Vol. 11. No. 38
Farm Activities
Show Increase
After Rains
HARRISBURG Pennsyl
vania farm activities for the
week ended Monday picked up
as tomatoes, sweet corn and
other garden vegetables along
with early peaches and apples
moved ito market, the State De
partment of Agriculture report-'
ed - I
. According to the weekly Fed-|
eral-State Crop Reporting Ser
vice, all crops in southern
counties were in need of mois
ture while good crop g'rowth was!
reported in northern areas. The
survey shows some plowing is
being done in he south ■ I
-A general rainfall a week ago
returned crops to near normal.!
However, additional moisture is
required for small grains to 1
reach their expected yields. j
Most farmers in southern and
central Pennsylvania counties re- j
ported harvesting a second cut
ttmg of hay, slightly behind sche
dule because of dry conditions.
Pastures in this area were re
ported poor. Northern counties,
with adequate rainfall during the
growing season, indicate good
pastures and normal growth of
crops. - -
The heaviest rainfall for the
crop which began April 2, 1957,
has been in the western sections
of the state with Erie showing
17 56 inches of rain and Altoona
16 31 inches. Philadelphia, with
8 06 inches,' reports the smallest
amount of ram. j
For the remainder of the week
IN A probing demonstiaaon at the Swine
Producers Field Day Saturday, Frank Sherritt of Penn
State swabs a barrows back with iodine-un preparation for
the incision. Dwight Younkin, livestock specialist, holds
the knife ready to make the incision. The hog is probed
in three areas for the fat measurement. (LF photo)
GIVING REASONS FOR HIS PLACINGS
in a class of sows Saturday at the Lancas
ter County Swine Producers’ Field Day at
Stauffer Homestead Farms, R 1 East Earl,
is'Dwight Yourikin (left), Penn State live
Pennsylvania farmers can expect
near normal temperatures with
scattered thundershowers near
the end of the week, the U S.
Weather Bureau reports.
Quarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday, Aug, 2, 1957
Dual’ Wheat Makes Good Showing;
English Hybrid 46 Yields Only Fair
A new wheat variety, Dual, de- ■/
veloped by Indiann’s Purdue Un-
iversity and on test here in Penn-
;
sylvania for the past two years,
row seem to be one of the best
of the new wheat varieties for
Pennsylvania farmers.
In tests in Lancaster aftd Centfe
"'ounties the past two years the
wheat has averaged 52 8 bu
,hels an acre It is Hessian fly,
•ust and winter kill resistant
However there is one pfecau
ion that must be taken with Dual
tis suseptible to loose smut,
rhereiore to avoid this hazard
ertified seed or seed that has
been hot water treated should be
sed. Mercuric seed treatments
or other types of smut do not af
ect loose smut which is in the
rain
However of all the wheats on
sst this year, none, because of
arious failings seems to be much
letter than Pennoll, Senaca and
Thorne, standards now for some
/ears
The English wheat, Hybnd 46,
las not shown up too well in tests
nade by Beltsville, Penn State
md by individual farmers through
out the county
According to Dr L. P Wright
of the Beltsville USDA Research
Center, tests in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois and Texas have failed tn
irove any great value of the Eng
lish wheat over native varieties.
Here in Pennsylvana the varie
ty has been on test since 1954. It
has had the lowest average yield
of any variety when the tests
were averaged over the years and
compared with Dual Pennoll,
Seneca and Thorne.
In independent field trials run
ithe past season by several county
farmers, the wheat averaged be
tween 35 and 40 bushels an acre
The grain was not well filled and
the variety seems to be affected
by rust and insects, notably Hes
sian Fly and com borer.
stock specialist. Keeping the sows grouped
is Earl Fisher, manager of Stauffer Home
stead Farms. More than 80 persons at
tended the event, held this year for the
first time. (LF Photo)
According to Dr. Wright, re
su^s an imported, wheat are of
ten similar to this The north
„ . ~ , ,
countries of Europe have an ideal
w heat growing climate with mild
winters, long cool moist summers,
and are without some of the dis-
eases that affect wheat and other
small grains here.
Yields of 100 bushels per
acre of most of the small grams
are not uncommon in that part of
the world
Plant breeders at experiment
stations throughout the nation
are now using the Hybrid 46 vari
ety to tiy to breed the stiff straw
ed characteristic into new wheat
being developed.
In tests of other small grams
made this year at the Southeast
Field Research Laboratories near
(Continued on page three)
Now Is The Time...
TO RENOVATE OLD PASTURES The dry hot weather of August
is the best time to destroy old sods by discing Lime and fertilizer
should be worked into the ground as the sods are destroyed Early
September is the best time for starting a new seeding.
TO CHECK SILOS Corn silage making time will soon be at hand
Be suie your silo is in good condition to preserve this valuable feed
crop
TO CONSIDER A TRENCH SILO Upright silos are not required to
have silage The value of trench silos is being recognized more each
year Plans and assistance are available at the Extension Service
Office m the Post Office Building, Lancaster.
TO KILL MILLIPEDES These hard shelled, many-legged insects
are quiet common about homes and lawns A lindane spray will kill
then or you can sweep them up and burn them. No apparent damage
is expected.
By MAX SMITH, County Agriculture Agent
$2 Per Year
Progressive DHIA
Votes to Join
Red Rose DHIA
With the coming conversion of
DHIA records in Chester County
to the machine system, the direc
tors of Progressive DHIA are
met with the problem of which)
county they shall be affiliated
with, but have voted to join Lan
caster County’s Red Rose DHIA.
The Progressive association was
formed ten years ago to, servo
dairymen in the southern '■’fcartsi
of Lancaster and Chester County.
Under an agreement proposed
by former County Agent Floyd
(Dutch) Bucher, the administra
tion of the bi-county group was
to be by - the Chester County
Agent.
However during the past ten
years the composition of tha
group has changed so that now
there'are enough Lancaster Coun
ty farms in the association to give
one tester a full month of work.
At a meeting of Lancaster
County members held Monday
night at the Chestnut Level
Church, Paul Ankrum R 2 Peach
Bottom, said that among the other
problems facing Chester County
is that there are now seven DHIA
organizations in that county. Un
der the machine system the coun
ty must be tested as a whole.
Costs of testing, however, seems,
to be the big issue. Chester Coun
ty has proposed a price schedule
that calls for a charge of $l2 for
the first 25 cows tested, 25 cents
a cow for all over 25, 10 cents a
cow record costs and 5 cents a
cow for association fees.
This would amount to a charge
ot $23 75 for a 40 cow herd. Prior
to this time the Progressive as
sociation had been makng a,
charge that amounted to $l5 50
far a 40 cow herd
Red Rose DHIA President
Rohier Witmer told the dairy
men that the charges for a 40
cow herd in that association are
$lB
- But another problem is that the
fee to the tester will be dropped,
by $2 on a 40 oow herd under thei
Red Rose system
However the dairymen moved
that they apply for group mem
bership in the Red Rose DHIA,
bringing with them their tester
and equipment
The directors of Red Rose will
meet Aug. 6 at the Lancaster Post 1
Office Building to discuss this
proposal