Fourth generation Morrison's Cove dairy farmer Doug Smith is more likely to be found sitting behind a computer than milking a cow. Smith co-owns Frosty Hollow Farms, the county's largest milk producer with a herd of 600 cows - 500 go through the farm's milking parlor three times each day. Smith grew up on the family's Woodbury Township farm and graduated from Northern Bedford County High School after combining vocational ag with college prep. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Penn State, but found himself drawn back to his farming roots.

Doug and his wife, Tami, went into partnership with his parents, Daniel and Beverly in 1995. "We found that the only way we could provide a retirement for my parents and a living for my family was to expand the operation," he says. "Large scale farming is much more efficient than small farms," he says. "You can produce much more volume at a much smaller unit cost when you go larger." In addition, the farm also required constant, backbreaking work 365 days a year. "Our operation then was too small to hire outside help; too big for the two of us." They took the plunge in 1999, moving the herd from 100 cows to its current size and building a large, modern dairy - complete with computerized milking parlor and adjustable milk platform designed to be easily raised and lowered depending on the height of the attendant. Each cow is identified by a tag that is automatically scanned by the computer when she enters her station, and her output is monitored by a computer. Frosty Hollow now has 14 staff members who oversee the production of 35,000 to 40,000 pounds of milk each day.

"My role has gone from hands-on farming to management as we've made these changes," Doug says. "But that's indicative of the dairy industry, which has seen enormous changes in the last decade. If you don't keep up with modern practices and technology, it's tough to survive." Doug had planned to expand the herd again - building up to about 1,000 - but the low price of milk has caused him to put his plans on hold. The price paid to the farmer has dropped by 40 percent in the last 18 months, but the cost to produce that milk has remained the same or risen. "It has presented all dairy producers with a major challenge," he says. "Hopefully farmers can be efficient enough to weather this downturn. It's definitely a tough time in the dairy business."

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