Mary E. Bettendorf / librarian
Agricultural Library
The Perma. State University
OaiTOrsity Park, Penna,
Vol. 11l- No. 3.
JBenson Names
1958 Soil Bank
Rates, Provisions
Secretary of Agriculture Ezra
Taft Benson Thursday announced
the general provisions which will
govern participation in the Acre
age Reserve of the Soil Bank for
spring-planted “basic” crops for
3958 production.
Agreements to put fall-seeded
“winter" wheat in the Reserve
were signed earlier in the year.
General provisions of the pro
gram, as announced at that time
for winter wheat, will apply to
the spring-planted crops.
The Acreage Reserve is the part
of the Soil Bank under which
farmers agree to reduce their
current year’s acreage of upland
cotton, corn, wheat, nee, and to
bacco below their established
acreage allotments, in return for
payments designed to maintain
net income for land put in the
program. The other phase of the
Soil Bank, the Conservation Re
serve, helps farmers shift general
cropland to conservation uses un
der contracts running for three,
five, or 10 years.
Highlights of the 1958 Acreage
Reserve program, and principal
changes from 1957 include.
Payment rates. Per-acre pay
ment rates for the 1958 program
are somewhat higher for- most
crops than those which were in
effect for 1957.
Premium rates. Farmers who
took part m the 1957 Acreage Re
serve will be paid a 10-per cent
premium, above the 1958 compen
sation rate established for their
farms, if they put the identical
land in the 1958 program.
Eligible crops. "Allotment”
acres of spring wheat, corn, up
land cotton, rice, and tobacco are
eligible for the 1958 Acreage Re
serve (These are the same crops
which were eligible in 1957.)
Signup period. The signup per
iod for the 1958 Acreage Reserve
will open on Jan. 13 and close
March 7, 1958. For the early cot
ton area of Texas and the early
tobacco area of Florida, permis
sion will be granted to begin the
Now Is The Time . . .
By MAX SMITH
County Agricultural Agent
TO KEEP GOOD FARM RECORDS Tax re
turn time is rapidly approaching and is just
another reason to keep records on your farm
business, however, the mam benefit is to know
the enterprises that are making the greatest net
returns and to uncover the “leaks” in your farm
operations. Farm account books are available at
a minimum cost at any Extension Service Office.
TO KILL VOLUNTEER GRAINS Many farm
ers obtained a thick stand of . unwanted winter
grain in their new fall grass seeding; this may
be thick enough to smother the small alfalfa or
clover seeding. If spraying for duckweed with
Chloro IPG during December, the winter grain
Max Smith
will also be killed along with the chickweed; be
certain that not more than one pound (one quart) of the material
is applied per acre.
TO TEST FARM SEEDS All seeds offered for sale in Pennsyl
vania must be labeled as tc variety, purity, germination, and pres
ence of noxious weeds. A five-ounce sample of grass or legume seed
sent to the Seed Laboratory, Dept, of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant
Industry, Harrisburg, Pa. along with a fee of $2 00 will meet the re
quirements.
TO PLAN MILK HOUSE FOR THE FUTURE Any re-modeling or
constructing of a milk house should be planned with the possibility
of being large enough to house a bulk milk tank in the future; also,
that in the future a pipeline milker might be installed. The milk
house floor should be strong enough to support the heavy tank and
the milk.
Quarryville (Lancaster County) Pa., Friday, Nov. 29, 1957
'jsk'
WINTER IS NEARLY UPON US, as was
testified by the light snowfall which cover
ed the county during the past week. Al
though the season doesn’t start officially
for some three weeks, cool temperatures
signup at an earlier date
Goals. The total goal for basic
rrops in the 1958 Acreage Reserve
is from 11.5 to 14 5 mihon acres.
Soil Bank “base,” A Soil Bank
“base” will be established for all
farms taking part in the 1958
Acreage Reserve. This will be the
total crop acreage figure for the
farm, based primarily on produc
tion history for 1956 and 1957. To
(Continued on page 5)
AGRICULTURAL ÜBSWi?
FEfokSYLVANIA STATE ~c
and short days tell us that the weather
rarely pays much attention to the calendar.
December usually brings about 3.45 inches
of rain or snow with an average tempera
ture of 40 2 degrees.
Poor Growing Season, Fewer Acres
Dropped State Potato Yield 20 Pet.
A ombination of poor growing
conditions and a reduction in
acreage coupled to reduce the
Pennsylvania Fall potato crop by
20 per cent, the State Department
of Agriculture said Friday
Federal-State surveys estimate
the harvest for the Fall crop at
dredweight last year and is 31 per
6,142,000 bags of 100 pounds each
This compares with 7,706,000 hun
cent below the 1949-55 average.
According to the Department,
potato growers planted 1,200 few
er acres to potatoes m 1957 than
they did'a year ago. Yield per
acre also was reduced because of
unsatisfactory growing conditions.
Yields were the lowest in south
eastern counties because of the
prolonged drought, but northwest
ern Pennsylvania counties
claimed production and quality
on many farms surpassed that of
past years. Quality in the State
is well above average and the best
in many years, the survey showed.
“Now is the time to concentrate
on marketing quality potatoes,’’
John L. Rainey, director of the
State Bureau of Markets, said.
‘ Although growers won’t have
bumper potato crops they will
have good, quality packs to sell,”
he added. Rainey said growers
should stress quality and encour
age consumer confidence in Penn
sylvania potatoes and other prod
ucts.
“We must compete with states
that are attempting to take much
of our market away from us . . ,
and the only way we can success
fully compete is by producing
quality foods,” he declared. Rai-
ney challenged growers to “think
of next year’s market” and said
through the use of consumer edu
cation programs the Pennsylvania
potato market would be regained
as a result of continued quality
production.
J. R. Witmer
Re-named Head
Of Red Rose DHIA
The directors of the Red Rose
Dairy Herd Improvement Assn,
re-elected J. Rohrer Witmer, R 1
Willow Street to a second term as
association president Monday
night.
Also re-elected was vice presi
dent Donald S. Eby, R 1 Gordon
ville, recently named head of the
county Holstein Breeders Assn.
Re-elected treasurer was Charles
Long, R 1 Manheim.
Robert C. Groff, R 3 Quarryville,
was named secretary.
In other business, the directors
voted to meet quarterly on the
last Monday of the month. The
next meeting will be Monday,
Feb. 24.
Canadian Cattle Exports
To U.S. Take Big Jump
During the third quarter of
1957 Canadian cattle inspected
for entry into the U.S. by the
USDA totaled more than 86,000
head, compared with about 14,000
in the third quarter of 1956.
$2 Per Year
4-H Play to Be
Saturday Night
At Manheim Twp.
A three-act mystery comedy,
“Jumping Jewels” will be pre
sented tomorrow night at 8 at
the Manheim Township High
School by the County 4-H Council.
In the title roles are Dean Hof
fer, R 3 Manheim, and Erma Mus
ser, R 2 Lancaster. Others in the
cast are. Miss Barbara Keener,
R 3 Manheim; Miss Judy Martin,
R 3 Lancaster, Ned Paes, Stras
burg; Miss Linda Mumma, R 1
Manheim; John Stoner, R 7 Lan
caster; Donald G. Herr, R 2 Quar
ryville; Miss Roberta Landis, R 3
Lancaster, Aaron Landis, R 1
Strasburg; Miss Judy Nolt, R 1
Lancaster, and Kenneth Garber,
R 1 Willow Street.
Providing entertainment be
tween acts will be the Landis
Bi others, Aaron and Ira, who will
play and sing, and Miss Dorothy
Mull, who will play the piano.
The play is being presented un
der the direction of Miss Grace
Kolt, R 1 Lancaster.
The following are committee
members who will assist:
Publicity Glenn Bushong,
Wayne Miller, and Miss Donna
Heckendorn
Tickets—Donald G. Herr and
Miss Lorame Hess.
.■ Make-up—Misses Carol Ginder
and Hetty Umble.-
Prompters Misses Lucille
Groff and Betty Umble.
Stage lights—Herbert Frey.
Property—John Stoner, Harold
Frey and Miss Carol Ginder.
Entertainment Misses Vir
ginia Glass and Gloria Eshleman.
Usherettes—Misses Joanne Gam
ber, Ginnie Glass, Bonnie Bare,
Dona Heckendom, Judy Ginder,
Joyce Hawthorne, Sue Buckwal
ter, Glonda Shelly, Gerry Shrem
er, and Nancy Landis.
Hanover Pastor
Named Speaker
At Meeting
The Rev. Nevin E Smith, pas
tor of Emanuael Reformed
Church, Hanover, will be the
speaker at the annual meeting of
the Lancaster Poultry Exchange
to be held Jan. 23 at the Poultry
Center, Lancaster.
The name of the speaker was
announced Thursday night at a
meeting of the board of directors
of the Exchange. They also said
that his topic will deal with ethics
and good business practices.
Also planned for the anmal
meeting is a question and answer
period dealing with the defeatist
attitude prevailing among some
county producers in relation to
the problems of integration and
poultry competition from t)ther
aieas of the nation.
The monthly summary of sales
at the Exchange noted a drop of
about 50,000 birds from October
1956. However sales were about
equal to those in 1955.
Three More Countries
Join U.N. Group
When the Food arid Agricul
ture Organization of the United
Nations met in Rome recently, the
group admitted Ghana and Malaya
and readmitted Poland to mem
bership in'the organization.
This brings to 77 the number
of governments now holding
memberships in FAO.