NEW HOLLAND AGRICULTURE TOUR

Think of Lancaster County and one of the subjects that will come to mind is

beautiful, sprawling farmland. Numerous forms of farming can be seen while driving around the county from the Amish using horses, mules and metal wheeled implements to Mennonites using steel wheeled tractors to the English using much more modern equipment including rubber wheeled tractors. Something you may not be aware of is that Lancaster County is the home to one of the major agricultural equipment plants. It sits on 340 acres in beautiful New Holland Borough and along with it’s haytools plant it is home to the corporate headquarters of this worldwide manufacturer of agricultural equipment. Square and round balers are the main products produced in the New Holland plant.

On Tuesday, May 10 at 1:00 pm, we along with five others including two from Canada, toured the New Holland plant. The tour is held at 1:00 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

When considering this tour, keep in mind that this is a large industrial manufacturing plant. Safety goggles are provided. No open toe shoes should be worn. The tour guides are retired New Holland plant employees and are friendly, courteous and knowledgeable on matters of the plant operations and history. The tour follows the production of the balers from start to finish. You will see metal stamping, drill presses, lathes, welding stations, assembly, priming, painting, quality control, decal application, and testing. The tour runs about 1 1/4 hours. Call 717-355-1588 with any questions. The tour starts at the main entrance at 300 Diller Avenue, New Holland. There are "Tour" signs to direct you. When you enter, there is a small museum where you can see some of the early farm equipment.

The company was started in New Holland in 1895 by Abe Zimmerman as a two-man machinery repair shop and within a year was producing its own products starting with small corn mills. It has grown over the years and has been sold numerous times. The current factory is one of the largest employers in Lancaster County and employs over 600 people. The main products are haytools. The round baler is 80% of the production. Running at full production, the maximum balers produced per day is 40, but on average 25 balers are produced per day. Much goes into this production as the round baler has 1400 parts. All major components are manufactured in the New Holland plant.

If you have an interest in learning more about the farm equipment produced in New Holland, you will not be disappointed in this very informative tour.

Submitted By: David and Bonnie Konya
Country Hearth Bed and Breakfast
New Holland