Vol. IL No. 37 A HAND FULL of the soil that he hopes will produce 300 bushels of corn to an acre is held by Jerry Greiner, Man heim. Working from soil tests and using the latest hybrids and techniques, he hopes to equal a mark set by a farm boy in Mississippi two years ago. (LF Photo) Manheim FFA Boy Plans Raising 300 Bushels an Acre Corn Crop A 17 year old Manheim farip boy is planning grand strategy these days an attack a 300 bushel an acre corn production mark. He is Jerry Greiner, a student at Manheim Central High School. Jerry has already made basic preparation for the,. high yield by spreading 17 tons of chicken, manure on the plot and by having soil tests made. The soil test showed a pH of 6 2, so three tons of burnt lime was applied. It also showed that the organic matter content of the soil was 2.6 per cent, that there were 16 pounds of phosphorus and 295 pounds of potash available. To raise the deficient phosphor us and potash levels, Jerry plans to apply 4,000 pounds of 10-10-10. The 17 tons of manure will add 768 pounds of nitrogen, 387 pounds of phosphorus and 346 pounds of potash. If needed an ap plication of anhydrous or aqua ammonia will be made when the corn is about knee high Planting will be’ done at a rate of 22,000 plants per acre. They will be planted seven and a half inches apart in a 38 inch row. Pa * Quarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday, May 17, 1957 807, a recently developed Penn State' drouth icsistar.) hybrid, will be used The plot To be planted, in to bacco and rye grass last year, isi on an approximately one per cent western slope. The field is close inough to the farmstead'that wa ter for irrigation will be avail able if the season warrents its use. However Jerry says that he loes not plan to irrigate unless it becomes absolutely necessary Young Greiner is no stranger to corn growing Last year he nade 115.5 bushels in a one acre ontest. “I probably could have done better, but we didn’t take a soil est or go to much trouble with t,” he-said. In addition To his field crop vork, he raises Hampshire and /orkshiie hogs and has a floor of ayers. _ < He was recently elected presi dent of his Future Farmers of America chapter at Manheim Cen ral. His advisors at Manheim Central are Joseph McGahen and s aul Miller. Lack of Moisture i Brings Planting Of Corn to Halt HARRISBURG With dust clouds following plows and plant ers m many farming areas of Pennsylvania some farmers have delayed efforts to plant crops aft er three weeks of little or no rain, the State Department of Agriculture said today. Dry, hard fields have made' plowing “dusty and difficult,” according to the weather and crop summary issued by the Penn sylvania Crop Reporting Service for the week ended Monday Some'fields were too dry to plant after being prepared and in York, Lancaster and other south eastern Pennsylvania areas many farmers have stopped planting, corn until moist soil can provide for germination and healthy root growth, observers said Several days of steady, soaking ram would bring i elief to' parched fields they declared For the re mainder of the week rainfall is expected to range from one-half to one inch but some relief could come from local thundershowers. While waiting for rain, many farmers have been repairing buildings and fences Tomato plants aie coming in and must be set in dry ground Early planted peas show reduced bloom which will cut yields Planting of'vegetable seed con Unties in the hope that rain will come soon. Many commercial vegetable operations in the south ' eastern section of the state are using their irrigation systems to advantage Growth of hay and pastures is retarded by dry weather the'sur vey report declared. Gram crops developed slowly during the week Barley is in head but the straw is short and reduced yields are possible. Late planted oats stands are uneven and slow to sprout With some risk involved, plant ing of sweet corn continues along with the setting of tomato plants Since April 2, the beginning of the 1957 growing season, the Har nsburg area has had the least rain slightly less than four inches Most ram was in the Erie and Emporium areas with more than six inches Philadelphia has had a little more than four inches and elsewhere m the state the cumu lative total is between five and six inches, but very little in the past three weeks. Feeder Space For Young Birds Affects Weight Results of tests conducted by the Texas Agricultural experi ment station show that broiler chicks allowed 1.5 linear inches of feeder space until three weeks of age and then increased to three linear inches for the rest of the nine week growing period weie .04 to .15 pound heavier than other birds receiving smaller amounts of feeder space. The greatest decline in growth rate occurred when the chicks were started on .7 inch of feeder space until three weks old and then increased to 1.5 linear inches forthe last six weeks. The response of male and fe male birds to increased feeder space was found to be the same. 1 Benson Calls for Agricultural Act Based on Current Peacetime Need - New farm legislation not based on the needs of a general economic depression or wartime is needed, accord ing to Scretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson. Benson, speaking at a special news conference for the Newspaper Farm Editors Assn, at Washington Mon day, said that there is no one shot solution to the farm problem. Ezra Taft Benson Calf Vaccination Given State Okay HARRISBURG - - Expansion of the State’s calfhood vaccination piogram as an important phase of control and eradication of bovine brucellosis (Bang’s disease) was announced today by Agriculture Secretary William L Henning. - Effective at once, practicing veterinarians are authorized to vaccinate dairy calves from the age of four months through eight months, he said Since the free calfhood vaccina tion program was started m 1950 the age range has been from six through eight months There is sufficient proof that vaccination at the jounger age is effective and the step is m line with-federal Department of Agri culture practices since Jan 1 of this year, according to Dr HA Milo, director of the State Bureau of Animal Industry Now Is the Time... By MAX M. SMITH To Make Grass Silage from Winter Rye Many fields of rye have been headed for at least a week, and since the best time to make grass silage is in the blossom-stage be fore the gram develops,, the crops should be cUt soon. Rye silage should be put in the silo without wilting and with a preservative such as meta-bisulphite or one of the molasses mixtures. To Spray Alfalfa Aphids, Weevils Second Time number or phone calls at the Lancaster County Extension Office show that a number of County fields may be infested with I he second crop of weevils or with green aphids. Inspect alfalfa fields l often The control is to spray Anth malathion according to the manu facturers recommendations. To Apply Pre-emergence on Corn the best ways to reduce weeds in the corn field is to spray either before the corn comes up or spray in the spike state using two pints of 2,4-D in the amine or low-volitile ester form per acre. Do not use the ester form of 2,4-D. Do not cultivate for at least two weeks following this application. The advantage of a pre-emer gence spray is that heavier amounts of the material may be used Without damage to the crop, and grasses are killed as they coma throuffh the ground. To Spray Dairy Barns for Fly Control ijiazuion applied at a rate of eight pounds of 25 per cent wet able powder or a gallon of 25 per cent emulsion in 50 pounds of water is (recommended for dairy bam fly control. This spray should last for about six weeks. When spraying, remove all animals (keep them out for at least four-hours) and cover all water and feed containers. An established fact good livestock sanitation practices are still the best answer. $2 Per Ye^r “The move has been toward less controls and regulations” the Secretary said. “I believe that present agricultural policies are sound ” He also scoffed at three general misconceptions and over simpli fications. The first of these is that it is simple to control production by acre cuts. “This is diffcult to impossible,” Benson said. The next was that the family farm is a thing of the past “The family farm has changed markedly to- meet the changes in a dynamic agriculture The size has increased to make the best use of labor and equipment,” Benson explained. “The farm debt has more than doubled, but the farm assets have increased more than the debt,” he said. There is much in the family farm picture that is encouraging, according to Benson Foreign markets are improving, the na tional diet in'the United States has improved ’and the population shows a steady increase that will mean a growing market for farm, products at home. When questioned on what sort of a mew blueprint or proposal for the up coming farm legisla tion he has, the Secretary said that at the present he has none. He did explain that any proposals he might make would be “the next step forward ” When asked to comment on re cently published rumors that ffe will leave the cabinet soon, to gether with Secretary of the Treasury Humphrey and Secre tary of Defense Wilson, Benson said that there is no basis for then stories In speaking of his future, Ben son said laughingly that it would be a matter of “months or years’’ before he leaves his government post “I have never worried about tenure in office,” he added
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