work, but the kids have a lot of fun hanging out together, educating the public, and they love the fairs. With the interview over, the kids revved up their 4×4 Polaris Ranger and zipped off to the neighbors for a cool swim on a hot afternoon.
