January 2023 - 8

" We want to no-till where possible, protecting that soil
from erosion from the river when it floods, " Anchor said.
" Anything we can do along those lines to look after the soil
that we have. "
Cutting crop protectants
Anchor employs integrated pest management
practices. He rotates herbicides to avoid reapplying
the same herbicides on the same ground. Growing up
in his farming family, Anchor would dump pounds of
insecticides on tomatoes to kill potato beetles, which
became immune to the crop protectant.
" If, through proper management, we can go out there
and raise a crop without having to spray more insecticides
or extra weed killers, I would say that would be a win on
my part, " Anchor said.
Working closely with Penn State Extension members,
Anchor befriended Allen McNabb, a Penn State plant
pathologist. Anchor kept records for McNabb to develop a
spray program for early blight on Anchor's tomatoes.
" We are farmers, we are stewards, " Anchor said. " We
are called in the Bible to take care of the things we have.
That's how I view this agricultural industry. We have to
be good stewards with the land for future generations, to
give them something to grow with. "
Charles Joe Anchor, a World War II veteran who served
in the Pacific Theater, began farming in 1959, raising
chickens and contract tomatoes for Chef Boyardee.
During the mid-1970s, he and his son, Charles Joe Anchor
III, began working together. When he was 15, the younger
Anchor signed his first tomato contract.
The elder Anchor's 2013 death left a void in his son's
life, as did the earlier loss of his mother, who died at
54 shortly after her son graduated high school in 1977.
Unsure of what he wanted to do, Joe Anchor took a year
off before taking classes at Pennsylvania College of
Technology, earning an Associates Degree in ag business.
Anchor and his father formed Anchor Farms in 1987.
Ag family
Two of Anchor's four children are in ag careers.
Daughter Courtney Parent, a 2017 Penn State graduate in
plant science research with ag business and agronomy
minors, is a field manager for Furmano's. She helps
her father on the farm, soil testing and planning, while
daughter Christine Zimmerman works at Keystone Group
Agricultural Seeds of Milton, Pennsylvania, which Anchor
owns. He's been in the grain seed business since 1998.
A 2019 stroke forced Anchor, 63, to relearn
mathematical and science functions, temporarily
preventing him from driving tractors. Courtney assists
him in his recovery.
Living the farm life and raising his children the way
he wanted remains the best part of farming for Anchor,
who taught his children how to grow their own food as
well as hunt and fish. Anchor and his were able to exert
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8 | JANUARY 2023
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Kemmerer Farms harvesting Anchor Farms' broccoli. Anchor
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January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023
