It s been a whirlwind nine months.
The pandemic and resulting lockdown had a swift and merciless impact on the dairy industry. People were shocked when Berks producers for Clover Farms were told to dump thousands of pounds of milk on March 31 and April 1 because the dairy was full.Â
Dairy farmer Dave Wolfskill of Mar-Anne Farms, in Lower Heidelberg Township, dumped a total of 47,000 pounds. Paul Hartman, who with his two brothers manages Scattered Acres farms in seven townships in Berks and Lancaster counties, ended up dumping 64,000 pounds of milk.
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Along with milk dumping, the pandemic brought meat processing plant closures and marketplace disruption affecting commodities including poultry and beef. The pandemic has been a huge struggle for farmers due to the closure of schools, restaurants and other supply chain disruptions.
Tom McDonaldâs health problems were serious, but the text message he sent to his friend was not meant that way.
McDonald was joking when he messaged his buddy to say, Hey Chris, if youâre not doing anything with a kidney, can I borrow one? Haha.
McDonald had just received some tough news.
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Both of his failing kidneys had deteriorated to the point where he needed a new one, and he was being added to the long list of people from the region seeking a donation.
McDonald often felt lousy and was getting worse, and the odds were the 52-year-old Lower Heidelberg Township man would need to wait three to five years to receive a kidney from a deceased donor while enduring many grueling sessions of dialysis.
But this year her parents felt her goal was a bit too ambitious.
In early November, the Lower Heidelberg Township girl told her mother that she wanted to make greeting cards to deliver to police departments in her area. She set a goal of 300 cards.
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âI thought, âSheâs definitely going to need help,ââ her mother, Amanda, said.
Her mom made a flier that she posted on her Facebook and Instagram profiles, saying Mackenzie wants to make sure that all her local police departments get Christmas cards to spread holiday joy this season to those public servants.