4—Lancaster Farming. Saturday, June 11. 1960
FROM WHERE WE STAND -
M-H 30, To Spray
A June first news release from the
United States Department of Agricul
ture cautions tobacco growers against
the use of Maleic Hydrazide (MH-30)
for-the control of sucker growth on to
bacco.
The US DA acted, the report said,
after it had received numerous strong
protests against the chemical from the
major tobacco companies.
The USD A apparently is worried
that the use of the chemical" could
seriously jeopardise the tobacco price
support program as well as the domes
tic and foreign markets for United
States tobacco.
It appears we are on the same old
merry-go-round we stepped on last
year when some of us who played it
straight stepped off to get our faces
full of dirt.
Tobacco companies last year cau
tioned against the use -of chemical
growth inhibitors at the risk of severe
price penalties for treated tobacco.
Many conscientious tobacco farm
ers took the companies at their word
and went through the agerold chore of
hand suckering, while some of their
adventuresome neighbors risked price
cuts for the convenience of chemical
suckering.
When the buyers-hit the sheds last
Davidson
It is always good news had declined from $l3 bil
when something turns out to hon in 1958 to $ll billion
be better than you had ex- in 1959. It looked then like
jpected. That is the way most more of the same in 1960.
farmers feel now about farm The parity ratio which the
prices and income. economists use to measure
Six months ago, farmers the fairness of prices reciv
were warned by the U. S. ed by farmers when compar-
Departmenl of Agriculture to ed with prices they pay for
expect anoiher billion dol-. machinery and other things
lar decline this year in their used on the farm, had drop
net income. That, coming on ped to a 20-year low last
top of a two billion dollar fall. The ratio was 77% of
drop in 1959, was pretty dis parity, compared with *afair
eouraging. price of 100% of parity.'
The forecast of another That meant that the av
round of belt-tightening for earge of prices received by
farmers wasn’t surprising, farmers was only a little
though, because farm prices more than three-quarters of
and income have gone down a fair price. Production costs
in nine of the past 10 years, took 70 cents out of every
The only exception was 1958. dollar farmers received fr-
However, instead of con- 0 m the sale of their products
tinning downward farm pri- Unexpected Reversal
ces have been rising at a Then, unexpectedly, prices
rate of about one per cent received by most farmers
a month since the start of began to go up in January,
this year. That has been the Economists shook their heads
national average for all farm and said it couldn’t last, that
commodities. Naturally, so- it was only a temporary re
me farmers have fared bet- versal and that the down
ter than others. ward trend would be resutn-
Ouilook Forecast ed.
Last fall the Department
of Agriculture, as it has for
the past 30 years, invited
agricultural economists from
all parts of the country to
participate in an Outlook
Conference to forecast mar
ket demand, prices and in
come for the year ahead.
The economists took a dim
view of 1960. Farm prices,
they noted, had dropped an
average of 7 per cent dur
ing 1959. Net farm income
Lancaster Farming
Lancaster County’s Own Farm
Weekly
P O Pox 1524
Lancaster, Penna.
Offices:
53 North Duke St.
Lancaster, Penna.
Phone - Lancaster
Express 4-3047
•Tack Owen Editor
Robert G Campbell, Advertising
Director & Business Manager
Csta' lishcd November 4, 1955
Ptib'ished every - Saturday by
Lancaster Farming Lancaster, Fa.
Fntf red as 2nd class matter at
Lancaster, Pa under Act of Mar
K 1379 additional entry at Mount
Joy, Pa.
Subscription Rates- 12 per year;
three Kars $3, Single copy Pnco
r cents
Members Pa Newspaper PuVi'lsli
< » A ssoeiation. National Editor-
I ,1 'ssociation.
THIS WEEK
—ln Washington
With Clinton Davidson
Farm Income Up
- But when the slow but
steady climb in the average
of prices continued in Feb
ruary, March and April they
began to concede that they
may have been mistaken in
their earlier predictions that
1960 prices would show an
overall drop of three to five
per cent.
By late spring the price
average had climbed from 77
per cent to 80 per cent of
parity. The most spectacular
increase was a 25 per cent
climb in hog prices, from
an average of $l2 in January
to $l6 a hundred pounds in
April. Prices of other live
stock also increased, though
not by as much as hogs.
The economists still have
their fingers crossed on the
remainder of this year, but
around the Depatment of Ag
riculture there is a grdwing
feeling that farmers have
escaped, for this year at least
disastrously low prices that
could have forced many tho
usands of them into bank
ruptcy.
Advertisers will be glad
to have you mention Lancas
ter Farming when answering
advertisements.
Or Not To Spray
fall, most of the tobacco was sold be
fore the conscientious farmers had
time to sav, “But I suckered mine by
hand.”
What happened to the promised
differential in price? Several farmers
reported that the buyer did not even
ask how the suckers were removed
from the crop.
.The release mentioned, go,es on to
say that while, the buying companies
insist that they will not_ knowingly
buy treated tobacco, they-readily ad
mit that treated tobacco, in many in
stances, does not show adverse physic
al effects that can be detected on the
auction floor.
Tobacco bought on the auction floor
is one" thing, but the Lancaster county
tobacco market is another,
In many c«ses the buyers were on
the farms during the growing season,
and still no premium was paid for the
hand suckered crop.
If the tobacco companies intend to
discriminate against the chemically
treated tobscco, they made a poor
start last season. There will be many
more farmers willing to test them out
again this yyear.
At least that’s how it looks from
where we stand.
Farm Work
To lift or to destruction?
■Life end destruction are oppo
sites. You would think any one
could see that. But to judge from
Conditions for farm field the way many people act, It Is plain
work were somewhat", im- that they think the same road leads
proved during the past week, to destruction and to life,
although rains and wet Many "a man walks the broad road
ground continued to plague with plenty of company, knowing
Pennsylvania farmers, the tor at least having heard) that the
State Crop Reporting Ser- road ends destruction. But he
vice said in its week’y crop think* Life la a wayside stop, in
and weather roundup. he rather pities the poor fools
„ , . that took the narrow rocky road to
Surplus moisture was re- j^ ei W hen it is so much pleasanter
ported m fewer areas than to UUe the t, road road . truth
the previous week but low i3> on the contrary, that you can’t
spots are still soggy in all .reach Life by the road that goes to
areas. Destruction. You have to choose.
Catching Up
Vegetable production was
benefited by some overall Plscipllno
improvement in weather Why Is it that the road to life is
conditions Higher tempera- sparsely traveled and the road to
tures are now needed to put destruction crowded? It isn’t that
most crops on normal grow- people prefer destruction. It’s the
ing schedule. Final plantings S*oad that attracts them. Let’s look
of tomatoes have been made •■t one attractive feature (that is
but the total planted acreage to say_,_ one-that does attract un
may be 10 per cent or more m (
below original intentions. j\oW |Q I (IP Timp
Strawberry set is average L vv X • • •
or above m most areas due
to heavy precipitation and
with favorable weather a
bumper crop could develop.
Local berries- are at their
peak and quality is mostly
excellent,
Tree fruits are sizing and
some dropping has been re
ported.
Corn planting is 50 to 90
per cent complete in. Lan
caster County but planting is TO KILL LEAF HOPPERS ON ALFAi
nearly two weeks off last FA When the second growth of alfaHa
years schedule and well be- - is 4 to 6 inches tall, three pints per acrt
hmd normal. Overall condi- MAX SMITH Q g 25 % emulsion of Methoxyclor will I 11 1!
hopper and increase the tonnage of the second
year ago. Some LSSrs are TJ 1 ’ 5 lns f t 13 t>£tel > «>« of a stunted
SS XgS -TO SS C S AUnON U m CORN CLLTIVATION _ The -
com or other crops. of too many corn plants are injured by the cultivator, si
Most alfalfa hay is only of corn gets larger the cultivator must be set moie shallow
fair quality. Weather - * has and farther away from the row. The shearing of the 1001
hindered - spraying of. forage injures the plant and reduces the yield, ,
crops and has resumed in f O MAKE SILAGE FROM WINTER WHEAT, AND WIN
S£* e a J? a th t 4a ? ,y TER OATS - Both of these grains are about in the
fields are beguiling to turn ?°. m to mi k a ge when they are at their best to be
color and considerable ’odg- jnto Brass silage. They should be chopped directly n »
ing is reported -‘Generally. ? ilg without any wilting period; many growers will try
large heading- of wheat is mix some c’over or alfalfa with the load in order to
reported, "" J prove the qua ity. A preservative should be used similar
. _ that used with other kinds of grass silage. Grovvcis
Rural Rhythms extra acres of winter wheat might consider this means
rnrmvrsctnv get jing the most out of their crop. „
By: Carol Lean Huber ' TO BE CAREFUL WITH NITROGEN
One hundred and fifty years tr °E en fertilizers will give quick growth of new P - 0
ago sues when used properly; however, in the case oi i j ot
A man named Phil Durand plants, extreme care should be used. If more gi een {ol ,
Decided food -would keep if or faster growth is desired, then the inorganic forms o
sealed *trogen such as nugreen or nitrate of soda may he u sc
Into an airtight can. the rate of 3 to 4 pounds per 1000 square feet of had)
ever, softer plants will result if fast growth is reali# 1 s .
a comp ete kill the plants will be made if 1 g jn ic
mounts are used. Dried blood is a good source of ° r
nitrogen at the fate of- 3 to 5 pounds per 1000
and will not make the plants as soft or tender. AH 0
should be washed down after each treatment.
The farm wife used a can of
glass,
But his was tin you see:
Farms growing canning
crops' will share -' - '*■
This Can-niversary.
Bible Material: Matthew 7 13-14; Luke
15 11-32.
Devotional Beading: Psalm 1,
' Lea Son for June 13, 1960
THE NOTION that you can find
out what Is right by seeing how
many people do it, is not an idea
you can find In the Bible. If what
the majority of people do makes
anything right, then you are really
deciding right and "•'? by voting
on it. The truth ’
people are wrong
at least as often
' as they are right.
Jesus believe*
that hrhb* day, ai
gay, rate, the mi-
ImtSLWM on th<
wrong road
There are tw«
ways or“road
through thl.
world, he said,
one. Is broad and the other narrow.
One ia r eaay te find, .the ether you
cannot find so easily. What is more’,
the broad road is popular and the
narrow road is not. But the real
question to ask about any road is:
Where does It go? Where shall I
land If I follow it?
The Two Ways
BY MAX SMITH
TO SPRAY ALFALFA STUBBLES - Oi
many unsprayed alfalfa fields the alfalfa
weevil are waiting upon the second
growth; if these fields are not sprayed a|
once, little or no second crop can be taf
vested. Growers are urged to spray willi
one pint of Malathion immediately afto
taking off the first crop.
thinking travelers) of
highway. It is hke ih o \ ll ‘
Crete highways that
tion. Wider and tast G SS °«
being built all the tim. r ° ij
accident rate keeps Ko , ’
reason why the bioad
ferred is that you don’U^ ll
your brakes on it vei 7fJ n 1
are no stop-hghts on
way for most of its c i h , t!lt '
forgetting about bi a i
dangers. There used to vl hi
of road in North Caroi°* st
equally divided between 8 *’ 1
straight shoot thiough V 5
and a very crooked st e J?
the Blue Ridge For y e
there was not a fatal a( W.'
the narrow, steep a „ fl
part of the road, but w?
dents on the straight ntml
east. Going up the rnoul
down, drivers weie Cai "“‘
once down, they woul d m
brakes go and zoom off-Jr
them to early death So ih
persons or for nations; hf,L
brakes goes swiftly to dest!
And the name for th a £
have to apply to ourselves h.
Discipline.
A* Important at steering
There are three things 4 a,
have, at the very least It
have power to move, it m U3t
a steering mechanism that w
and It must have brakes so
the driver can slow down or
So it is on the roads of hf (
traveler must have power, he
be able to steer, and he' a
able to hold himself down Bi
are every bit as important u
buretor or steering-shaft Soil
life of every man; without
cipline he is running justuj
a risk as if he had no diiitigp
at all. Discipline means being
to say No to yourself Disc!
means being able to choose'
Is unplgasant, if it is right ft
line means loving yourself lei
means, in the first place, dm
a road because it leads to Life
not because it is easy
No one would ventme to
whether today, as In Jesus'
the wrong road is crowded i
than the other. But sometime!
wonders. A nation made up in
of people who never say K
themselves, a nation made ol
izens always want the;
for the least, who translate “I’
It" into “I must have it,” is j
tion like that going to be t
than its-people?
(Baled on outlines cnpuicM
the Division of Chmtna E&k
Nation*! Council of the Clwrcl
Christ in the V, h A
Community Sonite)