​Got Milk? Thank A Trucker

VOLANT, PA… While we of course must thank farmers for raising the cattle that give us our milk, sometimes we forget about the fact that a Professional Truck Driver must transport it from the farm to the processor and then to the retailer.

Don Rice has been a farmer all of his life and a Professional Truck Driver for 30 years. Don has been driving a milk truck for the past 15 years, picking up at local dairy farms and transporting the milk to Marburger Dairy in Evans City, PA. Don really enjoys hauling milk; not only because of the beautiful Peterbilt he drives, but also because of the people he gets to see at local farms, most of whom he has known all of his life.

Recently Brian McConnell, owner of McConnell Trucking in Volant, PA, had a 2017 Peterbilt 389 EXD Glider built for Don to drive on his milk run. The glider was purchased from Hunter Truck Sales and has a 550 6NZ CAT engine with an 18 speed transmission. The Pete has a 46,000-pound fully locking differential to aid in challenging situations. The truck is equipped with a 60,000-gallon milk tank. Don has immense pride in his ride, keeping his Peterbilt sparkling clean.

So the next time you pour some milk over your cereal, thank the cows, thank a farmer and thank a truck driver (or two). There is not much in this world that we use that isn’t at some point hauled by a truck.

[Publisher’s Note: Don Rice and I attended the Vocational Agriculture Program together at the Grove City High School in the 1970s and have remained friends ever since. Vo-Ag was a great experience where we met many nice people, including our instructor, Mr. David Boyer.]