Farm Progress

Elsie Wolff is a longtime dairy farmer from Quarryville, Pa.

September 24, 2018

2 Min Read
OBIE SNIDER WINNER: Elsie Wolff received the 2018 Obie Snider Award at the All-American exhibitor appreciation dinner at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center.

Elsie Wolff of Quarryville, Pa., is the 2018 Obie Snider Award winner. She got the award during the exhibitor appreciation dinner at All-American Dairy Show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.

The award, established in memory of Obie Snider of Bedford County, a founding father of the All-American Dairy Show, recognizes an individual who places significant value in service to the industry and community, and displays high standards of conduct.

"Elsie Wolff worked side-by-side with Obie on the show's board of directors and shared his vision of developing a show that dairy breeders could use to showcase their genetics and that could be a launching pad for young people in the industry," says Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. "She honors his legacy and, in turn, it's fitting to honor her service."

Wolff believes in the power of the show and its relevance to dairy farmers.

"The All-American gives us the chance to promote our dairy breeds and offers those who aren't showing the chance to see the genetics that are being used so that they can incorporate those genetics on their own farms," Wolff says.

She has served as the Guernsey breed representative for the Pennsylvania Allied and Industries Association, the volunteer board of directors that governs the All-American Dairy Show, since 1988. She has also held the office of secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania Guernsey Breeders Association since 1980.

She declares herself a "Guernsey girl," adding that Guernsey breeders are a close-knit group, and that the camaraderie of the breeders and others who run the show make them seem like her second family.
In fact, Wolff met her husband, Scott, at All-American Dairy Show, and they married in 1973. Together they operated Hollow View Farm in Quarryville, where they milked 32 Guernseys and bred many All-American winners.

Wolff has been exhibiting at the All-American Dairy Show for nearly 60 years and, thanks to a long-term friendship with fellow Guernsey breeder Kevin Stoltzfus and his family from Warwick Manor Guernseys in East Earl, she has been able to continue supporting the show even after her husband's death. She continues to raise heifers on her farm while the Stoltzfus family milks her cows at their farm.

"Elsie's dedication to the Guernsey breed and the All-American Dairy Show is second to none," Stoltzfus says. "She always goes out of her way to make sure exhibitors at the show feel welcome."
Wolff was named the All-American Dairy Show Image Award winner in 1998 and was the Pennsylvania Dairymen's Association's Distinguished Dairy Woman of the Year in 2000.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

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